Can Hotels and Hostels Offer a Better Experience for Their Autistic Guests?

I’ve spent the last couple of months working in the Sofitel Hotel in Manila as management trainee, spending most of my time in the sales/marketing and revenue management departments. It’s been a fascinating experience for me as I’ve been immersed in a foreign work culture and also because I gained important insights into how a hotel functions to meet the needs of its guests, including those with disability and other special needs. I’ve often been involved in our family discussions as we choose the right hotel that we think Andy would enjoy and can feel safe in (does it have a fun pool? Are there lots of objects that are easily breakable in the guest room and bathroom?), but this summer I got to consider many of these issues from the viewpoint of the hotel operator.

Choosing a home that’s suitable for children with autism is difficult. They can often be sensitive about various light and sound stimuli, the size or design of their rooms, the use of lifts/elevators or the proximity of neighbours. The Covid pandemic has only accentuated these concerns. Choosing an appropriate hotel to stay is even more challenging since the parents often have not done a previous first-hand inspection before picking the holiday destination– and pictures on travel websites are often misleading or at least lack critical details. When we travel with Andy on family vacations, we spend lots of time selecting the appropriate hotel and room that we think will suit his needs. Despite this, it is impossible to get a real sense of a hotel without actually visiting. I feel strongly that a helpful feature for hotels would be to upload a virtual tour of the rooms and facilities rather than just selective photos so that one could “walk through” the room. This shouldn’t be excessively expensive to implement and would go a long way to matching the right environment with guests with special needs, and minimise the surprises experienced by these guests.

A study surveyed parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) about what hotel features and services would be most desirable for their families. The top priorities identified included rooms with minimal sensory stimuli, availability of early check-in/late check-out, soundproof rooms, visual supports like picture boards, staff trained in working with ASD guests, and adaptive equipment like weighted blankets. My hope and plan is to devise a ratings system so that special needs guests can more easily find appropriate hotel and other guest accommodations online– and longer term, my dream is to build a hotel or hostel (or chain of hostels?) that is specifically designed for autistic guests.