The manager said it’s not her problem, but it is her problem. She has able-bodied people in her hotel using an accessible room that someone needs. Upon booking the room they need to be checking if each person has a disability. If they don’t have one, they should be moved into another room. This needs to become the norm.
I work for a charity that supports people with accessibility requirements. I will admit that until I started working for the charity my knowledge in accessibility was minimal. I’m no expert now but have learnt about the variety of accessibility needs. If I travel for work I often see friends and colleagues facing similar issues. The biggest issue I’ve noticed is the refusal of hotel staff to hold their hands up and say ‘we messed up’. Hotel’s are typically run by groups. If they manage one, they often have multiple franchises that they are connected to. I think the staff saying ‘I apologise, we messed up but there is a great hotel down the street with an accessible room available that I can arrange for you to have at no expense to yourself’ Amazing channel. I’ll be sharing your content anytime I am giving a presentation. Brilliant work!
I would call the booking agent that was used and get them to find a new room somewhere else with no extra cost. They messed up the booking by not making sure it was accessible
I think a bunch of the comments are missing the point. He was told when booking they'd have an accessible room for him, and then failed to put that on his file. That's the hotel messing up. If there wasn't an accessible room they could have said so.
Hotels are not going to have rooms empty unnecessarily during busy periods as unfortunately we are in a make or break economy and times are tough! That being said, as he stipulated at the time of booking his requirement, there was no excuse for the Hotel to take the reservation without blocking out the room entirely at that point to ensure availability for the dates required, It is very upsetting and frustrating when anyone gets different to what they booked especially when it so specific and essential.
Thank you so much for your honest video! I'm a wheelchair user and travel to London UK a lot, i now stay at the same hotel - meets my accessible needs so well - but sometimes it'd be nice to try somewhere else for a change ~ although the fear of this happening has stopped that thought going any further 🤣 and communication is so dang important too...i email for pics and if they say they have none, that's fine as my business will go elsewhere. They should have had the decency to contact you to say there was no availability. It isn't hard!!
I don't understand why, they had to email the person who had booked the disabled room. If the hadn't specifically, asked for a disabled room, why not just swap the booking around?
I would also understand if, when the hotel is fully booked and somebody needs a room for a long period, they tell the customer that they will get an accessible room up to when another non-accessible room is free, and then they would need to change, is that crazy?
There may be something I’m misunderstanding about the booking system. When I book a hotel, I do it directly through the hotel, either online or by phone with Reservations. I can either see or be told what my available options are. If the accessible rooms have been booked, I can either see that or be told that. Regardless, the General Manager’s response is unacceptable, even if there’s nothing they can do.
1:40 I'm really hoping you just misspoke, but only a small percentage of people who need an accessible room are wheelchair users. It came across like you were gate keeping disability and people not being disabled 'enough', which I wouldn't expect from a disabled person. Like I say I'm just hoping you just misspoke and that's not what you meant. It reminded me of people who think you can't need to use an accessible toilet because you're not a wheelchair user.
Just to clarify, hotels aren’t going to turn away abled bodied guests just because all they have left are accessible rooms. We pre-allocate accessible rooms on the day the bookings are made so we don’t overbook accessible rooms. On the day of arrival, we allocate all other arrivals to non accessible rooms first, and only allocate the accessible rooms once no standard rooms are left. That way, the last room available is always an accessible room, and it can be occupied by anyone. There may be (and are) many nights where no requests for accessible rooms are made, snd we aren’t going to close out the hotel online, leave our 12 accessible rooms empty and turn away able bodied guests just in case 12 accessible rooms are required last-minute. Accessible rooms are not like disabled parking spots in that way. If as you say, 20% of people have a disability, and all hotels had 20% of their rooms with easy access, they aren’t going to stop selling at 80% capacity every night and hold the other 20% “just in case” the last 20% require easy access rooms.
My thoughts exactly! Unfortunately we are in a make or break economy! That being said as he stipulated at time of booking his requirement there was no excuse for the Hotel to take the reservation without blocking out the room entirely at that point to ensure availability for the dates required,
Yeah well i understand your issue and your reasoning. Though in business terms you can't keep rooms empty. If you do keep them empty - you have to take premiums on that room. So one way or another theres gonna be some price/space discrimination. Its just economical reasons.
I don’t think it’s his business whether or not the people in those rooms have disabilities. That said, I do feel bad for him and the hotel should accommodate him elsewhere if they can’t at their facilities.
as a hotel professional, I think I have actually never had a wheelchair user stay in any of the hotels I worked in for 20 years. Hotels cannot afford to leave rooms empty just in case at short notice an accessible room gets booked. Sorry, but you need to book well in advance during high season to make sure you can get the room you need.
Then why was he still able to book a room that was not wheelchair accessible, when there are four/five rooms occupied by people without disabilities? He was even moved to a different, also free room. The reason is probably because they are more comfortable and sold at a premium, as accessibility benefits everyone. So they sell out earlier than cheap rooms. But you should not sell the accessible rooms to able-bodied people, before your inaccessible rooms are exhausted. Unless you can otherwise ensure that the people who need them, can use them.
