The Greater London Authority recognised that to make the 2012 Olympics the most “accessible ever”, they must focus on improving accessibility from within the hospitality sector.

John’s cafe in Stratford – which was serving a handful of regulars – became busy with customers from all over the world; some with little grasp of the English language and some with disabilities. This was the reason behind the GLA initiative “Destination London”.

The aim of the project is to teach business owners like John some key techniques in accessibility so that they could prepare for the influx of visitors that they experienced during the event. The GLA hopes that preparation like this for the Olympics will act as a catalyst leading to permanent improvements within the hospitality sector in welcoming differently abled customers.

BrightLemon was chosen to develop the website which includes tips, online courses and videos demonstrating how hospitality businesses can make their premises more accessible. As well as advise on making a premises more physically accessible, the site also offers advice on how to communicate clearly as well as raising awareness of what provisions and further advice are available.

Being based in East London, the BrightLemon office was a buzz of excitement throughout the Olympic games. As a developer of online communities we are naturally thrilled to build a site that will impact our local (offline) community.

Links:

http://www.london.gov.uk/destinationlondon/
http://www.london.gov.uk/
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/jmagnay1/100023440/estimates-suggesting-there-will-be-11-million-visitors-to-london-2012-are-well-wide-of-the-mark/