There’s nothing worse than arriving at your hotel and opening the door to your room, only to find it will not work for your accessibility needs. Even when a hotel says a room is ADA compliant on their website, how can you be sure the room will work for you? Booking a hotel room that you can’t confidently pack your bags and roll into can certainly be frustrating, but there are ways to make the process easier. Let’s dive in and get you to your relaxing destination without further delay. Here are eight tips for booking a wheelchair accessible hotel room.
1. Know What You Need
Think about what makes home your “happy place.” Is it the soft pillows, your adjustable bed, or your roll-in shower? By thinking about what makes your life at home accessible, you can make a list of what you need before booking an accessible hotel room.
Is it important to you to have a room on the bottom floor? Fire escape safety is particularly important, especially when you can’t climb stairs. Space underneath the bed will be needed if you travel with a Hoyer lift. Make sure to add these considerations to your list of needs for your ease and safety.
If you are working on your computer while on your trip, a roll-under desk should be high on your list as well. Having a full-length mirror may not be considered an accessible feature, but it can be helpful to see yourself when shaving or putting on makeup.
2. Know Your Rights
Knowing your rights when booking a hotel will ensure you know what to expect. The ADA requires accessible hotel rooms be “dispersed among the various classes of guest rooms” and it also states the hotel should provide “choices of types of guest rooms, number of beds, and other amenities comparable to the choices provided to other guests.”
There are also required widths of doorways in hotels. The minimum width of entryways and doorways is 32 inches. This will allow all guests, including those using wheelchairs, to have enough space to enter. The minimum requirement for hotel hallways and ramps is 36 inches wide. Understanding this will give you peace of mind, knowing you will be able to access the building and roam the hotel with ease.
All hotels built since 1991— a year after the ADA’s passing—are required to provide a shower seat in rooms with a roll-in shower. The seats must be fixed to the wall and fold down. Grab bars are also required on the opposite wall of the shower seat and along the back wall.
There are also regulations in place for the height of toilet seats in hotel rooms. The toilet's height should be no lower than 17 inches and no taller than 19 inches. Grab bars are required behind and on the wall nearest the side of the toilet.
Currently, there are no regulations in place for bed heights in hotel rooms. This can be especially important for transfers, so always ask prior to booking about the bed height.
3. Call the Hotel Directly
Call the hotel directly when booking your accessible hotel room. This is important to ensure you will have the room that is not only desired but meets your needs once you arrive.
If you book through a third party, they may not know exact accessibility details of the room and may have to place you on hold and call the hotel to find that information for you. By calling the hotel directly, you eliminate the risk of a third party relaying an untrue message about the accessibility features and any delays during your call.
4. Ask Specific Questions
Make sure to ask specific questions when calling the hotel about the accessibility features in their hotel rooms. It’s okay to be direct and request the exact measurements of any part of the room. Hotel staff members may need to go to the room to gather this information and could return the details to you via phone or email.
Don’t take, “I’m not sure” or “I can’t answer that” as a response. In a polite and courteous manner, request to speak with someone who can help you. Stress the importance of your questions and why you are asking. If they still refuse to help with your request, you may want to find a different hotel to better meet your needs
5. Request Photos
All too often, hotels use stock photos for their websites. The pictures you see may not be exactly what is inside the accessible rooms. The old saying is right, a photo speaks 1,000 words. For this reason, you may want to request pictures of the room, which can be texted or emailed to you from a staff member when you call the hotel directly. This will give you a better understanding of the room's layout, so you can decide if it will work for your needs.
Requesting a photo of the bed could give you the information you need to make an informed decision about whether a Hoyer lift will fit underneath. It can also allow you to see the distance from the wall to the bed to ensure transferring will be a smooth process. You may also want to ask for a photo of the bathroom so you can see if the handheld showerhead looks small and light enough for you to be able to hold, and the type of shower seat they provide.
6. Read the Reviews
Even if a hotel looks nice in photos online, always read reviews prior to booking. This will help you to see what previous customers thought about the hotel’s customer service and cleanliness. People are brutally honest when hiding behind a keyboard and hearing how they felt about their time there will usually be accurate.
If you read that the hotel staff members were rude, or not willing to help with certain requests, this may indicate a lack of willingness to help you if you needed assistance with moving some furniture around to make more space for you to roll around, or going to bed knowing the sheets have been cleaned properly.
7. Make Certain the Hotel Offers to Guarantee the Accessible Room
If you require an accessible room with a roll-in shower to be able to clean yourself properly, having a guarantee that the room has a roll-in shower is especially important. Some hotels say they will put your request for an accessible room “in the notes,” but that isn’t good enough. You should have a guaranteed room, knowing what you need is what you will get upon arrival.
Some hotels believe an accessible room with a roll-in shower is an on-request amenity, and it is not guaranteed. This would mean even though you’ve requested a roll-in shower, you could still arrive at the hotel after driving or flying all day, only to be told it is not available. The Marriott hotel chain does not guarantee this feature, but most Hilton hotels will happily guarantee the desired accessibility features.
8. Check out the Surrounding Area
Prior to booking your accessible hotel, look it up on Google Maps. This will give you the layout of the surrounding area and provide you with information about nearby restaurants, coffee shops, stores, pharmacies, and attractions. This can help to weigh the pros and cons of deciding if you would be able to get to the store if you forgot to pack a particular item, or if you would like to grab a quick bite to eat after settling in without going back to get your car
A map overview can also help you to see if the hotel is in a downtown location or on the outskirts of town. Booking a hotel in the city will allow you more access to transportation than on the outskirts of town.
Having the information, you need to book an accessible hotel room should make you feel more confident in packing your bags and planning your wheelchair accessible vacation. Accessible hotels are plentiful, but finding the one that best suits your needs is important. By following these tips when booking, you will be able to look forward to the destination, knowing you will have a good night’s rest in a comfortable hotel room.