When we think about our vacation and plan it, one of the most important steps is choosing accommodation. We are accustomed, and increasingly, to carrying out the search, reservation and planning ourselves, either through the hotel’s own website or through the reservation portals. This is a task that, at first glance, seems easy, but… what if we had visual or motor disabilities? Would we be able to make a reservation on the hotel pages? This is the question we have asked ourselves today and to discover its answer it is necessary to evaluate the level of accessibility that web portals have. To do this, we have chosen the main hotel chains worldwide.
After the evaluation, we can indicate that most hotel chains fail in web accessibility. Only one of the main ones in the world, it has partially compliant accessibility, with an average website score of 6.39, Senator. This chain, with roots in Garrucha (Almería), has more than 50 years of history and currently has 23 destinations in 43 hotels spread throughout the country and almost 10,000 rooms.
Marriott International
The most powerful portfolio in the sector with 30 brands and more than 8,000 hotels distributed in 139 countries around the world, it has an average website score of 5.72. The level of adequacy of this multi-hotel chain is not valid, nor is the situation of compliance with accessibility measures. The chain has its own accessibility declaration model while its cookies are correct.
NH Hotel Group
It has 358 hotels distributed in 31 countries around the world. It has a presence in Africa (Tunisia), the Middle East (Qatar), America and Europe. This chain offers a wide variety of hotels so you can enjoy a perfect stay, whatever your destination. However, their website also fails in accessibility. With an average score of 5.57, its level of adequacy is not valid, as is its compliance situation. The accessibility statement for this website is not available while its cookie policy is correct.
Meanwhile, the chain Accor Live is a French group in the travel and tourism sector that is present in more than 95 countries around the world. Specifically, it manages more than 4,200 hotels and some 600,000 rooms through different brands. Its website barely passes the mark in terms of average score with 5.08. The site does not have a valid adequacy level or compliance status. The website does not have an accessibility statement while its cookie policy is correct.
Best Hotels
It has an average website rating of 4.36. The compliance level is invalid while the compliance situation is non-compliant. The accessibility statement is invalid while its cookie policy does not respect preferences. This Spanish hotel chain, which began in 1994, currently manages 38 hotels (most of them 4 stars) spread throughout Spain, Andorra and the Dominican Republic. It offers more than 12,000 rooms in all its hospitality establishments.
Meliá Hotels International
It is the only one of the 20 largest international groups with a vacation origin and with the ideal size to combine exceptional hospitality with efficient management that is close to its stakeholders. The brand has more than 380 hotels in more than 40 countries and four continents. With a score of 4.13, its level of adequacy is not valid, nor is its compliance situation. The accessibility statement is not available while your cookie policy is correct for all visitors to your website.
RIU Hotels
It is a hotel chain that was born in 1953 with a small hotel in Playa de Palma. During its more than 60 years, they have expanded to over 100 hotels in a total of 19 countries around the world. The chain has an average score of 3.83 while its website does not respect the cookie policy preferences. Its level of adequacy is not valid nor is its compliance situation compliant.
Iberostar Hotels
It has more than 100 hotels in 16 countries in Europe, Africa and America to reach almost six million customers. It has not been possible to audit its website using the observatory’s analysis tool, so a manual review estimates a score of 3.5, taking into account some of the most obvious problems. It cannot be navigated with the keyboard, there are no images without alt, the headings are poorly placed with heading breaks and missing main headings, there are contrast problems, the forms do not have labels and, in addition, there is redundancy of links. This chain gets a score of 3.5. Their cookies do not respect preferences.
H10 Hotels
It is another large hotel chain that has many establishments around the world, mainly in Europe. This chain occupies the penultimate position in our particular ranking in terms of accessibility. With an average grade of 3.18, its level of adequacy or compliance status is not valid. Its accessibility declaration is also not valid. Your cookie policy is correct.
Barceló Hotels
It does not have a valid website as far as suitability is concerned. Its site has an average score of 3.08 while its compliance status is not valid. Its accessibility statement is not available and it does not respect cookie preferences. This chain offers modern urban hotels, resorts for the whole family and even diving. The chain has hotels in Europe (in Spain there are more than 88), Latin America and the Caribbean and in Africa and the Middle East.
Summary Table of Accessibility Level of Hotel Chains
| POSITION | PRODUCER/ MARKETER | LEVEL OF SUITABILITY | AVERAGE WEBSITE SCORE | COMPLIANCE SITUATION | ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT | COOKIE POLICY |
| 1 | Senator | Invalid | 6.39 | Partially compliant | Invalid | Correct |
| 2 | Marriot | Invalid | 5,.72 | Not compliant | Yes – own model | Correct |
| 3 | NH Hotel Group | Invalid | 5.57 | Not compliant | Not available | Correct |
| 4 | Accor Live | Invalid | 5.08 | Not compliant | Not available | Correct |
| 5 | Best Hotels | Invalid | 4.36 | Not compliant | Invalid | Does not respect preferences |
| 6 | Meliá | Invalid | 4.13 | Not compliant | Not available | Correct |
| 7 | RIU | Invalid | 3.83 | Not compliant | Not available | Does not respect preferences |
| 8 | Iberostar | Invalid | 3.5** | Not compliant | Not available | Does not respect preferences |
| 9 | H10 Hotels | Invalid | 3.18 | Not compliant | Invalid | Correct |
| 10 | Barceló | Invalid | 3.08 | Not compliant | Not available | Does not respect preferences |
With all this data, it is clear that the websites of the largest hotel chains around the world fail in terms of accessibility. Therefore, if you want you can count on our services. To do this, we encourage you to visit our website www.tuwebaccesible.es.
**It has not been possible to audit using the observatory’s analysis tool, so doing a manual review, we estimate a score of 3.5 – taking into account some of the most obvious problems:
- Cannot navigate with the keyboard
- There are images without alt
- Headers are misused, there are header breaks and missing main headers
- There are contrast problems
- Forms do not have labels
- There is redundancy of links
