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Hoteliers and other accommodation providers will need to adapt or change in order to provide suitable bathroom facilities that meet the needs of all guests, including the disabled or elderly.
This is according to Enware Caredesign, a supplier of disability solutions, who said that accommodation providers who can’t cater for these needs will increasingly find themselves at a disadvantage in the marketplace.
“Hoteliers and accommodation managers should be aware of an increasing emphasis on the requirements of aged guests or those with a disability,” said Sandor Franken, Business Development Manager for Enware Caredesign, which represents the Pressalit Care range in Australia.
“Bathrooms, in particular, should be equipped so that they can easily be adapted to people with these special needs. Dedicated bathrooms aren’t necessarily required. The key is to be adaptable and adjustable.”
While wheelchair access is now mandatory in new or renovated public buildings, disability-friendly bathrooms are still at the discretionary stage. This is expected to change as public expectations about catering for the disabled and elderly are raised.
“Hoteliers and other accommodation providers who have already taken the initiative in meeting these expectations will find they have broadened their market and created a point of difference,” Mr Franken said.
“It’s not necessary to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on refitting every bathroom in the establishment. Typically, a hotel may equip six of its bathrooms to accept disability equipment and these bathrooms can be used by non-disabled guests as well.”
Pressalit Care solutions for hotels and other accommodation include a wall-fitted track system, horizontally and vertically adjustable shower chairs, adjustable support arms for toileting, electrically adjustable wash basin brackets, and shower and bath grab rails.
As an indication of coming trends in Australia, the Confortel Atrium hotel in Madrid, Spain, which opened in 2008, included a flexible track system and associated equipment in six of its 195 rooms. The hotel looked to Pressalit Care’s local distributor in Spain to provide bathroom solutions that accommodated both disabled and non-disabled guests.
The internationally respected Pressalit Care range of bathroom fixtures has been distributed in Australia for nearly 10 years by Enware Caredesign, a subsidiary of Enware Australia Pty Ltd.
“Pressalit Care produces a top quality range of fixtures recognised throughout the world for serving the needs of aged, disabled and ambulant people with some impairment, by enhancing their safety, comfort and independence while assisting their care-givers,” said Enware Australia Managing Director Paul Degnan.
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