Assignment 1: Identifying Unmet Needs

Submitted on

14th of October, 2022

by:

Jeanne, Luowenwen, Wayne

742727,743553,739348

Submitted to:

Dr. U. N. Umesh

New Products & Entrepreneurial Marketing

1

Table of contents

I- Area of interest and business idea —————————————————————- 2

II- Potential in Accessible Tourism —————————————————————— 3

III- Unmet needs in accessible tourism ————————————————————— 4

IV- References ——————————————————————————————- 7

2

I- Area of interest and business idea

We have selected the tourism industry but more particularly the accessible tourism area as our

area of interest. Accessible tourism is tourism dedicated to people having special needs and is

not yet developed enough. We believe disabled people should be able to enjoy the tourism

industry, no matter if they are able to walk or not, to see or not or to hear or not.

We would like to create an online platform in the form of a website in California, USA, that

gives users access to places with accessibility features. Due to California's population of more

than 6 million disabled adults, we believe it is the best location for us to develop this project

(CDC, 2022).

Our headquarters would be in California due to its high rate of mobility and we would like to

concentrate on a particular city with significant demand before expanding. We aim to serve as

the link between disabled customers and businesses given the fact there is a huge gap that needs

to be filled.

Due to our conviction that persons with any physical limitations should have greater access to

information, we made the decision to design this whole new concept.

What exactly is it about? Our main objective is to give consumers who are concerned about

impairment access to clear information so they can verify any infrastructures imposed by the

destinations. It does not only apply to hotel facilities, but also to catering, transportation, and

excursions disabled people would like to participate in.

We provide a website platform where customers can directly access information that has been

updated by businesses and locations regarding the degree of accessibility accommodations they

have. The business owner only needs to pay a fee to register on our website, and after that, we

would have an automated system that would authenticate their registration and only require

them to supply the required paperwork. It is done in order to verify the veracity of the

information they share on our site.

Customers simply need to tap once on their phone to gain immediate access to the provided

information. It would be convenient for them since they do not have to browse for places that

might be capable of accommodating them (or not). Additionally, this would lessen information

communication errors brought on by conflicting contact information.

3

People now have the ability to communicate nationally and globally, which was previously

impossible, via the internet. The advancement of the internet and the development of

technology have provided countless opportunities for communication among persons with

impairments. Utilizing the advantages provided by the internet such as placing online orders

for goods and services to have everything delivered right to their door or participating in

excursions that are mobility-friendly is a smart way to make things move. The services can be

given with just a tap on their devices. Even if a person lacks the physical capacity to locate the

information, they can still do so through our website.

We would develop a powerful marketing strategy to convince the companies interest in

working with us to better attract the public’s attention. Releasing explicit information to spread

awareness and keeping up with social media activity is a good way to attract customers.

Moreover, we also want to work with other platforms that are attempting to strengthen the

arguments for this community. There are certain platforms that are introducing vacation

packages for those with physical disabilities but this is an opportunity for us to provide a wider

variety of choices from which to select.

II- Potential in Accessible Tourism

In today’s world, disabled people are either confirming through contact with the establishments

or simply trying their luck to see if they can be accommodated; there are no dedicated platforms

that are focusing on boosting information collection to give ease to this population.

"More than 1 billion individuals live with a disability worldwide" (Who, 2021). It makes up

15% of the world's population, 3.8% of which have functional difficulties, necessitating the

provision of supplementary care services (Who, 2021).

In fact, people with disabilities have made the decision to travel less, primarily because of the

poor services they received but also because they had to double-check every place they go to

make sure the facilities are fully functional. At some point, it is too much effort for, most of

the time, negative outcomes. In fact, a study shows that seven out of ten respondents with

impairments said they travel less frequently every day because of their constraints (Bts, 2022).

4

Regarding California’s population, 6.7 million Californians, or 1 in 4 of the state's adult

population, are disabled, making up 23% of the adult population (CDC, 2022). It is therefore a

market where solutions may be more than needed and useful for disabled people.

The market's depreciation has, however, decreased the flow of reliable information, prompting

customers to take extra precautions to make sure that offers are consistent with the facilities

they require. This element affects a visitor's perception of their entire trip. Explaining the

facilities and the number of guests they can hold in detail is the simplest way to allay client

anxieties. The destinations face difficulties due to the demand for more professional help in

this area. We specifically intervene in this situation to satisfy the needs of the client. Disability

discrimination disturbs people since it subjects them to unfair treatment as a result of our

society's ignorance.

