Because of Cindy’s walking disability and using a wheelchair, we require special lodging accommodations when traveling. It has not always been smooth sailing for us. There have been some funny and not so funny occurrences.

There was that time when there was no hair dryer in our hotel bathroom. I searched for it in other parts of the room, but it was not there. Not wanting to be charged with stealing it, I went to the front desk to let them know about it. “Oh,” said the clerk, “You’re in a handicap room. We don’t put them in there. Do you want a hair dryer?” I was so astounded at the answer that I did not have enough sense to ask why. I simply told them we had our own, but I did not want them to think we walked out with theirs.

What was that all about? Had someone in a wheelchair dropped it in the sink? Did their legal counsel warn them that handicap people are a liability with hair dryers?

Then, there was that time we arrived at a South Carolina near-beach hotel, weary, hot, and expecting a cool, relaxing stay at a relatively nice place. I had reserved a wheelchair-accessible room with a roll-in shower on the hotel chain’s website. This type of room is much easier to deal with than the typical shower/tub combination with a seat. The clerk informed me that the two rooms with roll-ins were already occupied. But I had reserved one. I had the confirmation email telling me it was mine. Didn’t matter to him, the rooms were occupied. I asked if he had other handicap designated rooms with a shower chair in the tub. He said he did not have any shower chairs. What?!

Confounded and suffering from the effects of 100-plus-degrees temperatures, I asked if he had a computer I could use to locate another hotel. He pointed me to the lobby computer. I found another hotel within our price range, but not as nice as this one and not as close to the beach. Once at our new place (with a roll-in shower), I started thinking more about what had happened. That was not good customer service, especially for a member of their loyalty program. So, I found the corporate email address and told them what happened.

The next morning I received an email from the manager of the hotel in question, with an apology. It turns out that there were shower chairs in the housekeeping department for us to use. She also noted that the desk clerk should have assisted us in finding a room at one of their sister hotels. As a result, she was conducting two in-service training sessions for the staff. All desk personnel would be visiting the handicap rooms to see exactly what was there. Secondly, all desk personnel would be instructed in how to provide better customer service in situations like ours. None of that would have happened if I had not communicated what had happened.

By the way, my email was not a nasty diatribe. It was straight-forward and to the point.

Then there was the night we were sent to four rooms before finding the one with the roll-in shower. However, it did not have a bench seat or portable chair. Back to the front desk I go. I didn’t know what would be the desk clerk’s response to my fifth appearance before her. However, upon hearing my request for a chair, she immediately said, “Mr. Batson, you expect more from us and we expect more from ourselves. I’m not going to charge you for the room tonight with my sincerest apologies.” Turns out their computer system did not accurately describe which rooms had a roll-in shower. Almost before I made it back to the room, she emailed this note which was copied to three other members of the hotel management team:

Mr. Batson,

Thank you for your patience regarding your arrival at our hotel this evening while I checked you into the hotel.  I want to apologize to you for the confusion associated with the roll-in shower in the room.  As the front office supervisor, I take full responsibility for the wrong information that we have regarding the type of showers in the room, and I have used this incident as a personal training tool.

We rested well that night, especially knowing we didn’t have to pay for it.

Can you take one more? On a recent long-distance road trip we reserved the handicap room with a roll-in shower at a suites-type hotel. Arriving late in the evening, we were exhausted from the long ride in the car over the interstate highway. I was assured the room had a roll-in shower and a chair. Upon opening the door, I saw two wastebaskets in the middle of the floor with the “Do Not Disturb” sign strategically placed next to them. What is going on here? Casting a further glance into the room, I saw a blanket thrown over a chair, a cleaning solution bottle sitting on a cabinet, and the microwave door open. No one was in the room, but it became clear that whoever was cleaning the room that day left abruptly.

Back to the front desk I trudged. I explained what I found and was told that no one was on-site who could complete the cleaning of the room. Okay. Do you have another room? Yes, but it does not have a roll-in shower. That was the only room out of the 72 rooms in this not-so-old hotel for a couple like us. She apologized several times. I know we could have made a big fuss and demanded all kinds of things, but we decided to take a regular room. I asked that some extra loyalty points be added to my account for the inconvenience. Am I greedy?

Just checked my loyalty account to see if the bonus points have been added. Nope. I think I will just let that be.

Let’s Talk:  Do you have any stories about your travels related to a disability or chronic illness?