Why Today’s Hoteliers Are Exploring Better Web Accessibility in 2022
It’s so important to make your website accessible to everyone. Doing this means that anyone can access your website regardless of their limitations.
When your hotel website is accessible to all, that means you’ve designed it correctly for people with disabilities. These disabilities may be mental, physical, age, or even people with slow internet connections. Anyone can bounce onto your website and understand it, navigate easily through it, and interact with it any time they’d like.
This article looks at why today’s hoteliers are exploring better web accessibility in 2022.
What Does Web Accessibility Mean for You?
As a hotelier, it’s vital that your customers are able to view your property, see the rooms, research your hotel, see date availability, and eventually book a room all on your website.
Unfortunately, a recent report states that about 98% of websites have home pages that fail accessibility standards. This means that your website may be basically invisible to people with disabilities.
When ensuring your website is more accessible, you want to consider the following disabilities when creating or refining your website:
- Visual
- Speech
- Auditory
- Cognitive
- Physical
- Neurological
Now let’s look at some of the reasons hoteliers are hurrying to explore better web accessibility.
You Lessen Your Legal Risk
According to the CDC, a disability is “any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).”
If your website can’t be accessed by people with disabilities, you can open yourself up to litigation. If your website isn’t accessible for people with disabilities, they can take you to court, as accessibility is considered a civil right. (tweet this)
In addition, hoteliers want to ensure they comply with federal anti-discrimination laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Today’s federal laws require some websites to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Bottom line: your accessible website shields you from litigation and keeps you up to date with federal guidelines and in some instances, laws.
You Allow Easy Access to All
Another reason hoteliers are exploring better web accessibility is that they are realizing their website’s importance in their overall digital marketing strategy. They understand that it’s the best way to meet new customers and encourage bookings.
The web governs everyday life for most people. In order for all potential lodgers to have equal access to your website, you want to build it with everyone in mind. When your site is accessible, more people can actively participate in your hotel online.
With an accessible website, you can do business with more people than if it wasn’t accessible. For example, if someone can’t read, they could still listen to your content if your website was accessible.
Accessible websites give everyone access to your information and your reservation system. You eliminate all barriers to your hotel.
You Grow Your Bookings
Like today’s digital-savvy hoteliers, you want to concentrate on better web accessibility in order to grow your business.
You’ll find that when you make your online presence available to more people, you make it possible for more people to book your hotel. If you ignore website accessibility, you may miss out on many potential bookings.
The last thing you want to do is increase your bounce rate. Disabled website users are more likely to stick around on your website if it’s easy and intuitive for them to use. When they spend time on your website, you have the chance to increase your revenue. Yet, if they bounce off, you’re losing dollars that could have been yours.
When you improve your website accessibility, you will also find it easier for all users, not just your disabled ones. Improving accessibility pertains to ease of navigation and the overall user experience, which helps you immensely.
You Improve Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
One of the added benefits of improving access to your website is that it also helps with your SEO. This is because you are creating a website that’s easier for search engine robots to crawl. (tweet this)
Search engines like Google respect websites with well-structured code. They can find things on your site more easily, and it’s more straightforward and easier to understand.
For example, consider this list of things that Google looks for on your website:
- Site speed
- Meta descriptions
- Page titles
- Description alt text on images
- A structured order to header tags and correct use of them
- Descriptive link text for all links
- Machine readable content
- Better color contrast, so your text is easier to read
These website attributes are what you need to do to make your website accessible, and lucky for you, they’re also the attributes that make Google rank your site higher.
You’ll find that an accessible website may improve your ranking in search engine results pages while also increasing website traffic.
Ultimately, when your SEO is good, you get more website visitors. This, in turn, leads to more hotel bookings.
Final Thoughts
Another interesting fact from the CDC states that 26% of adults living in the United States have a disability. This equates to more than 61 million adults.
That’s a lot of potential customers for your hotel as well. While disabilities come in many forms, and some are more severe than others, you can provide a website that is accessible by all people.
If you haven’t embraced website accessibility standards, the time to explore it is now.
Not only will you reduce your legal risks, but you’ll also improve your hotel brand, increase your website visits while providing a great user experience, and increase your hotel bookings and revenue.
Make it easy for everyone to use your website. You’ll find it’s a win-win for your hotel and all of your customers, both current and future.
At Hotel Propeller, not only do we create great, responsive websites, but you can count on us to create a website that is accessible and available to all. Let us help you by creating the perfect site that draws customers in, improves your conversion rate, and helps you grow your business! Ready to take the plunge and create a new website? Get your website consultation today!
Images: Marvin Meyer and AllGo – An App For Plus Size People on Unsplash
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