Karisma Hotels & Resorts Gain Autism Certification
Karisma Hotels & Resorts and Autism Double-Checked (ADC) have announced that most of the properties of the Mexico-based hotel corporate are certified as Autism Ready, serving the autistic community that in the United States alone comprises about 25 million people.
The leading online autism training company for the hotel industry stated that eight group resorts located in the Mexican Caribbean completed the most intensive phase of training which is phase two for Autism Guest Assistance, while the recently opened Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Riviera Maya, completed the first phase of the Autism Aware program and hopes to achieve the second phase by the end of this year.
The hotel group, with properties in Mexico, Jamaica, and Montenegro, will take its efforts even further in 2022, by developing a visitor guide for each resort that will include information exclusively designed for the autism community to successfully plan their trips.
“Karisma has a great commitment to responsibility as we have established in the sustainability policy of our company, where inclusion and acceptance of differences directly contribute to the goal of sustainable development,” said Daniel Lozano, Vice President of Operations of the hotel chain, who added that “we constantly work to exceed the expectations of our guests adapting to their needs to make them feel at home.”
Staff interacting with the public at Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Cancun, Azul Beach Resort Riviera Maya, Generations Riviera Maya, El Dorado Royale, El Dorado Casitas Royale, El Dorado Seaside Suites, El Dorado Maroma, and Palafitos Overwaters Bungalows completed the necessary training to be certified as Autism Ready.
“Inclusion is only possible if you understand the population you want to include,” said ADC Co-Founder and CEO Alan Day. “Specialized training is needed to understand autism in general and the difficulties of travel with autism in particular. Karisma Hotels & Resorts is committed to carrying out this training, especially when faced with all the challenges of the COVID pandemic and the subsequent recovery,” he emphasized.
The online training offered by Autism Double Checked is in English and Spanish and is accessible 24 hours a day to suit working hours. Trained hotel staff say they are enriched by the knowledge they have gained to offer an extra level of service to travelers with special needs who are currently eager to travel and are loyal to businesses that understand their needs.
“The work they are doing is very important. Traveling with our children may be difficult, but it is not impossible. Some of our requests may sound strange to people who don’t understand autism, but they’re perfectly normal to people who do know a little about it. Your training will help travel. More people with basic knowledge about autism will make traveling easier and we could travel more often.”