Is this disability discrimination?

[Disabilitydiscrimination]

I have to have a night in a city but when I looked the only place I could afford was a youth hostel.
I booked and then emailed them to say I would need to have a bottom bunk due to disability. I explained I could do stairs but can't negotiate ladders which I'd need to for a top bunk. They took ages to reply and when they finally did they basically said they would try their best but couldn't guarantee it.

I genuinely don't understand why with several weeks notice they can't do this. Bunks are allocated so just allocate a bottom bunk. I could understand if it was last minute but it wasn't.

Is this disability discrimination?

I don't go away often and have learnt that next time I should check these things before booking but I really didn't think it would be a problem.

It is a reasonable request and adjustment though. They have a system to book a bunk. They just can't be arsed to adapt

Whilst your request seems reasonable it's probably a case of so many people do request lower bunks so can't guarantee they have availability that day as changeovers vary. I personally couldn't climb a ladder either, mostly because I am likely to fall out going to the loo as I need to get up in the night multiple times (one thing climbing fully awake another half asleep, also not fair on others) I have stayed in hostels but book a private room

This is totally misunderstanding the law of both reasonable adjustments and indirect discrimination.

OP I am a solicitor and specialise in disability discrimination. You are right. Push for what you are entitled to.

So you think if all the lower bunkbeds have been already booked, the hostel should ask another guest to move? Because how else might they fulfil this request?

What if the other guests refuse to move? Should they be evicted?

I think you’ll find it’s very much circumstances- dependant.

If they can’t be bothered to reserve a lower bunk bed, then I agree it’s discriminatory. But if they physically don’t have one because they’ve all been booked already, then I very much doubt there are any adjustments they could make that would t unreasonably impact other guests.

But they haven’t been booked. OP has been told beds are allocated on the day. So the adjustment OP is asking for is for a bottom bunk to simply be reserved for her. That’s all. It’s entirely reasonable and proportionate.

Sure. What if it’s a small hostel and all the lower bunk beds are allocated to other disabled people earlier that day?

Still discrimination?

Because if they reserve a bed just for the OP, then other disabled guests who booked a stay but weren’t given the option to reserve a lower bunk bed in advance would have a valid complaint too.

Why not ring and ask the hostel?

@rumnraisins you heavily edited the previous post I quoted… Anyway regarding your most subsequent post:

“Sure. What if it’s a small hostel and all the lower bunk beds are allocated to other disabled people earlier that day?

Still discrimination?

Because of they reserve a bed just for the OP, then other disabled guests who booked a stay but weren’t given the option to reserve a lower bunk bed in advance would have a valid complaint too.”

What tosh.

If they grant OP and others the reasonable adjustment of bottom bunks and - in the frankly unlikely - event there are more disabled people requiring bottom bunks than bottom bunks available then they are perfectly entitled to decline the disabled individuals who try to book after all available bottom bunks have been booked.

What they can’t do is refuse reserving an available bottom bunk to the OP just because they usually operate a ‘first come first served’ or ‘no reservations’ policy. The whole point of reasonable adjustments is making reasonable adaptations to such practices, criterion or policies (PCPs)to accommodate those whose disabilities mean they are disadvantaged by such PCPs.

@Duh

I haven’t heavily edited anything.

What they can’t do is refuse reserving an available bottom bunk to the OP just because they usually operate a ‘first come first served’ or ‘no reservations’ policy. The whole point of reasonable adjustments is making reasonable adaptations to such practices, criterion or policies (PCPs)to accommodate those whose disabilities mean they are disadvantaged by such PCPs.

I think the clue is in the word ‚available’.

There might already be people sleeping on those lower bunkbeds. We don’t know how much in advance OP has booked (‚several weeks’ in high season might not be enough) and how many people, disabled or not, will have required a bed before OP arrives.

You might be a solicitor but I think the logistics of bed booking in a hostel has escaped you.

Also, you’re rather rude, not a very good reflection on the profession, I’d say. It’s possible to have a discussion with someone who disagrees with you without resorting to patronising and offensive comments. I thought you knew that?

