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?!

Accessible accommodation is really obvious, op. And they should have checked if not given the option. How would butlins know if not told? The discount is just for a disability. Not all disabilities mean you can't climb stairs. Its on the customer to make sure they've picked the right accommodation.

My point is, that it's just another extra step. Try booking gig tickets with wheelchair access. The only way you can book is over the phone. Same with theatre tickets, most cinemas, festivals, attractions. Most of them have little to no accessibility information online.

I disagree. I've found sites are much easier to find the accessibility information. Places have ways to sign up for access so that you can book access tickets. They will swap when you get there if they can.

And you still haven't answered: what disabilities mean you can't use either a phone or the Internet and you'd be going away alone?

You disagree with something that the entire disabled community in the UK has been complaining about for decades? I mean, you do you, but how weird.

As I've said, if you can't think of one disability where you're unable to use the phone, perhaps you should educate yourself.

Try it for 2 adults, no kids...

That's exactly what I did @JellyStarb

When you click on "more details" what page does it bring up? Because to select you choose or let butlins choose it must bring up a room type and size

Are deaf people not allowed to go away alone? I'm often booking things for myself and have to ask someone to help with booking as they wont let me do it online and require someone to phone up.

Many sites have been better lately about allowing you to book online but it's nowhere near all of them. I need to ask someone to call on my behalf around 60% of the time these days (it used to be closer to 100%).

I'm a deaf wheelchair user so I need to book accessible rooms or step free access to venues.

I think great improvements have been made. And I'm speaking as someone who had to check accessibility.

I can think of disabilities where the phone might be hard but there's more to it than that which I'm asking. So I'm guessing you don't know...

We witnessed this when we went. A paraplegic was given 2nd floor..her carers said she cannot walk ! They had to carry her wheelchair up and down the metal stairs. I heard them say they had asked for GF as was disabled.
The staff wernt allowed to help carry the lady due to health and safety.
They said they couldn't take the last home as her parents were away and this was booked as a rest bite with her carers

But thats only happened if someone failed to book a ground floor room.

Again, a venue (Butlins or any other) cannot provide for a disability they're unaware of, if you don't book an accessible room, you may very well not get one.

Btw, it is 'respite' not 'rest bite'.

Did you miss the part where it says they had asked for a ground floor room?

They hadn’t asked for a ground floor room when they booked, only when they turned up when presumably the ground floor options were already taken.

You would have thought that someone paraplegic or their care team would have known they needed to book fully accessible accommodation.

Your post just doesn’t make sense because they would need accessible for the bathroom too surely as well as well as hoists and other equipment.

Can deaf people not use the Internet? Because Butlins shows how to do it online without ringing

They had asked for GF when booking. We were talking to the carers in the restaurant that evening.
Apparently there was a mess up.

I was talking about booking in general. Not butlins. But you already knew that.

I genuinely want to be educated, so can you give me an example? I can see if you can't use rather phone, but in that case you'd use email right? I get what yore saying re an extra step but that will be because of a system constraint and why you'd need to use the phone. At the end of the day technology has made things much easier for disabled but currently it can only do so much. What would someone have done 50 years ago?

Phones can use voice recognition now, and if you can't use your voice you'd be able to use a touch screen? But if you couldn't then a computer wouldn't help anyway?

But this thread is about Butlins...

I think that is pretty shit service from Butlins OP, and how that person handled your poor parents does not sound remotely supportive or frankly professional enough. How disappointing for them. Your points about website accessibility are well made and I think you should share back to Butlins CX. All the younger PPs here saying ‘well, site looks ok for me, so you parents are clearly idiots’ won’t begin to have any insight into your parents world. As neither did the rep they encountered. As technology progresses I increasingly see it just leaves more and more older people behind, it’s exclusionary, othering and discriminatory. And is coming for all of us - so we would all do better to stop and think and have more empathy. I would encourage their fabulous independence but maybe just get them to phone the number and book that way instead. That will cost Butlins more, but that’s their look out for such a shite website! Glad they’ve rebooked now.

I must have missed the election. When did someone get appointed to speak for the "entire disabled community in the UK"? Was it you who was elected?

Whilst it would be lovely if places could cater for all disabilities and the combinations thereof for every single person, then it is impossible for somewhere to be accessible to every living soul on the planet - and that includes many people who would be classed as "able-bodied". And yes, many places could make more effort. I am the first person to call out carelessness and discrimination in access terms. But I go to many venues for all sorts of things, and the vast majority of them are not impossible and try hard, and many listen to feedback positively (when delivered calmly and rationally - not demanding that people "educate themselves" and being provocative and insulting in making over the top claims that are clearly not true).

The only way you can book is over the phone. Same with theatre tickets, most cinemas, festivals, attractions. Most of them have little to no accessibility information online.
I literally cannot recall the last time I found little or no accessibility information on line for any of the events / activities that I have gone to, and seldom have to phone unless I need to check something. So this may be your experience, but it isn't mine, it isn't that of the "entire disabled community in the UK", but it will be shared by some people. You are assuming that all disabled people are the same, share the same experiences and the same concerns and complaints - that is incredibly arrogant and totally naive. We are as different from each other as any other group of people. We have some shared experiences, but we are not the same.

On the specific issue here on this thread, however, I would be interested to know what you think Butlins are lacking. You can find access information on the site, and you can book ground floor rooms by (stating the bleeding obvious) going to be section that says "choose a room" and selecting "ground floor". If you don't want to do that or can't do that, there is a telephone number to call, prominantly displayed in multiple places. If you also can't do that, you could go to a travel agent. That's options that don't involve the other obvious answer, which is "ask a friend". What are Butlins supposed to do - add smoke signals? Set up a prayer line? Physic paper?

@SurferRona who has clearly not read most of the thread "All the younger PPs here saying ‘well, site looks ok for me, so you parents are clearly idiots’ won’t begin to have any insight into your parents world... As technology progresses I increasingly see it just leaves more and more older people behind, it’s exclusionary, othering and discriminatory".

What an exclusionary, othering, discriminatory and arrogant assumption. Which you would know had you read the thread. Speaking as a 67 year old disabled woman I have not been left behind by tecnology and can manage to book holidays and activities etc - even my shopping - online with ease. And my father, who departed this world years ago but would have been over 100 years now was online! A minority of people over 65 are not online or may not fully understand it. That is why there are still phones and travel agents etc. Technology may be a barrier for a minority, but it is a liberator for many more. I have plenty of "insight" into the OP's parents world (as does my tech savvy 89 year old neighbour) and it is very simple - they made a mistake. They didn't read carefully the very prominantly displayed access information, and assumed that a company would know that they were disabled amongst the many thousands of bookings that are made. Everyone can make mistakes. Everyone does make mistakes. Butlins didn't make this one, and they in no way contibuted to it.

You would do better to "stop, and think" and stop speaking for us - we are not stupid (as you rightly say) and don't need your empathy because there is nothing wrong with us. Mistakes happen. The problem here is the people, including the OP, playing the "card" instead of accepting that they made a mistake. This has nothing to do with disability or age and everything to do with not reading the available information and making assumptions.