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1.1. Hotel Accessibility Check List

Hotel Accessibility begins with the reservations process and its critical to first have an understanding of the overall process, including what the common pitfalls are to a successful, accessible stay.

Checklist for a successful stay
* Search room type on line-More hotels than in the past feature not only bulleted accessibility features but include pictures that can assure you of the room layout you need
* Call the front desk directly, not the remote reservations line. In this way you can be more assured about actual accessibility at that hotel. Obtain and retain the name of the hotel manager in the event of later complications.
* Use your smart phone, Outlook calendar or smart travel app platform to record any specifics such as room numbers for the accessible room you require, the reservation conformation number, dates of your stay and manager name for later use as needed.
* Early on the morning of your stay, phone the front desk again to confirm your name is assigned to the accessible room you require. This is the perfect juncture to inform hotel staff that you specifically request a late check-in accommodation as relief shifts at that hotel may otherwise give your room away before your arrival. Call from the road if driving, from the airport boarding gate or from home prior to air travel.
* Inquire about accessibility of other hotel features, like a battery or water-operated lift for any swimming pools you'd like to use.

 

Common pitfalls 
* Room numbers are assigned to last names of arriving guests early in the morning of the first day of the stay. This point is one where many errors are made by hotel staff that result in an inappropriate room assignment so avoid this pitfall by calling early in the day of your stay. 
* In spite of your pre-panning, your bed height is way too high for you to transfer. Call the front desk requesting housekeeping staff to remove the base or box spring to lower the bed for ease of transfers.
* Should the worst-case situation happen anyway (they gave your room away and do not have another comparable room to provide you), insist that the front desk staff reach out to other area hotels to help you identify an alternative hotel room. Further, if this happens, advocate strongly against being required to spend more for your replacement room than what your deal would have been at the original hotel. Its the hotel mistake in this situation, hotel staff can obtain the comparable pricing on your behalf.