Travel Daily News: Roiback develops the first accessible booking engine in Europe

Roiback, company based in Palma de Mallorca and specialist and leader in the management of hotel direct sales, has developed the first accessible booking engine in Europe. The engine, which was recently awarded as the best solution for hotels in Europe at the World Travel Awards 2019 -the most important awards in the international tourism sector- improves the user experience of people with any physical, visual or hearing disability, and incorporates multiple functionalities that allow to increase hotels’ profitability.

The engine, which has the AA level established in the 139803:2012 UNE standard that compiles the international accessibility rules for Web Content 2.0, is the consolidation of Roiback's firm commitment to innovation and technology adapted to all population sectors. In fact, according to the Spanish Statistical Office, there are about 4 million people in Spain who demand accessible services and environments and, therefore, the company, in its commitment to constant evolution and social inclusion, has worked on a tech solution that offers the same experience to all users, independent of their situation.

"At Roiback we understand Corporate Social Responsibility as the aspiration to business excellence, within a framework of inclusive and sustainable development, and aimed at creating value for society, especially towards people with disabilities," explained Rebeca Gonzalez, Managing Director of Roiback. "We are very proud to have been able to work on this project together with the hotel chain Ilunion, and we are looking forward that our other customers may benefit from the improvements offered by our booking engine."

In fact, the engine was audited by Ilunion Technology and Accessibility and was launched to the market together with Ilunion, but now is also available for other hotels that benefit from Roiback’s booking engine.

The accessible version of Backhotel 5.0 booking engine offers new facilities, including keyboard navigation through all reservation steps, by focus implementation during the entire booking process. The engine has been adapted to be compatible with support products for visually impaired people, such as screen readers. Fonts of different sizes, colors and backgrounds have been also added so that anyone with visual loss can adjust it with zoom tools or high contrasts on Windows. In addition, the design has been adapted in order to provide a clear and organized data structure and reservation form that always helps the user to follow the process.

The project developed by Roiback, contemplates a universal accessibility, taking into account the different types of disabilities suffered among the population, such as physical muscular or motor problems; auditory or visual sensory problems, either with visual loss or total blindness, as well as intellectual and cognitive difficulties such as dyslexia, Down syndrome or autism, among others.

Commitment to corporate social responsibility

In line with its corporate social responsibility, Roiback works to offer accessible tech solutions for population sectors that also allow to increase the results of its clients. The company develops leading products and solutions based on the needs they detect in the sector, and that allows the tourist sector to improve its services for the final customer.

The company has added, in relation to its social commitment, that is working to reduce its impact on the environment as much as possible, through energy, paper and water savings in the company, and that it also actively promoting, among its employees, the participation in volunteering activities as well as NGOs, that protect the environment and help people at risk of social exclusion.