Accessible rooms added £217,000 in hotel net profit

Elena Vasquez

Eighteen wheelchair-accessible guestrooms and bathrooms at a 189-bedroom Manchester hotel delivered £217,000 in additional net profit versus non-accessible rooms, according to a study cited by Motionspot founder Ed Warner. The property began as Hotel Brooklyn and now operates as Hotel Voco; the study, conducted one year later, found the accessible rooms were the hotel’s most profitable.

Motionspot was founded in 2012 after Warner’s friend and co-founder James, then 25, sustained a spinal cord injury in a diving accident. His home began to resemble a hospital, prompting the pair to question why accessible products and environments looked clinical and whether function could coexist with attractive design.

Warner says accessibility must address physical, cognitive and sensory needs rather than focus only on wheelchair users. His aim is to remove barriers that cause undue separation and stress in hospitality environments.

“There is a belief in the industry that the majority of disabled people are wheelchair users, but in reality, only 7% of disabled people are wheelchair users,” he said. The other 93% may have another physical, cognitive or sensory need.

Nearly 15 years after founding Motionspot, Warner believes the industry has moved significantly closer to that goal. His benchmark is that accessible bathrooms should match the rest of an interior in design, look and feel.

Producers now offer accessible bathroom products in polished and aged brass, copper, chrome and matt black, allowing designers to incorporate them into an interior scheme instead of treating them as functional afterthoughts.

Universal design can help guests with permanent disabilities, temporary injuries, age-related needs and anyone who benefits from more generous circulation.

At the 17th-century White Horse Inn, a coaching inn in Surrey, Motionspot designed two wheelchair-accessible rooms. When disabled guests did not occupy them, the rooms proved popular with business travelers, tourists with large suitcases and families; interconnecting rooms planned for carer access added flexibility.

The Manchester result supports Warner’s commercial argument that inclusive environments can open a property to a much larger customer group, rather than serve a narrow segment only.

For new-build and major refurbishment projects, Warner recommends bringing accessibility expertise in at RIBA Stage 2, when layouts and floorplans take shape, and retaining that input through Stages 3 and 4, when designers specify products and materials. Motionspot also audits existing properties for effective features and barriers.

Early involvement can keep initial costs level and avoid expensive retrofits, Warner said: “If you think about it early enough in the design process, it doesn’t have to cost any more and you don’t have to pay for expensive retrofits when things go wrong in the future.”

Motionspot’s reviews can cover products, materials, colour, acoustics and circulation. The consultancy works with interior designers and checks specifications within their creative context instead of prescribing particular products. That approach lets operators match accessibility with the wider interior rather than isolate it in designated rooms.

In bathrooms, removable accessibility products allow grab rails or shower seats to be installed when required. Hotels can make support part of the service instead of permanently surrounding guests with equipment they may not need.

Physical access addresses only part of the need. Colour contrast can help partially sighted guests distinguish floors from walls, while repeating geometric patterns can challenge neurodivergent guests. Warner does not advocate eliminating pattern; he recommends using it in the right places and the right way.

Poor acoustics can strain deaf and hard-of-hearing guests, but Warner says the effect reaches further. Timber and other natural materials, planting and biophilic design can soften acoustics while improving the atmosphere, linking accessibility choices to the broader guest experience.

Wayfinding and signage matter for guests with anxiety, disorientation or cognitive differences. A focus group participant told Warner that communal toilets posed a particular problem when cubicle doors and exit doors looked similar without signs identifying the way out.

Effective signs require legible type, appropriate size, sans serif fonts, careful positioning and lighting. Braille does not make a sign accessible if it sits beyond a person’s reach, Warner said.

Motionspot involves disabled people in engagement sessions throughout projects, asking them to challenge and develop recommendations rather than relying only on research. Specialist engagement leads help make those sessions accessible, broaden the range of voices and ensure one person with one condition does not stand for everyone with that condition.

What does this change for hotel operators?

Operators can act without waiting for a new-build project. Warner identifies signage, a physically accessible route into the property and an audit of existing hotels as immediate starting points.

• Ask guests directly about needs and experiences that reveal missed barriers.
• Train employees to discuss requirements confidently when guests arrive, improving comfort during the stay.

Individual projects cannot deliver industry-wide change alone. Warner wants major hotel groups to adopt accessible and inclusive design across their portfolios and support a concerted effort, moving accessibility from a closing compliance checklist into the core design process.

For operators, the practical measure is whether accessible rooms and shared spaces can generate returns while reducing retrofit risk, not whether they merely clear a legal threshold.