Self-service kiosks are now a staple in many restaurants, hotels, and hospitality venues — from quick-serve food ordering stations to grab-and-go kiosks in hotel lobbies. While these technologies improve efficiency, they can also create barriers for people with disabilities if they aren’t designed with accessibility in mind.
From touchscreens that lack speech output to poorly placed payment terminals, inaccessible kiosks frustrate guests and exclude potential customers. Before installing self-service kiosks, businesses need to be aware of ADA compliance and prioritize accessibility to create usable and compliant experiences for their customers. However, many restaurants and hospitality venues are falling short.
According to a recent TPGi survey, 58% of blind and low-vision respondents have had a negative experience at a restaurant because of their disability. Many cited inaccessible digital kiosks and payment systems as a major barrier to ordering food independently.
This highlights a critical gap in accessibility and a growing need for restaurants to implement more inclusive solutions. With this in mind, here are five essential tips to ensure your restaurant or hospitality kiosks are both usable and accessible for everyone.
#1: Ensure Food and Hospitality Kiosks Are Physically Accessible for ADA Compliance
Make Physical Access Easy for All Guests — in Restaurants and Hotels
Whether it’s a fast-food kiosk at a QSR or a check-in kiosk in a hotel lobby, physical accessibility is essential for all users. Fixed-position kiosks should be easy for everyone to reach and operate, including wheelchair users, people with mobility restrictions, and those of shorter stature.
To make self-service kiosks physically accessible:
- Follow ADA-compliant height requirements for kiosk touch screens (typically between 15 and 48 inches above the floor).
- Use adjustable or tilting screens so guests can set the display at a comfortable angle.
- Provide ample clearance space (at least 30 by 48 inches) to accommodate wheelchair users.
- Offer alternatives to touchscreen inputs, such as keypads, buttons, or voice commands.
- Make sure that controls can be operated without demanding great strength or dexterity.
- Design key interactions so they don’t require excess physical effort to complete – minimize the number of keypresses needed and provide appropriate input methods when users need to enter information.
JAWS for Kiosk complements these physical accessibility features by enabling guests who are blind or have low vision to use self-service kiosks independently via speech output and tactile navigation.
When paired with compatible devices like Storm Interface keypads, JAWS for Kiosk allows users to connect headphones and receive step-by-step audio instructions, without relying on touchscreen input.
Some fast-food self-ordering kiosks in quick-service restaurants (QSRs) have introduced height-adjustable kiosks and integrated solutions like JAWS for Kiosk, improving accessibility and enhancing customer satisfaction.
This video demonstrates an accessible user experience on a self-ordering kiosk at a QSR.
#2: Provide Screen Reader Audio Support
Make Digital Interfaces Usable for Blind and Low-Vision Customers
Without careful attention, kiosk design can make it difficult or impossible for people who are blind or have low vision. To ensure that it’s possible to use a kiosk without relying on vision:
- Incorporate text-to-speech (TTS) functionality so users can navigate through screens, listen to content, and enter information when needed.
- Follow inclusive design best practices for screen content so that it makes sense when read out by a screen reader.
- Implement tactile keypads and Braille labeling for physical controls.
- Include high-contrast modes and resizable text to assist low-vision users.
Many hospitality providers now incorporate screen readers into their kiosks to meet accessibility requirements and improve usability.
To support private and independent use, many modern kiosks are designed with headphone ports and voice-guided navigation. These features also help organizations meet compliance with regulations such as the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and ADA.
Solutions like JAWS for Kiosk further support this effort by enabling real-time audio guidance tailored to each kiosk’s interface. This helps users complete key tasks like check-in or ordering without visual input.
#3: Ensure Accessibility for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Customers
Include Visual Cues and Text-Based Communication
For customers who are deaf or hard of hearing, audio-based prompts, such as spoken payment confirmations or order readiness notifications, can be inaccessible. To improve accessibility:
- Use visual indicators for order confirmation, payment completion, and wait times.
- Provide captions for all audio content, including instructional videos or advertisements.
- Offer live text-based chat support for guests with questions.
- Use visual alerts or haptic feedback to confirm actions. Flashing lights can also cause accessibility challenges, like triggering seizures.
Many hospitality businesses now integrate Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) solutions, allowing guests to communicate with staff through on-demand sign language interpreters. For example, Aira.io offers a real-time ASL interpreting app, which enhances accessibility in restaurants and hotels.
#4: Conduct Usability Testing with People with Disabilities
Ensuring kiosk accessibility means removing barriers so that every guest, regardless of ability, can effortlessly engage with your services. However, meeting accessibility standards alone is not enough.
You’ll want to conduct usability testing to ensure that your kiosks are functional and intuitive for real users while also complying with accessibility guidelines.
Conducting usability tests with people with disabilities focuses on understanding how well kiosks support users’ completing tasks independently and efficiently. This helps identify pain points that need to be fixed and verifies that accessible design efforts help ensure the technology provides a seamless experience for all guests.
While operational return on investment (ROI) and technical support are core strengths for many kiosk providers, accessibility must also be intentionally addressed. Vendors that layer accessibility into these support models — through assistive technology compatibility, inclusive UX design, and training — ensure their platforms are usable for all customers.
For example, providers like Grubbrr offer weekly analytics reviews and hands-on operator support to improve menu layouts, service flow, and training. While not explicitly focused on accessibility, these continuous feedback loops can support usability improvements when accessibility is part of the implementation strategy.
Accessibility Enhances the Guest Experience for Everyone
Accessible kiosks not only benefit people with disabilities but also enhance operational efficiency. According to kiosk provider imageHOLDERS, “Hotel kiosks ensure customers are always able to check in or out with ease, and pay outstanding bills quickly and easily.”
Self-service kiosks designed with accessibility and usability in mind benefit people with disabilities and many others, including parents with strollers, older adults, people who are tired, stressed, or anxious, and international travelers who may have English as a second language.
By following these five accessibility tips, restaurants and hospitality businesses can expand their customer base, improve satisfaction, and retain loyal customers, while supporting compliance laws like the ADA.
In fact, 92% of blind and low-vision customers said they would be likely to return to a restaurant that provides an accessible customer experience.
Ready to improve the accessibility of your self-service kiosks? Partner with TPGi’s accessibility experts to evaluate your current kiosk setup and identify practical ways to create a more accessible guest experience using JAWS for Kiosk. Get a kiosk accessibility assessment today.
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