Bass - Reserving Excellence | SMG - Solutions Marketing Group

Bass - Reserving Excellence

By Joan Leotta

It's time for a romantic weekend getaway—or a business trip. You want an accessible room. You share your needs with the Bass reservation agent who, much to your surprise asks thoughtful questions about your request for an accessible room. You think to yourself, "This is too good to be true!" But it is true. One secret to your good experience is that many of the staff in Bass' central telephone reservations office are people with disabilities. Another is that Bass' training for all employees includes Opening Doors® (www.wcduke.com), a skills-based training program that equips staff in disability etiquette and customer service.

Commitment to a Teachable Attitude

Bass has been a pioneer in offering guests with disabilities accessible rooms. More than 30 years ago, Bass executives recognized the demographic shifts and economic impact that would occur with aging baby-boomers and a growing number of people with disabilities that would need accessible accommodations. That realization quickly translated into a practical program to serve guests with disabilities. Vicki Gordon, VP Americas Administration, Bass U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, says, "In the 70s, before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) required accommodation of any kind, we began a standard of offering wheelchair-accessible at Holiday Inns. As we acquired other brands, we extended that standard."

Bass brands include Holiday Inn, their first, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge by Holiday Inn, and the Inter-continental Hotels and Resorts. Most of the Bass brand hotels are run by franchisees, around 2,600. Bass owns about 100 and manages another 260. Together, these properties serve more than 150 million travelers each year internationally. And in 1999, Bass estimates that accessible rooms accounted for 3.4 million room nights sold, based on reservations. Bass concentrates its efforts in serving people with disabilities where the corporation has direct control—central reservations and training program design.

It is Bass' teachable spirit in serving people with disabilities, which raises the company's corporate efforts to excellence. Gordon says, "We listen to guests, recognizing that we are not perfect, and make changes to our product and service as required. If we hear of a problem we act quickly to correct it. We try to be proactive in addressing the needs of guests with disabilities."

Staff with Skills to Serve

Each property receives a customized copy of the Opening Doors® training program to equip staff with skills necessary to serve guests with disabilities. The program is effective because it equips staff to develop a comfort level and practical skills to address specific issues when serving guests with disabilities— and to avoid such common missteps such as speaking to a traveling companion instead of directly to the person with a disability. Gordon notes, "The training receives very positive reactions from our executives, employees, and franchisees. My family has benefited from the training since my sister, Carol Ann Scharf, has Downs Syndrome and often travels with my family."

EmployABILITY

Bass' commitment to the customer service and accessibility doesn't end there, but also extends to employment. Ann Glover, Bass Director of Reservations and Support Services notes, "We've enjoyed tremendous success employing people with various disabilities. We have a considerable number of reservation agents with disabilities working in our Raleigh, North Carolina Call Center. We have found that with these employees there is a less than one percent turnover and their attendance and performance generally exceeds that of other employees." Bass is an active participant of the Wake, NC Area Business Council and the Mayor's Committee for Persons with Disabilities. We are also a participant of the Transition Program sponsored by the Moorehead School for the Blind, which is the source of many of our employees," notes Glover.

The Reservations Department's training program has been adapted for visually impaired employees and Power Braille Readers help them "read" information on their screens while working. The purchase of these screen readers is subsidized by the state of North Carolina. Bass maintains the equipment and assists visually impaired employees with obtaining transportation to and from work. Bass has discovered a win-win for the company and employees with disabilities.

Constant Improvements

As new hotels come into the system and as hotels are renovated, Bass' team reviews plans and collects signed statements from owners, architects, general contractors and interior designers are ADA compliant. "We send them our ADA Toolkit. If we learn that a property is not in full ADA compliance we notify the General Manager immediately and establish a course for corrective action— with a timetable. Properties that do not make the corrections within the timetable can be terminated from the system," says Gordon.

Basic for Bass are requirements that door locks and hardware, heating and lights are accessible. Each property's specific offerings for people with disabilities vary somewhat. According to Gordon, Bass offers the following types of rooms and/or accommodation for travelers with disabilities—assistive technology for the hearing and visually impaired, wheelchair accessible, and rooms with roll in showers. In addition, each property is required to maintain a notebook at the front desk with full detail on the hotel's accessibility features. Bass' national contract suppliers offer a line of ADA compliant products to make ordering easy for the chain's hotels.

Many properties offer additional services for people with disabilities, including designated areas for owners of assistance animals to walk their dogs. Some properties may offer lift-equipped van service. If a property provides van service to other guests, lift-equipped service will be arranged by the property if requested in advance—on the same basis (fee or non-fee) as for other guests.

Information for All

Reservations is the primary entry point for sharing information about each property with the public. Gordon adds, "Guests can inquire about the accessibility of our properties at any of our properties by using any one of our toll free reservation numbers." Besides the main reservation number, the chain operates a TTY line, 1-800-238-5344; and a separate line for Inter-continental, 1-888-442-5050.

Accessible rooms can also be booked via the Bass Web site or by calling any hotel directly. Information in the Central Office is updated regularly and is as current as the information provided by each property. Quality assurance reviews by the corporate staff aid the effort to maintain a high level of accuracy.

Gordon adds, "We plan to continue to provide accessible products and services in response to market demands. And, as a part of our corporate diversity initiative we are currently looking for ways to efficiently target individuals with disabilities who might be interested in joining our work force."

For more information, visit these Bass Hotel Web sites:

www.basshotels.com
www.interconti.com
www.crowneplaza.com
www.holiday-inn.com
www.hiexpress.com
www.staybridge.com