I think hotels should really not be ableist. Sorry, but if hotels prioritize profit before universal accessibility, they’re not worth going to. And that’s even from me, a fully able-bodied person.
I can kind of see both sides on this so I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate here. They absolutely should be trying their best to accommodate you by asking the guests in the accessible rooms to leave to make room for you (and offering those guests some compensation for the inconvenience of having to move halfway through their stay). That’s a given. However, you state repeatedly that you only made the booking the day before your stay. It’s unreasonable to expect a hotel to keep their accessible rooms empty for the (probably rare) occasions that a disabled guest suddenly needs one on extremely short notice. Hotels only make money by being fully booked year-round. It really was on you to plan better for this and make a booking well in advance, especially during peak season, accompanied by a phone call prior to the stay confirming that they were keeping an accessible room for you. You can’t just show up on one day’s notice and try to Karen your way into an accessible room that they just don’t have; unfortunately that’s not how the world works. Sorry if that comes across as harsh.
There is no reasonable justification for people without disabilities knowingly booking a cruise cabin or a hotel room that is categorized for those with disabilities, or for a corporation to knowingly book people without disabilities into accessible accommodations. Absolutely none. People without disabilities book travel at the last minute as well and should pass if the only accommodation available is "accessible." All of us, those with and without disabilities share the same world and have the same expectations when traveling ... to be respected and accommodated in every possible way. My partner and I are not fans of cruising, so we will never have to make a decision to pass on a cruise because the only cabin available is accessible. As for hotel rooms, one time we passed on reserving an accessible room in our preferred hotel at the last minute and found a comparable hotel that was perfect.
You’ve summed it up perfectly, there’s no excuse for non-disabled people booking accessible accommodations meant for those who need them. Respect and inclusion should guide everyone when traveling. It’s great you passed on an accessible room and found another option! That’s the kind of consideration we need more of!
The manager said it’s not her problem, but it is her problem. She has able-bodied people in her hotel using an accessible room that someone needs. Upon booking the room they need to be checking if each person has a disability. If they don’t have one, they should be moved into another room. This needs to become the norm.
Agree
I work for a charity that supports people with accessibility requirements. I will admit that until I started working for the charity my knowledge in accessibility was minimal. I’m no expert now but have learnt about the variety of accessibility needs.
If I travel for work I often see friends and colleagues facing similar issues. The biggest issue I’ve noticed is the refusal of hotel staff to hold their hands up and say ‘we messed up’.
Hotel’s are typically run by groups. If they manage one, they often have multiple franchises that they are connected to. I think the staff saying ‘I apologise, we messed up but there is a great hotel down the street with an accessible room available that I can arrange for you to have at no expense to yourself’
Amazing channel. I’ll be sharing your content anytime I am giving a presentation. Brilliant work!
I would call the booking agent that was used and get them to find a new room somewhere else with no extra cost. They messed up the booking by not making sure it was accessible
I think a bunch of the comments are missing the point.
He was told when booking they'd have an accessible room for him, and then failed to put that on his file.
That's the hotel messing up.
If there wasn't an accessible room they could have said so.
It is NOT "borderline" discrimination - it is blatant discrimination.
Hotels are not going to have rooms empty unnecessarily during busy periods as unfortunately we are in a make or break economy and times are tough! That being said, as he stipulated at the time of booking his requirement, there was no excuse for the Hotel to take the reservation without blocking out the room entirely at that point to ensure availability for the dates required, It is very upsetting and frustrating when anyone gets different to what they booked especially when it so specific and essential.
Welcome to France baby no but jokes aside thank you for showin the truth for disabled people
Thank you so much for your honest video! I'm a wheelchair user and travel to London UK a lot, i now stay at the same hotel - meets my accessible needs so well - but sometimes it'd be nice to try somewhere else for a change ~ although the fear of this happening has stopped that thought going any further 🤣 and communication is so dang important too...i email for pics and if they say they have none, that's fine as my business will go elsewhere. They should have had the decency to contact you to say there was no availability. It isn't hard!!
I don't understand why, they had to email the person who had booked the disabled room. If the hadn't specifically, asked for a disabled room, why not just swap the booking around?
The guy at least seemed super sorry and was trying but that is not enough.
Please name the hotel
Wow. “This is not my problem. This is your problem” How did she ever become a GM?
I would also understand if, when the hotel is fully booked and somebody needs a room for a long period, they tell the customer that they will get an accessible room up to when another non-accessible room is free, and then they would need to change, is that crazy?
There may be something I’m misunderstanding about the booking system. When I book a hotel, I do it directly through the hotel, either online or by phone with Reservations. I can either see or be told what my available options are. If the accessible rooms have been booked, I can either see that or be told that. Regardless, the General Manager’s response is unacceptable, even if there’s nothing they can do.
I'm so glad I'm watching this. Thanks
Wow
1:40 I'm really hoping you just misspoke, but only a small percentage of people who need an accessible room are wheelchair users. It came across like you were gate keeping disability and people not being disabled 'enough', which I wouldn't expect from a disabled person. Like I say I'm just hoping you just misspoke and that's not what you meant. It reminded me of people who think you can't need to use an accessible toilet because you're not a wheelchair user.
