As London’s hotels look forward to a bumper season hosting visitors to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, Action on Hearing Loss is revealing that many of the capital's hotels could be putting the lives of visitors with hearing loss at risk by not having appropriate alert procedures in place for emergency situations.

 
After making ‘mystery shopper’ calls to 232 hotels across the capital, Action on Hearing Loss – formerly RNID – discovered that one in 10 hotels admitted they don’t have a procedure or equipment to alert guests with hearing loss in the event of an emergency. Of those hotels which did have a procedure, 13% have flashing alarms, which are not appropriate as guests will be sleeping.

Some of the responses from hotel staff showed extraordinary levels of poor deaf awareness or lack of concern for guests with hearing loss. One receptionist said: “The alarm is very loud – it wakes everyone up!”. Another revealed their hotel’s shocking lapse of care for guests with hearing loss by saying that in emergency situations: “if there is an alarm, everyone vacates and then, when we know it is safe, we can check the rooms – but we can't help otherwise."

Under the Equality Act 2010, services must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to be accessible to people with disabilities so not only are inaccessible hotels missing out on potential income, they’re also putting their customers’ safety at risk. Action on Hearing Loss is urging hotels to install emergency alerting systems that are especially designed to safeguard guests with hearing loss by sending signals or texts to vibrating pagers.

The experience of Tanvir Ahmed, a Senior Trainer at Action on Hearing Loss who communicates by British Sign Language (BSL), illustrates the problems often faced by deaf and hard of hearing guests. Tanvir says: “I’ve stayed in hotels where there has been a shocking lack of deaf awareness which has left me feeling extremely frustrated. For example, a hotel in Brighton didn’t have a way for me to contact room service so I ended up texting my daughter in Walsall and she called the reception to place my dinner order. She then texted to let me know the room service was at the door. Hotels often just need to make simple adjustments to ensure their services are accessible for me and it’s about time they met their legal requirements!”

Acting Chief Executive of Action on Hearing Loss, Paul Breckell, says: “We’d be delighted to work with hotels throughout the UK to help them improve access and meet the individual needs of guests with hearing loss. People who are deaf or hard of hearing have the legal right to enjoy the same level of service as other guests and, it is absolutely essential that hotels put procedures in place to safeguard their wellbeing during emergency situations.”

Action on Hearing Loss’s tips to help hotels meet the individual needs of guests with hearing loss include:

1. Train your staff in basic deaf awareness so that they can communicate effectively with guests who have hearing loss.
2. Make sure you have a hearing loop at your reception desk and there is a regular process to check that is works. Loop systems can help hearing aid wearers to hear the receptionist’s voice over background noise.
3. Make sure you have alternative ways for people with hearing loss to contact your hotel other than telephone. For example, offer SMS or email contact, or train your staff how to use the Text Relay service. 
4. Make sure you have clear procedures for staff to alert people with hearing loss when the hotel’s fire alarm is activated, and invest in alerting systems designed for guests with hearing loss. Ensure the availability of your alerting system is well advertised to guests.
5. Consider providing amplified telephones with an in built hearing loop for your guests with hearing loss so that they can contact reception. 
6. Check that subtitles are available on your televisions and make sure clear instructions are available.
7. Set aside a quiet area in the hotel’s restaurant where people with hearing loss can have a conversation without too much background noise.
8. Contact Action on Hearing Loss (www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk, telephone: 0808 808 0123 or email: informationline@hearingloss.org.uk) for advice on making your hotel accessible for people with hearing loss, including deaf awareness training and information on installing and maintaining loop systems and emergency alerting systems.

Contact for media enquiries about Action on Hearing Loss:

Alan Dalziel, Senior PR Officer, telephone: 020 7296 8388 or email: alan.dalziel@hearingloss.org.uk. 

Notes for editors:  

1. A high resolution jpeg image of Tanvir Ahmed, a Senior Trainer at Action on Hearing Loss, at a hotel reception is available.
2. Action on Hearing Loss recommends the Deaf Alerter system which alerts guests with hearing loss when their hotel’s fire alarm has been activated by sending a text message via a radio signal to pocket-sized vibrating alerters.
3. Action on Hearing Loss offers a charter mark, Louder than Words, which is awarded to organisations showing best practice for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The charity also offers Deaf Awareness Training for individuals and businesses. For more information, visit www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk or contact telephone: 0161 276 2312, textphone: 0161 276 2316 or email: training.services@hearingloss.org.uk.
4. 41% of respondents to Action on Hearing Loss's membership survey said they'd go out of their way to use a service if they knew an induction loop was available.
5. Induction loops work by picking up the spoken word with a standard microphone. This is then processed by a loop amplifier and output through a metal coil (or loop) as a magnetic signal. Moving the switch on a hearing aid to the T (telecoil) position disengages the aid's own microphone, so it only receives input from the loop. In an environment with background noise, a hearing aid wearer is therefore able to choose to hear only what is necessary by flicking the switch on their hearing aid. 
6. Action on Hearing Loss is the charity working for a world where hearing loss doesn't limit or label people, where tinnitus is silenced – and where people value and look after their hearing. 
7. For further information about Action on Hearing Loss or to become a member, visit www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk, contact the Action on Hearing Loss Information Line on 0808 808 0123 (freephone) or 0808 808 9000 (textphone) or email: informationline@hearingloss.org.uk.