The hotel room’s high-style bathroom had wide marble countertops, two sinks, a huge whirlpool bath and gold fixtures.
It was gorgeous–and annoying. Nearsighted and short, I couldn’t lean close enough to the mirror to be sure I was getting my makeup on straight. The dim lighting didn’t help, either. Like most people older than 50, my eyes need two times more light than when I was 18.
The whirlpool felt great. But getting into and out of the tub, with its high, wide sides, was a dangerous ordeal. I don’t have arthritis but still found it impossible to turn the slick faucet knobs when my hands were wet.
I occasionally travel and dine out with my 80-year-old father, who is sight- and hearing-impaired and has some mobility problems. He doesn’t expect restaurants to be lit up like ballparks during night games but appreciates being able to make out what’s on his plate. He also finds a long flight of ill-lit steps between restaurant levels a challenge.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, requires new hotels and other public places to incorporate such features as ramps to entrances and grab bars in bathrooms.
But some organizations, like the Embassy Suites hotel chain and the Delta Queen Steamboat Co., have gone beyond the ADA’s basic requirements. They aren’t do-gooders. They merely recognize that meeting the needs of the senior and disabled markets can be lucrative.
In 1990, 64 million Americans–25 percent of the U.S. population–were 50 and older. The households they headed controlled more than 40 percent of the country’s discretionary income, and they spent an average of 30 percent more on their vacations than younger people.
By 2015, about 107 million will be 50-plus–34 percent of the population–and will bring huge amounts of additional money into travel.
The 50 million American adults with disabilities–those with a significant hearing, visual or mobility impairment–have an annual disposable income of $188 billion, says W.C. Duke Associates Inc. of Woodford, Va. About half of those disabled are older than 50.
In February 1990, Embassy Suites hired the Duke firm to help design its prime Lake Buena Vista, Fla., resort in Walt Disney World’s orbit so it would be accessible and hospitable to those with disabilities.
Meanwhile, the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. decided to build the American Queen, the newest of its three steamboats that ply the Mississippi and other mid-America rivers, for the senior travelers who make up a significant majority of its passengers.
“We were creating a complete environment for older people to enjoy,” says Al Lutsmer, who headed the American Queen design team. “If things are done right, people don’t notice. If they’re done wrong, they’re a constant annoyance that drives people away.”
“If there are steps and a ramp leading to the same place, for example, two times as many people go up the ramp as up the steps,” Bill Duke of Duke Associates says.
Duke, who is hearing-impaired, and his wife, Cheryl, who has degenerative arthritis, advised Embassy Suites on such things as the design of roll-in showers with fold-down seats, adding devices to assist the hearing-impaired, and creating a decor in contrasting bright colors easier to discern for those with visual problems.
They suggested that hallways, meeting rooms, elevator lobbies and other areas each have a different texture and pattern of floor covering to help identify location. They showed how open bed frames, rather than box frames, make it possible for wheelchair users like their son Paul to maneuver close enough to get into bed.
Both companies took special care with lighting, increasing wattage and putting light switches lower on the wall. On the American Queen, reading lights over the bed can be turned off and on without stretching or leaning. Embassy Suites installed lamps that can be turned on and off simply by touching the metal base instead of turning a tiny switch.
The American Queen’s dining room has two-story ceilings and windows on each side and is lighted by chandeliers at night. It is divided by a one-story central area in which each table is well-lit with recessed lights. Darker areas between tables provide a sense of intimacy.
The boat has no raised thresholds. It has lever handles on doors and faucets. Outside cabins have French doors. Grab bars of generous length are next to all toilets and bathtubs, and cabins with showers have oversize stalls.
“We also focused on designing the boat so it would be very simple to figure out where you are and how to get where you’re going,” Lutsmer says. “Disorientation in an environment like this is humiliating and frustrating.”
Directional signs and maps are at every point where a passenger must make a decision.
As with Embassy Suites, American Queen carpet patterns were chosen to avoid confusing visually impaired travelers. On stairwells, the bottom step is beige, a contrast to the darker tones above and below.
Even the boat’s entertainment is senior-friendly. One evening production is a lively World War II-style USO show. Pianists play Dixieland jazz and 1940s and ’50s tunes. Daytime events include kite flying and old-fashioned carnival games.
The American Queen has cabins specifically designed for those using wheelchairs, says Lutsmer, now a senior-design consultant for Delta Queen Steamboat Co.’s parent organization, American Classic Voyages and other firms.
“Structurally, you can have the Taj Mahal of facilities, but all that access is for nothing if the service is poor,” Cheryl Duke says.
The Dukes designed a training program for Embassy Suites staff. The American Queen took equal care. Waiters, for example, describe each dish, thus sparing anyone who has difficulty reading the menu embarrassment.
“The same senior-friendly principles can be applied in restaurants, hotels and destination resorts,” Lutsmer points out.
The goal for the American Queen is to cement passenger loyalty now and later, as Baby Boomers age. Even without advertising its new design and decor, Embassy Suites added $13 million to its gross revenue in the first three years, the Dukes say, and showed a five-year growth of 180 percent in the number of nights its wheelchair-accessible rooms were booked.
Regardless of what motivates firms like the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. and Embassy Suites to create senior-friendly designs, its profitability should prompt others in the travel industry to follow suit. And that bodes well for all the traveling public.