III- Unmet needs in accessible tourism

Disabled people face challenging situations on a daily basis because of their physical condition.

The number of problems they are facing is infinite but can be regrouped into different

categories. First of all, transportation is not easy for them given the fact that it is not always

adapted for people with special needs. Let’s take a pretty simple example. In Paris, a historical

city and capital of France, metro stations are decades old and were built with stairs given the

fact elevators did not exist. Today, it is impossible to place elevators in those kinds of stations

because of the way the metro station has been built at first. Walls cannot be demolished or the

whole metro station will be destroyed.

Moreover, they can face accessibility issues in many places such as hotels, restaurants or any

touristic places.

Concerning the hotel industry, disabled people have special requirements that are often ignored

by persons that have never faced this kind of challenge. By this fact, when it comes for example

to hotels, they receive poor service because of this lack of knowledge from the employees. It

is therefore easy to conclude that hotel employees are not trained adequately which fosters

severe prejudice against people with disabilities (Who,2021).

5

To go further, a study from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows that 7 out of 10

participants with disabilities travel less frequently every day because of their condition (Bts,

2022). It is confirmed by a study from NHTS that emphasises the fact that 34.1% of people

with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64 do not travel daily (Gov, 2018). It is reliable

given the fact that some hotels are not accessible enough. In other words, some hotels in

California do not respect the ADA standards, standing for The Americans with Disabilities

Act. It has been established in order to make sure every type of customer can access the

property, whatever their physical conditions to avoid any kind of discrimination.

Accessible rooms are also impacted by the usual demand and supply relationship in economics.

In fact, accessible rooms in hotels are really limited and therefore are proposed at a higher price

which is completely unfair for disabled customers that only want to travel as everyone does.

At the cost of their disability, they need to spend more money than a regular customer for a

service quality that is most of the time inferior than the one received by normal guests.

To better illustrate the previous discussion, we would like to share a lawcase regarding the

breach of the ADA standards from a hotel. A disabled person wanted to go on a trip and

therefore booked a room that was mentioned as “accessible” on the hotel’s website. The

customer called the hotel to confirm that the room is indeed accessible but also that the room

is available for her stay dates. The hotel clearly confirmed all those information but once the

customer reached the hotel, the property was not able to offer them an available room. If it was

with a regular customer, the employees could have found another room but, in this case, the

guest was not even able to stay at the hotel because of her physical condition. This is a perfect

example of unmet needs within the hotel industry towards disabled persons (EIN News, 2019).

Finally, disabled people also like to travel around the world as they are not different in this

aspect and would like to live some experiences as everyone does like going up the mountains

or visiting a winery just to illustrate it. Let's use the example of a customer who wants to take

a boat trip to demonstrate earlier assertions. A person without any disabilities will have no

trouble accessing the boat, but what about someone with a disability? Consider that if the

disabled person requires a wheelchair, it would be impossible for them to enter the boat without

assistance. As a result, a disabled individual won't consider getting into a boat because he

already knows it will be problematic.

6

From a more general perspective, disabled people must conduct thorough research to ensure

that the establishment is accessible. This set of people will not visit if the website does not

provide enough information or the amenities are not up to par. This is applicable to any tourism

industry nowadays and this lack of information is clearly discrimination towards disabled

people that never asked for anything else than visiting places that actually meet their physical

needs.

Moreover, disabled people are facing emotional stress and social isolation because of their

limited capacity to go outside and enjoy life as a person without a disability can. This is due to

the lack of accessibility in California in an infinite number of places. Melina Karp, Vice

President of Consumer Centered Quality at Commonwealth Care Alliance says: “When a

person’s disability includes a mobility impairment, one issue that can arise is increased physical

and social isolation. As opportunities for social engagement get smaller and smaller based on

an individual’s ability to navigate their physical surroundings, depression and anxiety can also

develop” (Seervai, S., Shah, A., & Shah, T. ,2019). Therefore, there is a real need to move

things in order for disabled people to reduce stress related to their physical condition and

increase their mental well-being.

A physical need is an important preoccupation today in California that needs to be changed as

quickly as possible. Disabled people have the right to live a normal life and to be able to enjoy

travel experiences without being worried whether their physical condition allows them to

access this place or not.

