A group of six is choosing somewhere. One of them uses a wheelchair, and the only information anywhere is a single word on a listing that says accessible.
Accessible how. Which entrance. Is the toilet on the same floor. Is there a step at the door. Nobody can tell her, so they go to a chain where she has been before and knows it works.
The checklist
Publish these specifically and groups stop ruling you out.
1. The entrance
Step free, one step, several steps, and whether there is a ramp, a lift or an alternative entrance. Described precisely rather than summarised.
2. The door
Width, whether it is heavy, whether it can be held open and whether somebody can help. Small details that determine whether entry is possible.
3. The levels inside
Whether the bar, seating, toilets and any outdoor area are on one level, and what separates them. Split level venues are common and rarely described.
4. The toilets
Whether there is an accessible toilet, on which floor, whether it is locked, how to get access and whether anything is stored in it.
5. The seating
Whether there are tables a wheelchair can reach, whether seating is fixed, whether there are high stools only and whether anything can be moved.
6. The floor space
How tight the room is when busy, and whether it is navigable on a Saturday evening rather than a Tuesday afternoon.
7. Parking and drop off
Accessible spaces, distance to the door, the surface and whether a vehicle can stop outside.
8. Lighting and noise
Levels, whether there are quieter areas and whether music can be adjusted. It matters enormously for a group of people who rarely see it mentioned.
9. Assistance dogs
Stated explicitly as welcome, because people ask and should not have to.
10. Hearing provision
Any loop system, whether staff are used to writing things down and whether there is anywhere quieter for a conversation.
11. How to ask for help
A named route, so somebody can arrange something in advance without making an occasion of it.
12. Photographs
Of the entrance, the route inside and the accessible toilet. A photograph answers more than a paragraph, which is the specificity in accessibility questions restaurants should answer clearly.
13. Be honest where you fall short
A cellar bar down eleven steps should say so. People plan around honesty and cannot plan around a vague claim, which is the same directness needed in age policy and entry questions venues answer repeatedly.
13b. Say what staff can help with
Carrying drinks to a table, opening a door, finding a clear route through a busy room or moving a chair. Naming what staff will happily do, and that asking is normal, matters as much as the building and costs a venue nothing to publish.
13c. Mention the quieter times
A room that is impassable on a Saturday night is comfortable on a Wednesday. Saying which evenings are calmer lets somebody choose a visit that works rather than concluding the venue is not for them at all.
14. Answer specific questions at any hour
Because groups plan in the evening and one unanswered question sends six people elsewhere, which also matters for private party and venue hire questions for bars, and the same principle applies to your own site, as in an accessible website assistant.
Getting started
Publish entrances, levels, toilets and seating specifically with photographs, be honest about limits and answer at any hour. SpideyChat for hospitality venues answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.