Europe For All

Venue Assessments

The main function of Europeforall.com is to help travellers who need accessibility information to plan their holiday or business trip more easily and with confidence.

The EfA database contains the results of individual assessments of venue accessibility based on standard questions and checklists. The check-points have been carefully selected by user representatives and experts to provide essential accessibility information for people with all types of accessibility requirements.

What is ‘Venue Assessment Level’?

Every EfA venue is assigned a Venue Assessment Level, as follows:

• “No Level”, Incomplete Assessment, is the lowest level of accessibility assessment. It means EITHER that no accessibility information is available OR that answers to some ‘self-assessed’ questions may be missing.
• ”Level 1”, Self-assessment, means that the venue’s accessibility has been self-assessed by the venue owner or manager, and all check-points contained in the standard EfA self-assessment questionnaire have been answered.
• ”Level 2”, Access Audit, means that the venue’s accessibility has been fully assessed during an on-site visit by an EfA Access Auditor who works under the authority of EfA. The Level 2 checkpoints provide a more detailed analysis of the access features and services of a venue than Level 1.
• ”Level 3”, Proprietary Scheme, means that venue accessibility data has been gathered during an on-site audit by a third-party organisation which has an agreement with EfA to display all or part of its information on the EfA site.

The assessment procedures are described in more detail, below.

No Level - Incomplete Assessment

No Level - Incomplete assessment is the lowest level of accessibility assessment. It means EITHER that no accessibility information is available OR that answers to some ‘self-assessed’ questions may be missing. For example, a venue owner may not have completed the “measurements” section of the EfA self-assessment questionnaire. The accessibility data which is displayed is, however, compliant with the EfA Level 1 assessment procedure.

Level 1 - Self-assessment

Level 1 - Self-assessment provides an ”entry-level” accessibility assessment procedure for those venue owners or managers who wish to register their establishment with Europeforall.com. The number and type of questions is fixed, according to the venue type. Most questions have ”closed” answers, which require the venue owner or manager to select the appropriate response from two or more fixed alternatives. In some cases the respondent may reply ”not applicable”. A few simple measurements are also required, such as the minimum width of a door opening.

View sampleLevel 1 Assessment Questionnaire for Hotels

EfA Level 1 Photo Guide

Level 1 assessment also includes an option for the venue owner or manager to upload photos to the database. To help the venue owner or manager to take suitable photos, theEfA Photo Guide is provided. This document may be downloaded or consulted on-line.

EfA level 1 Measurement Guide

To help the owner take accurate measurements for the venue self-assessment, theEfA Measurement Guide is provided. This document may be downloaded or consulted on-line.

Level 2 - Access Audit

Level 2 - Access Audit is the EfA assessment procedure used by independent auditors on site visits. In this procedure all public areas of the venue or establishment are measured, described and assessed, using appropriate checklists for each part of the venue. Level 2 audit questions cover a wider range of information than the self-assessments, and the checklists also include a greater number of measurements.

For Private Operators of multiple venues, as well as Cities, Regions or Countries which do not currently operate an Accessible Tourism Information Scheme, EfA Level 2 provides a comprehensive approach with training procedures, accessibility checklists and database tools for establishing and managing such a scheme. For further information about the implementation of EfA Level 2 assessment for venues in your area or under your management, please Contact EfA.

Level 3 - Proprietary Scheme

Level 3 - Proprietary Scheme means that venue accessibility data has been gathered during an on-site audit by a third-party organisation which has an agreement with EfA to display all or part of its information on the EfA site.

Level 3 audits may be carried out, for example, by hotel chains or by city, regional or national access schemes.

A Level 3 Proprietary Scheme may contain more or less detailed information than is gathered by EfA Level 2 checklists. The Level 3 data supplier’s name and a link to the independent on-line source data are provided, where this is possible.

The current list of Level 3 proprietary suppliers to EfA is shown below:

• Accescity, Belgium, Belgium Wallonia and Brussels
• Accessible Flanders, Belgium Flanders
• Danish Accessibility Label, Denmark