My husband is disabled and lives in a wheelchair part of his life. This requires us to search out ADA accessible hotels with ADA accessible rooms when traveling (the method of my madness is discussed here). My hope is to put our thought process in the heads of hoteliers so they can make their hotel as disabled friendly as possible. As Kevin and I have only been married for five years, I do understand the difficulty of identifying the needs of someone like him unless one is directly exposed to it. There have been many occasions when I thought I made a wise choice for him only to find out how wrong I was.
In this week’s blog, I am giving you specific detail on our experience with the hotels themselves and the rooms. How Kevin fared in them. I am going to step you into the mind of a person with physical mobility challenges so you can walk his shoes (so to speak). How did he fare getting through the doors? What hindered or helped in the bathrooms? Some of what we discuss will not necessarily apply to ADA laws. In our mind, some issues simply require common sense.
With the intent of giving valuable information, I will not point out specific hotels unless I have something positive to say. My intent is to educate and enlighten-not judge or condemn. I will though mention brands so those of you who come across my article that can influence change and want to make the effort can do so. Contact me here.
Exterior doors: We had the biggest challenges at a Best Western Plus. The sidewalk outside the door felt very narrow and the door was very heavy and self-closing. Kevin had a hard time getting it to open and his wheelchair through. He was extremely concerned about the lack of space behind his chair and the possible ensuing drop off to the sidewalk below. It took a couple tries to get through. He dropped his key card trying to keep the door open. Etc.
Room door: Same challenge here. Most doors were extremely heavy and self-closing thus making it very difficult to get a chair through. Now picture someone in your mind that has a manual chair. To be frank, if that person was alone, what a nightmare for him. Sit yourself in a manual chair and try to open one of your own doors and keep it open while you wheel through. Why don’t they ask for help, you say? Many physically challenged people are fiercely independent and want to do as much as they can on their own. Is that any different than the rest of us?
Kevin’s question: Can the accessible room doors open for you when you swipe the key card? Or, the Fairfield Inn in Albuquerque did not have the self-closing feature on their doors. Kevin was ecstatic when the door opened easily and stayed open for him.
Bathrooms: The same Best Western Plus I mentioned earlier was missing handrails around the toilet and had only one in the tub. The showerhead was not on an adjustable height rod. The adjustable height showerhead is almost essential for a person who needs to sit on a bench to bathe. Toilet handrails on the side assist someone who needs to stand up/sit down or transfer to and from a wheelchair.
Several of the bathrooms had two drains. We thought that was very clever especially for those that flooded such as some of the Marriott brands we stayed in. When wet, any kind of tile floor can make for a slippery floor-regardless whether you feel it is non-slip or not. In one hotel, I used every towel available to mop up the mess and that did not get everything.
The Castillo Real in St Augustine had the perfect shower setup. They had a very small, flexible lip on the floor to keep water from getting out and a heavy curtain that hung all the way to the floor. There was plenty of room and a shower chair that was portable. NO FLOODING! They also had a non-stick mat available for those who wanted the extra protection in the shower. Someone over there is very conscientious. The Courtyard in Jax Beach had a phone installed next to the shower and close to the floor. Excellent idea!
Room location: Every hotel we stayed in barring the Courtyard Jax Beach put us on the first floor near the lobby. There was some good and bad with this. The obvious positive is the short transport from parking lot to room. The downside is the noise. The Best Western had their accessible room adjacent to the breakfast area. I am sure you can imagine what time we were woken up the next morning.
Room charges: One of the Choice Hotels charged us an additional $20 for an accessible room. If I am reading my ADA law correctly, they broke it. I gave one small objection, as the fee was originally $30 over. I am not a conflict kind of person and was tired of searching for appropriate hotels so I acquiesced and made the reservation. Several others I called upgraded us at no charge in order to accommodate Kevin. Now THAT is showing the love!
Kudos: Kudos to Courtyard Jax Beach for transferring me to Marriott’s ADA department when I called with my questions. I cannot say enough positive things about this whole experience! The person I spoke with asked all of the right questions and gave us the perfect room-even upgrading to satisfy! The front desk staff were accommodating and willing to help in any way possible. We had breakfast on their deck overlooking the Atlantic. Kevin had no problem getting out there, the staff rearranged chairs and tables for us and were incredibly attentive. Out of all the hotels we stayed at on our journey, I had the best experience with them. Thanks Marriott for showing you care!
Another kudo to Dove Creek Lodge who did not specifically have an accessible room available but had everything we needed to make Kevin’s stay a positive one. They also upgraded us at no charge. Their entire property is set up well for the wheelchair bound.
Small rant: Why are the majority of accessible rooms in the least desirable part of the hotel? Do we have such little respect from the hotel community that our rooms must be in the worst possible location in the hotel? Adjacent to the breakfast area or a view of the wall next to the hotel? Now, to be fair we did not feel that way with every hotel. Both Courtyards gave us rooms with wonderful views. An independent hotel in Lubbock put us near the entrance of the hotel. However, it felt miles away from the only handicap parking spot-which was placed strategically in the back lot.
Statistics from ADA.gov site
- More than 50 million Americans have disabilities which is 18% of our population
- This group has $175 billion in discretionary spending power
- Accessibility attracts not only people with disabilities but also their families and friends.
- This market is growing fast. By the year 2030, 71.5 million Baby Boomers will be over the age of 65 and demanding products, services, and environments that address their age-related physical changes.
If you saw the new ADA laws as a burden, begin thinking anew. I am constantly seeing articles on ways hotel brands are customizing their hotel for specific ethnicities or age groups. However, I have seen very little focus on the Baby Boomer / Disability market. Why is that? They and their families clearly have spending clout. Do you want to create a competitive advantage for your hotel? Rise above the commoditization beast? This might be the way to do it.
In my final blog, Kevin will give his opinion and feedback on how the rooms could be set up better for him and others who have physical challenges. I will also compare how the hotels were set up to the current ADA laws and discuss what changes should be made-this could be to a hotel or the law.
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