It's quite easy to see how many beds in each room are available and for how many nights using the online booking service. You just fiddle with the amount of people and nights to see how booked up they really are and it will either say available or unavailable. I've done it to reserve a bed in a more empty room so I share with less people. The OP could easily do the same to see how booked up the hostel actually is for her said date.

And everything the poster named @Duh has said is correct and reasonable. Your posts are just what if'ing and computer says no. It's obvious that the hostel reception staff just can't be bothered. I'm sure if OP escalated to a manager or head office a bottom bunk would magically be reserved for them.

I'm sorry some of you are getting grief simply because you're trying to help others understand disability on my behalf.

No the clue is in the word "reserve" which they could do as the adjustment. They claim to support people with disabilities but in reality don't lift a finger towards this claim.

It isn't beyond the wit of anyone in hospitality to manage the small numbers going through with disabilities, especially with such a simple need - they simply choose not to make that adjustment.

Incidentally OP - they also don't guarantee single sex accommodation as one of my DC discovered a couple of years back. Honestly anything is better if you can get the money together.

I’m assuming the conference is in the UK? Have you looked at the hostels national policy? Is it YHA as it’s here www.yha.org.uk/our-policies/equity-diversity-inclusion-policy www.yha.org.uk/our-policies/equity-diversity-inclusion-policy]]]] . There is also a contact number on this page for issues.

The problem sometimes is the individual member of staff that you speak to, it could be someone who just doesn’t care.

If it’s not necessary for your work then simply don’t go

I assume it isn’t the YHA, because the YHA don’t allocate beds at all. They just allocate you to a room, and it’s a free for all then - everyone picks one of the beds that’s left. If it is the YHA maybe that’s what they mean by can’t guarantee a lower bunk.

However, again if it is the YHA, each hostel has an accessibility statement and some hostels, not all, are more accessible https://www.yha.org.uk/stay/accessible-hostels
There’s nothing about a guaranteed bottom bunk for mobility impaired people though.

I’d be inclined to email head office and ask if they can get the hostel to reserve a bottom bunk, even if it’s not their usual policy.

I’m sorry to see some very unpleasant replies here. These attitudes explain very nicely why we need an Equality Act to compel organisations to remove or reduce the barriers that exclude disabled people from participating in things that the able bodied take for granted. Sadly there are plenty of people who still think “if the facility or adaptation isn’t there for you disabled people, tough luck”.

If they don't have a bunk allocation system they can't be forced to implement one for this purpose.

If you have trouble with standing in a queue does that mean ice cream vans must have an online account/booking system so you can reserve a slot and not have to wait?

This is why it says "reasonable" adjustment.

I am also not able to sleep on a top bunk due to disability, and in the last year have three times slept in a hostel. Everybody wants a bottom bunk, and everybody has different medical reasons for needing it. Once I managed a swap, once I managed to book one, and once I had to sleep on the floor next to the bunks.

There are far more people wanting bottom bunks than there are bottom bunks

When i slept on the floor, another woman did too.

Nobody is 'forcing' them to do anything. They are being asked to be a little more understanding about disabilities and think about a policy change.

Your ice-cream analogy is in no way comparable. It doesn't leave someone stuck in an unfamiliar city without a bed to sleep on late at night.

It would be like you booking a hotel room 300 miles from home and the hotel says your room is no longer available as you arrive late at night. All the hotels in the area are unavailable or you can't physically get there. Where would you sleep and what could you do with next to no money and physical limitations?

I'm sorry you had to do that.

I wanted to and my disabilities shouldn't hinder my career progression.

Jesus the ableist comments on here make me despair.

I hope you get it sorted OP, the law is on your side here.

I completely agree. If someone without disabilities can go, you should be able to as well.

Depressing isn't it. The attitude of "this isn't available to you because you're disabled, and that's just tough shit" is very common.
In this case it's easily solved by head office (or equivalent) asking the hostel to reserve a bottom bunk. It's not how they usually do things but it would be easy for them to do for someone who has this particular need.