WWYD - Butlins - no accommodation for disabled parents so they had to come home

[JellyStarb]

I've just discovered that my parents have arrived home after setting off at 12pm to go to Butlins for the week.

On arrival, they were given keys to a third floor apartment. My Mum uses a mobility scooter and absolutely cannot do stairs. She was told if she wanted ground floor she needed to have paid for it. No ground floor apartments were available and so my parents returned home, a very long 9 hour round trip in the car in total.

They have said they would refund but were very blasè.

I dont agree that they should have paid more for ground floor accommodation as thats discrimination as its a need so yhe person who said that is likely ill-informed.

I've looked online to go through the booking process as my Mum and Dad have gone for years without issue and never had this. The website has a small link for accessibility accommodation but at 73 my Mum wouldn't have seen that when booking amongst such a busy page and trying to navigate the tech. My Dad is in his eighties.

AIBU to think they could have done more? But what? I don't want to be unrealistic but how can they just allow people who have travelled so far to have to leave?!

Is this tiny link on such a visually busy page really sufficient?! Its not at all inclusive or user friendly for older generations trying to live in a modern world, surely a page as part of the booking process to register any needs would make more sense and be a catch-all?!

But the point is that your parents presumably knew they had to look for it?
They shouldn’t have needed the link to do a little dance on the screen drawing their attention to it, they knew they needed to book a certain type of accommodation so should have borne that in mind when booking.

There is a cheaper option that very clearly says that Butlins choose the room for you. I suspect that is what they did.

You can select ground floor and have them choose the room.

I wouldn't be surprised if they normally select "ground floor - let Butlins choose", given they've not had a problem previously, this time they've just selected "room type - let Butlins choose" and not noticed that it's not ground floor.

Quite possibly not thinking about that if they cannot select their usual ground floor option it's because it's sold out.

She is, but she doesn't have a case. She wouldn't have a case either if they had given her parents a list of hotels and they had chosen one that didn't work out. If she had then complained to Butlins they could have filed the complaint form in the round filing container on the floor...

I think it's a shame if the bad behaviour and sense of entitlement of some people mean that staff don't try to help anyone for fear of being complained about. I like trying to go above and beyond for a customer, and I like the feeling I get when someone does the same for me. It's kindness, and it makes the world a slightly better place.

I agree - and even then it can go wrong. At which point you have to politely but firmly double down on getting something sorted that people can live with. Speaking as the person with a disability who travels all over the world, often alone.

If Butlins had no ground floor rooms available, which is quite possible on a busy week after an adult weekender and before half term, then there would be nothing to double down on. They can't give what they don't have.

And AI isn't all that intelligent either. This morning, as every morning, I asked Alexa to play the BBC news for me before I got up, which includes the local weather forecast for the day. What that AI generated forecast said was that it would be a clear sunny day with some periods of rain, that there was no rain forecast, take an umbrella because there might be rain, and it would continue to be dry overnight....

But I do agree - I am older and disabled and these are both things that I know about and take into account when booking holidays. In all honesty, having looked at the site, I think they were careless, looked at prices and not what they were paying for and booked the cheapest option without thinking whether it was suitable.

No I do agree. But the difference is, as I said, that I DO make sure that I have booked what I need so I have a legal right to expect them to fix it - in the case here they didn't do that.

It's exhausting dealing with ridiculous complaints. And some times places will just give in to the ridiculous complaints or reprimand the staff even though it's ridiculous

If you are polite to me, I will go beyond to help you. If you're rude then I won't because 1) you're been rude and 2) you're just as likely to complain about my help

How would Butlins know they were disabled?

Except, at least where I work, complaints have to be investigated and the customer has to be given the resolution and then they have the chance to appeal, and then they leave bad trip advisor reviews or they make something else up to embellish their complaint. All that takes time and effort and you can imagine a place like Butlin’s is probably run with the minimum possible back office staff to keep costs down. Honestly it just isn’t worth the hassle, plus where I work we have to have fewer than x number of complaints per quarter to get our bonus, why give people the opportunity to complain if you can just follow the rules to the letter.

I think if a person needs accessible accommodation then they need to proactively let the business know- or how would they know? It's unreasonable and unrealistic to assume the business can just keep many accessible accommodations available 'just in case'. I think the link is clear if you need it too- especially because it should be sought out. Also, when booking there is an option for everyone to select a ground floor room for an extra nominal amount. So if your parents knew they needed GF, there was an option there regardless. You can't miss that option either because it's on the room selection. It seems like what's happened here is a reluctance to pay an extra 10-20 pounds ruining the entire trip, despite the fact the accessible option would likely have been available for free. To be honest it's pretty decent of Butlins to issue a refund.

