Scandic Hotel

Awareness training at Scandic Hotel (Hamburg) and talk at Netzwerk Alternsforschung (Heidelberg)

grauwert has delivered special training for the staff of hotel chain Scandic in Hamburg. The intention was to give members of staff at all levels a clear idea of the dimensions of “Scandic’s Accessibilty Standard”, using practical examples to create a greater sensitivity towards the needs of guests. The grauwert-simulation suit played an important part in workshops and events, as it enabled grauwert to successfully demonstrate a range of individual restrictions and needs, and point out potential improvements. The suit has a high-quality design, giving test persons a new body perception in an easy, user-friendly way. Participants were impressed to experience their hotel with visual, hearing or mobility restrictions.

In addition to these practical activities, grauwert also engages in the discourse on the subject of simulation suits. At the beginning of the year Mathias Knigge accepted an invitation from the Netzwerk Alternsforschung (Network Aging Research, NAR), giving a talk on the “Dimensions, Potentials and Limits of Increasing Awareness through Simulation Suits”. The conference “Age Simu- lation in Theory and Practice” took place at the Internationales Wissenschaftsforum Heidelberg. The key message was that simulation suits are a good choice as they help to convince decision makers as well as members of staff. However it is important that they don’t come across as improvised or low-quality, if Design for All is to be recognised by participants as an attractive and sensible option.