Guides
Accessible travel mistakes travelers can avoid
Four accessible travel mistakes can derail a trip. Learn what to ask about rooms, reservations, routes, staff, and your rights before you travel.
What to take away
- Four assumptions can lead to accessibility problemsthat accessible means the same thing everywhere, that a booking is a reservation, that the route is as short as it looks, and that staff know their own building.
- Knowing roughly what the law requires turns a refusal into a conversation with a solution.
- There is a formal complaint route, and knowing it exists changes how the conversation goes.
- Two telephone calls can help catch problems before they disrupt a trip.
Accessible travel can go wrong in predictable ways. Asking specific questions in advance can help prevent common problems.
Mistake one: assuming accessible means one thing
Accessible describes a room with a roll-in shower and a room with two grab bars and a step. It describes a museum with a lift and one with a portable ramp kept in a cupboard.
What 'Accessible' Can Mean
Roll-in shower
- Room
- yes
- Step-free entry
- yes
- Shower access
- roll-in
- Ramp location
- n/a
Grab bars + step
- Room
- yes
- Step-free entry
- no
- Shower access
- step over
- Ramp location
- n/a
Lift
- Room
- no
- Step-free entry
- yes
- Shower access
- n/a
- Ramp location
- built-in
Portable ramp
- Room
- no
- Step-free entry
- yes
- Shower access
- n/a
- Ramp location
- in cupboard
The fix is to stop using the word. Ask for measurements and configurations instead, and place the property in one of the three tiers hotels actually fall into.
The tiers are our working labels, not an official standard. Tier one has step-free entry and grab bars, but the shower has a curb. Tier two has a roll-in shower with a seat.
Tier three meets the 2010 ADA Standards: 32 inch clear doorways, a roll-in shower at least 30 by 60 inches, and grab bars 33 to 36 inches above the floor.
Mistake two: a booking is not a reservation
A booking that mentions an accessible room and a reservation of that specific room are different things at many properties.
Booking vs Reservation
- Book the specific room, not the room type
- Get written confirmation the room is held
- Carry the confirmation with you
- Confirm the room number or identifier
Do this instead: book the specific room rather than the room type, get written confirmation that it is held, and carry the confirmation.
Mistake three: the route is longer than the map
Maps flatten hills, omit curbs and do not show construction. The venue may be four hundred meters away and the accessible route eight hundred.
Check street imagery, and call to ask which approach they recommend.
Mistake four: staff do not know their own building
A frontline staff member may be new, and the person who knows where the accessible entrance key is may be off that day.
Ask in advance, ask for a name, and ask what happens if that person is not there.
Knowing what you are entitled to
You do not need to be a lawyer, and knowing the outline changes how a difficult conversation goes.
The Justice Department's guide to disability rights, A Guide to Disability Rights Laws, is a readable overview of the main federal laws, from public accommodations to transport and communications.
Read it once. The effect is not that you quote it at people; it is that you know when to ask for a manager and what to ask them for.
When it goes wrong anyway
Most problems are solved on the spot by somebody with authority. Where they are not, a formal route exists.
The Justice Department sets out how to file an ADA complaint on its ada.gov site, including what it covers and what information is needed. Simply knowing that this exists tends to make on-the-spot resolution more likely, and it matters that the option is real rather than theoretical.
Document as you go: names, times, what was confirmed, and photographs.
Two calls can help prevent common problems
One at booking, one the week before. Between them they catch the wrong room, the broken lift, the closed entrance and the construction nobody mentioned.
For the broader approach, see our practical guide to accessible travel across the U.S.. The booking questions below give a more specific version of the first call.
On the booking call, ask:
- Door clear width, in the room and the bathroom?
- Roll-in shower, or a transfer shower with a curb?
- How many accessible rooms have a roll-in shower?
- Where are the grab bars, and how high?
- Can you hold a specific room in writing?
The week before, ask:
The two calls
- Is that room still held, and is the shower working?
- Is the lift working?
- Which entrance is unlocked, and where is the key?
- Who on duty knows the building?
Which ADA standards apply
The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design remain the rule for new construction and alterations.
So what moves for 2027 is hotel stock, not statute. A room built to the 1991 standards keeps a safe harbor until it is altered.
Common questions
Is complaining worth it?
Should I mention the law at a desk?
What if staff are apologetic but unable to help?
How much documentation should I keep?
In this guide
- An itinerary structure that absorbs accessible travel mistakesBuild an accessible travel itinerary that absorbs the usual mistakes: one anchor, a named backup within fifteen minutes, a rest block and a flexible slot.
- First accessible trips run late for one arithmetic reasonFirst accessible trips run late on time arithmetic, not bad luck. Add half again to every leg and the day stops being a rush for wheelchair users.
- Accessible travel mistakes: book lodging that holds upAccessible travel mistakes: lodging that holds up after a bad stay — arrive in daylight, hold a refundable backup, and ask the questions that reveal access.
- Accessible Travel Mistakes Businesses Can PreventHow US hotels, parks, and attractions can prevent accessible travel mistakes businesses can fix, from publishing access details to handling outages.
- People forget two questions before booking an accessible tripThe questions that prevent the classic failures, including the two people never think to ask: about communication support and about service animals.