7

IV- References

A. Okoro, C. (2018). Prevalence of Disabilities and Health Care Access by Disability Status

and Type Among Adults — United States, 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2022, from

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html

Bts. (2022). Travel Patterns of American Adults with Disabilities | Bureau of Transportation

Statistics. Retrieved 11 October 2022, from https://www.bts.gov/travel-patterns-with-

disabilities

Disability and health. (2021). Retrieved 11 October 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-

room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health

Disabled People in the World: Facts and Figures. (2021). Retrieved 11 October 2022, from

https://www.inclusivecitymaker.com/disabled-people-in-the-world-in-2021-facts-and-

figures/

EIN News. (2019). Retrieved 11 October 2022, from

https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/495508829/dannlaw-files-lawsuit-alleging-homewood-

suites-by-hilton-mahwah-and-hilton-worldwide-repeatedly-violated-the-ada

Gov. (2018). Travel Patterns of American Adults with Disabilities | Bureau of Transportation

Statistics. Retrieved 11 October 2022, from https://www.bts.gov/travel-patterns-with-

disabilities

Seervai, S., Shah, A., & Shah, T. (2019). The Challenges of Living with a Disability in

America, and How Serious Illness Can Add to Them. Retrieved 12 October 2022, from

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2019/apr/challenges-living-

disability-america-and-how-serious-illness-can

Assignment 2: Generating Products to Meet the Unmet Needs

Submitted on

30th of October, 2022

by:

Jeanne de Virieu, Luo Wenwen, Wint War War Phoo (Wayne)

742727,743553,739348

Submitted to:

Dr. U. N. Umesh

New Products & Entrepreneurial Marketing

1

Table of contents

I- Unmet customers’ needs and our solution ………………………………………………………………. 2

A- Disabled people and social isolation ……………………………………………………………….. 2

B- Lack of information about accessible features………………………………………………….. 2

C- Reliability of the information provided …………………………………………………………… 3

D- Time-consuming research ……………………………………………………………………………… 3

E- Poor service quality………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

I- Ideas that could solve those unmet needs ……………………………………………………………….. 4

II- Refine the concept……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6

A- No criticisms, no negatives ……………………………………………………………………………. 6

B- Resist becoming committed to one idea ………………………………………………………….. 6

C- Identify the most promising ideas …………………………………………………………………… 6

D- Refine and prioritize …………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

III- The final service and the market ……………………………………………………………………………. 7

A- The final product ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7

B- The market ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8

C- Rivalry………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8

IV- References ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

2

I- Unmet customers’ needs and our solution

A- Disabled people and social isolation

Due to their limited ability to go outside and enjoy life as a person without a condition can,

people with disabilities often experience emotional stress and social isolation. This is a result

of California's general lack of accessibility in countless locations. Melina Karp, Vice President

of Consumer Centered Quality at Commonwealth Care Alliance says: “When a person’s

disability includes a mobility impairment, one issue that can arise is increased physical and

social isolation. As opportunities for social engagement get smaller and smaller based on an

individual’s ability to navigate their physical surroundings, depression and anxiety can also

develop” (Seervai, S., Shah, A., & Shah, T. ,2019). In order for people with disabilities to

lessen the stress associated with their physical state and improve their emotional well-being,

there is a real need to make changes.

This is a highly important unmet need that needs to be solved and this is why with our new

concept, we give the opportunity to disabled people to share experiences with people that face

the same daily challenges. We want to create a community through this website by reuniting

them together to do not feel lonely anymore. For example, on our platform, customers will

have the possibility to go on group tours even if they are travelling alone. In this situation, they

will only be with people they do not know and might create strong relationships thanks to that.

B- Lack of information about accessible features

In the tourism industry, there is in general an important lack of information about accessibility

in different places that includes hotel facilities, transportation, tours, parks or restaurants.

This is a highly important unmet need that needs to be solved and this is why we want to give

access to people, with impairment problems, to clear information regarding the infrastructures

imposed by the destinations.

At the same time, on our platform, the different information provided on the website is updated

frequently by businesses regarding the degree of accessible features they have. It is useful given

the fact that sometimes the business might be doing some construction work and therefore it

might not be accessible for a certain period of time. It will be accordingly updated on our

website.

3

C- Reliability of the information provided

There are still too many situations where disabled people have to double-check the place’s

accessibility by sending a mail or by making a phone call to make sure they can be welcome

there. This is mainly due to the poor reliability of the information provided on businesses’

websites. Information communication errors happen as we have seen in a law case opposing a

disabled customer to a big chain hotel. To sum

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