Just to clarify, hotels aren’t going to turn away abled bodied guests just because all they have left are accessible rooms. We pre-allocate accessible rooms on the day the bookings are made so we don’t overbook accessible rooms. On the day of arrival, we allocate all other arrivals to non accessible rooms first, and only allocate the accessible rooms once no standard rooms are left. That way, the last room available is always an accessible room, and it can be occupied by anyone.
There may be (and are) many nights where no requests for accessible rooms are made, snd we aren’t going to close out the hotel online, leave our 12 accessible rooms empty and turn away able bodied guests just in case 12 accessible rooms are required last-minute.
Accessible rooms are not like disabled parking spots in that way.
If as you say, 20% of people have a disability, and all hotels had 20% of their rooms with easy access, they aren’t going to stop selling at 80% capacity every night and hold the other 20% “just in case” the last 20% require easy access rooms.
My thoughts exactly! Unfortunately we are in a make or break economy! That being said as he stipulated at time of booking his requirement there was no excuse for the Hotel to take the reservation without blocking out the room entirely at that point to ensure availability for the dates required,
I’m so sorry😢
Yeah well i understand your issue and your reasoning. Though in business terms you can't keep rooms empty. If you do keep them empty - you have to take premiums on that room. So one way or another theres gonna be some price/space discrimination. Its just economical reasons.
Could you not say the exact same things for disabled parking?
Terrible that this happened. Unfortunately it is all too common. Glad to see the hotel reviews are taking a hit.
I hear this so much, in the UK, they don't care if you're disabled or not. Sorry this happened, the world don't aways fit us dose it.
Sad when places value profit over creating hotel spaces for everyone to come to.
I don’t think it’s his business whether or not the people in those rooms have disabilities. That said, I do feel bad for him and the hotel should accommodate him elsewhere if they can’t at their facilities.
You didn't read the description huh?
@@timidsore7933 ?? did you? please elaborate
If the people in those rooms don't have disabilities then they can swap with someone who does though.
Basic empathy.
Wow.
That’s insane.
You should file a lawsuit this is discrimination
🤯
These hotels should be charged
as a hotel professional, I think I have actually never had a wheelchair user stay in any of the hotels I worked in for 20 years. Hotels cannot afford to leave rooms empty just in case at short notice an accessible room gets booked. Sorry, but you need to book well in advance during high season to make sure you can get the room you need.
Then why was he still able to book a room that was not wheelchair accessible, when there are four/five rooms occupied by people without disabilities?
He was even moved to a different, also free room.
The reason is probably because they are more comfortable and sold at a premium, as accessibility benefits everyone. So they sell out earlier than cheap rooms.
But you should not sell the accessible rooms to able-bodied people, before your inaccessible rooms are exhausted. Unless you can otherwise ensure that the people who need them, can use them.
As he said, he asked for the accessible room and was told he would have it. They then failed to put it on his file.
That's thd hotel's mistake.
I think hotels should really not be ableist. Sorry, but if hotels prioritize profit before universal accessibility, they’re not worth going to. And that’s even from me, a fully able-bodied person.
I can kind of see both sides on this so I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate here. They absolutely should be trying their best to accommodate you by asking the guests in the accessible rooms to leave to make room for you (and offering those guests some compensation for the inconvenience of having to move halfway through their stay). That’s a given. However, you state repeatedly that you only made the booking the day before your stay. It’s unreasonable to expect a hotel to keep their accessible rooms empty for the (probably rare) occasions that a disabled guest suddenly needs one on extremely short notice. Hotels only make money by being fully booked year-round. It really was on you to plan better for this and make a booking well in advance, especially during peak season, accompanied by a phone call prior to the stay confirming that they were keeping an accessible room for you. You can’t just show up on one day’s notice and try to Karen your way into an accessible room that they just don’t have; unfortunately that’s not how the world works. Sorry if that comes across as harsh.
They told him he'd have it when he booked.
They could easily have said "I'm sorry we don't have an accessible room available" but they didn't.
They happily took his money for an accessible room & then failed to provide one.
Doesn't matter if it was booked one year in advance or one hour.
There is no reasonable justification for people without disabilities knowingly booking a cruise cabin or a hotel room that is categorized for those with disabilities, or for a corporation to knowingly book people without disabilities into accessible accommodations. Absolutely none. People without disabilities book travel at the last minute as well and should pass if the only accommodation available is "accessible." All of us, those with and without disabilities share the same world and have the same expectations when traveling ... to be respected and accommodated in every possible way. My partner and I are not fans of cruising, so we will never have to make a decision to pass on a cruise because the only cabin available is accessible. As for hotel rooms, one time we passed on reserving an accessible room in our preferred hotel at the last minute and found a comparable hotel that was perfect.
You’ve summed it up perfectly, there’s no excuse for non-disabled people booking accessible accommodations meant for those who need them. Respect and inclusion should guide everyone when traveling. It’s great you passed on an accessible room and found another option! That’s the kind of consideration we need more of!
you shouldnt have given this hotel your business, just leave and book somewhere else