Grow Your Business with Inclusive Marketing for Restaurants

Sharing a fantastic meal with friends and family should be an experience accessible to everyone. Here at Resy, we aim to showcase creative ways that leading restaurants and organizations are fostering respect and inclusivity for staff and guests with disabilities. 

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed more than 30 years ago, countless people still struggle when dining out. Cramped floor plans, lack of wheelchair ramps, and missing tactile or braille signs are just a few common issues that can make your restaurant lessaccessible. However, the potential for growth for businesses that embrace accessibility is undeniable: One in four Americans have some form of disability. By prioritizing inclusivity in your marketing, you can make your restaurant more welcoming for all. 

On the Ground Floor of Inclusive Marketing

Enjoying a meal out in New York City with her entire family is an experience that destination marketing expert Lakshmee Lachhman-Persad doesn’t take for granted. Her sister Annie has severe cerebral palsy, requiring a wheelchair and full-time caretaking from her mother, Pearly. Frustrated with the lack of information about accessible attractions and restaurants, Lachhman-Persad launched Accessible Travel NYC, a blog dedicated to getting around and exploring New York City with inclusivity in mind. 

“After spending 15 years marketing destinations across the United States to all kinds of visitors worldwide, I realized that there was just no marketing effort that was being inclusive to people with disabilities,” says Lachhman-Persad. “My family hadn’t had a lot of shared family outings or any type of vacation together, and that was my lifelong anguish.”

Three Ways to Incorporate Inclusive Marketing at Your Restaurant 

Making your marketing more inclusive doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are a few easy steps to get you started. 

1. Add Accessibility Information to Your Website 

One of the biggest challenges for Lachhman-Persad when planning outings for her family is finding information about accessibility at a location. Some venues don’t include relevant information on their websites, so she ends up spending a lot of time making time-consuming, often frustrating phone calls. “Having accessible information on a website solves a whole lot of issues of where to eat for people with disabilities when making choices.” 

When adding accessibility information to your website: 

Don’t: 

• Do the bare minimum. “You shouldn’t just say, ‘We’re compliant, come visit us.’ That doesn’t provide any helpful information to your audience.”
• Limit accessibility to one page on your site. “People with disabilities shouldn’t just be in your footer or on one page as an afterthought. We’re customers worth over $490 billion that want to be welcomed with digital information, physical access, and social access inclusion from your business so that we can make memories like everyone else.”

 Do: 

• Include photos. “Show your dining room with table types and any outdoor setup you have,” advises Lachhman-Persad.
• Mention what type of accessible restrooms you have, including grab bars and changing stations for families with small children.
• Encourage guests with disabilities to add relevant information to their reservation notes. “It’s very welcoming to add something to your website that says, ‘If you’re a person with disabilities and need reasonable accommodation, please add the information in your Resy reservation notes.’ If I saw that, I would say, ‘Wow, this restaurant is really thinking about me and my family, and this is somewhere we’d like to go.’” 

Pro tip: See how to edit information on your Resy.com page here.