Rolling with Sarah

For the ACCESS Annual Meeting in Toronto we stayed at the Hilton Double Tree, only a few blocks away from the research centre where the conference was being held. The front desk attendants were extremely kind and gave us fresh baked cookies when we checked in. We were booked into an  accessible room. I have to say, I was a little disappointed with the room we were given.

To start, the door to the room had no actuator and there was a tall threshold. There was no way I would be able to enter independently, Once inside the room, it was small. Only one bed. There was very little room to maneuver my chair and I ended up having to remove the feet of my chair to wheel around. The carpet was also very plush. While this may be seen as a bonus to most people, it makes it extremely hard and exhausting to roll on.

There was also a tall threshold going into the bathroom. It took everything I had to wheel over it. The toilet was at least the right height and there was a helpful grab bar to assist with transfers. The shower was roll in, but there was no bench. We had to call down and request that one be brought up. This seems to be a common theme with accessible hotel rooms. I really don’t get it. What do they expect? That I’m either going to soak my chair or miraculously be able to stand for a shower? It’s just something that I shouldn’t have to constantly ask for. They were very apologetic though and brought one up right away.

When we returned home, I was emailed a survey to evaluate my stay. I was honest. I mentioned all of the accessibility problems I talked about above. I gave suggestions as to how to make a better experience for guests who use a wheelchair. I thought I was done after that. Then, I got a phone call.

It was the hotel. They had received my review and wanted to talk to me about how they could do better. They listened to my grievances and really seemed to care about making the experience better. They asked me insightful questions and appeared very interested in what I had to say. They assured me they would take what I said to heart and make the necessary changes to the best of their abilities. Apparently some rooms were under renovations and now that they had information on what they needed they could change them into accessible rooms while the were being renovated anyway. All in all, I felt it was a very productive call.

This really changed my opinion of the hotel. Instead of disregarding the review, they took the steps to make sure they could do better in the future. Because f this, I would consider staying there again. As the saying goes, you catch more flies with honey that with vinegar. By giving an honest but not nasty review, and agreeing to give my feedback over the phone, I was potentially able to influence real positive change for future guests. That is advocacy at work, making a difference for those who come after you.

Please comment with your thoughts and about your “accessible” hotel stays 🙂