Victoria Hotel staff learn how to look after visually impaired guests

Recently the front of house staff of the Victoria Hotel in Torquay attended a course on sighted guiding.  The training was carried out by Karen Fisher, a low vision awareness trainer and rehabilitation officer Sean Ford, in preparation for the Torquay Conference and Reunion Visually Handicapped Club’s stay at TLH in May.

Karen organises the reunion at the Victoria hotel in Torquay every year, and she and Tina Priest (Front of House manager of the Victoria Hotel) agreed that this training would be beneficial, to help us go the extra mile in improving our customer service.

Elaine learns to guide Linda

Part of the training involved being blind-folded and led by a person acting as a guide, so that you could experience how it felt to live in the world of the visually impaired.  My experiences made me feel disoriented with a sense of no control over myself and surroundings. Traffic noises seemed louder, nearer and faster, inclines felt like hills. Elaine, a reception shift leader and who was on the course with me said that she felt like she was going to walk into things, because she had lost all perception of how near or far they were.

Not being aware of my immediate surroundings made me feel anxious and in constant anticipation of what was coming next. I was relieved when the guided walk was over. There was a lot more to this course than the guided walk, but this is what had the biggest impression on me.

The course in general has made me more aware of the needs of the visually impaired and I have a great deal of empathy and admiration for them. I am sure all of us who have undertaken the training have a much greater appreciation of their needs.

One of the highlights of this year’s reunion will be a pool match between TLH staff and club members – with staff wearing special glasses or blindfolds to simulate the same condition as their opponents – so this should provide a real challenge and a lot of fun I’m sure!

Linda Worth
Head Housekeeper, Victoria Hotel