Crafting a Senior-Citizen Friendly Hotel Experience

With an aging baby boomer population, there are many travelers who are in their golden years. Senior citizens are actually considered one of the fastest-growing segments in today’s tourism market.

As more boomers retire, they are not looking to stay put and just read the newspaper every morning. Many boomers still have some wanderlust left in them and great health to carry them the distance, so they want to spend their free time traveling to the places they have always wanted to see.

Whether traveling to visit family or going on a trip across the world, seniors prefer to stay in hotels. According to industry research, “About 68% of grandparents would rather stay in a hotel than with their grandchildren”. Those seniors who choose to travel expect to be comfortable along the way, too. While many boomers are financially stable, they want to give their business to hotels that offer special amenities and cater to their unique wants and needs. They care less about the savings offered and more about the comfort of the property.

Your hotel should make the following amendments for senior travelers:

Healthy menus: Offer plenty of options in your menus that consist of healthy food or food for dietary needs coupled with good surroundings.

Disabled friendly amenities: Arrange accessible entrances for handicaps and offer wheelchair facilities. (READ: Make Your Property a Disabled Friendly Hotel)

Exceptional room service: Provide senior citizens with personalized room services according to their requirements. You can also offer medical services for their safety.

Bedding and furniture: Provide rooms with high quality mattresses and bedding. The furniture should be minimal and room should be spacious to move around.

Noise-free surroundings: Seniors are quite sensitive to loud noise so make sure you offer them room in a peaceful alley, away from the noises of the restaurant or children’s playground. Hotel room telephones can also be equipped with amplifying options.

Avoid long queues: Make sure you ease out the check-in and check-out process and let the older guests know who they should contact in case they encounter any problem. Don’t bombard them with unnecessary forms.

Medical emergencies: Make sure your hotel is well-equipped with medical provisions in case of any emergencies.

If your hotel offers high-quality amenities and great customer service, then you are sure to draw business from seniors. The willingness of staff to help and cater to seniors will help the hotel be seen in a positive light, and boomers may even become loyal to the brand. The human resources in hotels should be well trained to attend to seniors.

Remember, hospitality leaders must keep in mind that the largest generation of older travelers is increasing and they are the biggest element in the economic success of any enterprise. So keep in mind their requirements and build your hotel to suit the requirements of older generation.