Tara booked a double room for herself and her husband at the hotel via the internet, and requested a room with disabled access. The booking was confirmed for a twin disabled room. Two days later, Tara was looking at the hotel website and was dismayed to see that the room allocated to her was in fact a single room with one single bed plus a sofa bed. She immediately rang the hotel to query this, and was told that the room had two single beds.
On arrival at the hotel, Tara and her husband were shown to their room and found that it had one single bed and one sofa bed. When she told a member of staff that she was expecting a twin disabled room, she was informed that this single room was the only one in the hotel with disabled access. The member of staff did show them an alternative double room, however, the bathroom was not accessible for a wheelchair user.
Tara and her husband had to stay in the single room allocated to them. Although Tara could access the bathroom, movement around the bedroom was limited and access to the entire area was not possible.
Outcome: Full and Final Settlement
At the start of the mediation, Tara had the opportunity to discuss the incident and the impact on her with the hotel representative.
The representative stated that reasonable adjustments had since been implemented; that all newly developed hotels will have accessible rooms with wet rooms, and that the room Tara and her husband stayed in has been reclassified as a single room, rather than a twin.
The representative also stated that new cascade staff training on DDA issues would cover safety aspects and additional checks hotel staff need to adopt. This would also include disability awareness training to include the importance of providing accurate information to customers.
She also acknowledged the appalling manner in which the hotel had dealt with the complaint, from the hotel manager through to the central teams, and agreed to arrange for a written apology to be sent to Tara.
The hotel offered Tara a gesture of goodwill of £250.