Browse through our blog posts to find out what life is like at Hoe Grange Holidays along with some great ideas for days out in the Peak District.
Welcome to our blog post about Purple Tuesday, a global movement focused on making life better for people with disabilities. This year we lit up our log cabin in purple to show our support!
At Hoe Grange Holidays, we're dedicated to being as inclusive as possible, especially in our accessible log cabins. Join us as we explore the impact of Purple Tuesday and our pledge to make everyone feel welcome.
Purple Tuesday is a global social movement which aims to improve the customer experience for disabled people and their families, not just today, but everyday.
In 2023 the focus is on supporting organisations of all sizes from all sectors with the common goal of improving the customer experience for disabled people 365 days a year.
It’s all about taking positive, practical actions to meet the needs of disabled customers, to ensure they have the best possible experience.
Each participating organisation makes a minimum of one commitment to change practice that will lead to greater accessibility and enhance the disabled customer experience.
Each year these commitments are recognised as part of a global disabled customer celebration day, the first Tuesday in November. Commitments vary depending on where an organisation is along the accessible and inclusion journey.
Get involved on social media using #PurpleTuesday #MovementMoving and follow on Facebook and Instagram @PurpleTuesNov
Each year the celebratory day gets bigger and in 2022 it reached over 23 million people in 5 countries; there were over 7,000 Commitments made to improve accessibility globally!
Last year the commitments increasingly reflected the needs of people on the neurodivergent spectrum; those with mental health conditions; long term health conditions; and those with Cancer. Alongside the more traditional changes to practice in previous years which focused on improving physical access.
#PurpleTuesday is part of founder Mike Adams' vision for organisations to see disability as an opportunity.
The objective is to raise awareness, help develop an understanding of disabled customers’ needs and desires and help organisations put in place practical solutions for greater accessibility.
Receiving a poor customer experience gives an overriding sense of not being wanted, cared about or valued.
At Hoe Grange Holidays we have always actively embraced this idea and tried to be as inclusive as possible. We pride ourselves on offering excellent customer service with a warm welcome for everyone who stays in our accessible log cabins or gorgeous glamping pods. #DisabilityInclusion
Research undertaken reveals that poor customer service and a lack of staff understanding are key barriers preventing disabled consumers purchasing goods and services.
The research highlights the necessity for businesses and organisations to rethink how they target disabled consumers and their families, whose spending power – the so-called Purple Pound in the UK is estimated to be £274 billion per annum. The power of the Purple Pound is increasing by an average of 14% per annum.
Worldwide over one billion people have some form of disability; that's one in seven and equates to a staggering £2.25 trillion!!
At Hoe Grange, having done our initial market research when setting up our business, we recognised the economic value of accessible tourism from the start of our journey in 2005. It's hard to believe that less than 10% of businesses have a targeted plan to provide products and services to this huge sector of the market – it is a much-missed opportunity!
We have found that providing quality accessible facilities combined with excellent customer service is a winning combination!
Purple Tuesday aims to address the inequality that exists for disabled people by improving accessibility wherever possible.
For the fifth year running Mike Adams OBE has organised for the Piccadilly Lights to shine bright Purple for all to see to raise awareness and encourage businesses and individuals alike to get involved.
Having supported Purple Tuesday from the start we are delighted that Mike Adams appreciates our ethos of welcoming all and says we "really have gone above and beyond to meet the needs of your disabled customers". Hoe Grange Holidays has also been used as one of their case studies.
It's a big thumbs up from team Hoe Grange in support of Purple Tuesday!
Purple Tuesday works for disabled customers, staff and makes commercial and social sense.
It's a day of celebration, but the impact is about long-term changes to improve the customer experience. We know from experience that small changes can make a significant positive difference. Changes don’t depend on whether they were planned last month, today or in the coming weeks, but ultimately lead to a more positive outcome for everyone. It doesn't always mean making huge or expensive changes, little things can make a big difference.
The good news is as part of Purple Tuesday more than 2,000 UK businesses have pledged to make more than 3,500 long-term changes for better customer experiences. Changes that will be carried out over the next 365 days.
At Hoe Grange we are a proud supporter of Purple Tuesday and have committed to do our bit alongside other organisations both large and small. We are always striving to improving customer experience for disabled people, (and everyone else too!) 365 days a year.
You can find out more about our Accessible Holidays and Accessible Activities in the Derbyshire Peak District.
At Hoe Grange we continue to pledge to:
Our staff undertook the Purple Customer Service Training online and now have a much better understanding of the needs of disabled guests and how we can improve our customer service.
We found the training inspiring and extremely useful, giving staff the confidence to communicate with our disabled guests without fear of unintentionally offending them. We can thoroughly recommend businesses to take advantage of Mike's training.
This year we have added an extra pledge focusing on broader disabilities and removing barriers:
Find out how you as an individual or as an organisation can get involved in Purple Tuesday - it's not too late!
If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve our accessibility we would love to hear from you.
Felicity