Welcome to being disabled. We can't just go somewhere or book somewhere. We have to go through a drawn out process, which often ends up in something completely different happening. Booking tickets for gigs is the worst - it's almost impossible to see anyone we'd like to, because the booking system for disabled people is so ridiculous.

Perhaps, as they've just booked and been allocated an accessible room on many occasions before, they assumed things would be the same this time as they always have.

Everything about being disabled is made more difficult than it needs to be. Everything. Ableds have no idea.

Except, it’s not a long drawn out process at all for Butlins. You literally just click “ground floor room.” That’s it.

If you do need more than that and need a fully adapted room, you call them with the prominently displayed number and they book you in for that. And they’re very good at customer service for that.

The OP’s parents literally ticked, “No, we don’t want to choose our room, let the site choose for us.”

This isn’t because of a difficult confusing process.

No, you get the money back if you are a blue badge holder. Not all disabilities qualify for a BB - doesn’t mean you’re any less disabled.

And l wasn’t saying otherwise. I’m not familiar with Butlins, so was asking the question and quoting the applicable law. And they are not refunding everyone with an access need if they are making that refund contingent on having a blue badge.

Nope. Unless her mother has been legally declared as not having the capacity to make her own decisions she doesn’t need a ‘carer’ to do this. And it’s not a carer who can make decisions on her behalf. It has to be someone appointed as her lasting power of attorney. Even then her mother would have to be involved as far as possible in every decision made on her behalf, and those decisions would have to be demonstrably in her best interests.

I'm more concerned that someone booking who couldn't see a very clear link is still driving, especially with impaired mobility. It's why I firmly believe once a driver reaches 65 they should be retested at least every 5 years, and then every 2 years from 75.

Why especially with impaired mobility - that has nothing to do with eyesight. And those who have restricted licences due to impaired mobility already have to reapply for their licence every five years, and submit medical evidence to support it. I’m a better diver at 65 than l ever was in my twenties, so l would say that newly qualified drivers should have to retest regularly to ensure they are maturing as motorists.

So, yes, then. If you want an accessible room, you have to call them. Which is difficult for many disabled people and impossible for some.

You've no idea what they ticked, because it hasn't been said.

Clearly it is.

HTH.

It’s obvious what they clicked! They didnt choose a ground floor room. Which means they clicked “no.” Thats literally their two options; either click no or choose a room. They didnt choose a room. It’s their own fault.

Making a phone call is not an imposition, it is not insurmountable and it is not a long arduous process.

Some places do make it very hard to get an accessible room. Butlins doesnt.

I've no idea why they'd set off, without confirmation of a ground floor room, even with it never being a problem before.

So every other time they've booked (which is clearly a lot as they're gold members) and been fine, this time was somehow different? You're saying only on this occasion did they tick the same box? OK.

Who are you to state how disabled people can manage with phone calls? You can speak for yourself but not for anyone else. Clearly you have absolutely no idea, and in that case, should keep your ableism to yourself.

I've seen plenty of disabled people complaining about accessible rooms at Butlins 👍

Getting lucky that a ground floor room was available on the other occasions was just that; luck. They didn’t want to pay the fee to choose a room (which they get refunded) so they took the risk.
They are clearly two capable adults, not mentally impaired. Butlins didn’t do anything wrong here. They made a choice to risk it.
You cannot book without going through that yes/no click. It’s been that way a long time. So they did pick.

And you’ve no idea what disability I or my kids may or may not have. Not ableism. If you can’t manage the Butlins system then you need more support, so would have assistance with booking something through carers.

Op’s Mum has mobility issues, why would you extrapolate from this that she might not be capable of making a telephone call?
Between the pair of them, it’s total nonsense to suggest a phone call might be beyond them.
Get to blazes with your ableism bollocks 🙄

Do point out where I specified that OP's parents might not be capable of a phone call. I'll wait.

No, I don't think I will, actually. I'll keep calling out ableist comments on Mumsnet 👍

Er… the thread is about op’s parents.
Why are you shiteing on about other random people with different disabilities, if you weren’t talking about op’s parents?

The thread is also about accessibility issues. Did you miss that very main part? Disabled people have accessibility issues. It's hardly rocket science.

It sounds like you need to take a breather and calm down a bit. Are you always so aggressive when disabled people point out accessibility issues?