A warning is being made to hoteliers that they may be risking the lives of some of their hearing impaired guests by not having the correct emergency procedures in place.
Some 232 hotels in London were surveyed by Action on Hearing Loss and they found that one in ten admitted to not having a specific procedure or equipment for deaf or hard of hearing guests in the event of an emergency.
Of those hotels that had modified equipment systems in place, only 13% used flashing alarms specifically designed for people with reduced hearing ability, in addition to acoustic sirens or bells.
Under the Equality Act 2010, hotels as well as other public areas are duty bound to make 'reasonable adjustments' to accessibility for those people with disabilities.
It is not known if these figures are reflected across all areas of the UK but it would be wise for anyone with affected hearing levels to always ask, when staying at a hotel or guest house, what procedures they have in place for guests with impaired hearing.
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