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?!

I understand why they made the assumption they would be given an accessible room but also using a disability discount wouldn’t necessarily make it clear what sort of disability they had. Not sure what else Butlins could have done if they were full and really it’s your or your parents responsibility to make sure Butlins were aware of the type of room required.

Oh and what I'd do is offer to help DP book future holidays

Offering a full refund is actually quite generous in the circumstances.
I agree. It sounds like Butlins have provided what was booked so I wouldn't think that they'd be legally obliged to offer a refund. If the guests had booked ground floor accomodation and Butlins had made a mistake it would presumably be different but that's not the case here.
I understand why you are upset OP. A 9 hour round trip is a lot of driving for anyone especially a couple of your parents' age and I can imagine that they are exhausted and very disappointed. But it does sound as if the error was theirs and not Butlins'. What would you have liked to happen? I mean if all the ground floor accomodation was full what could they actually do? Presumably those rooms were occupied by guests who had paid a premium and/or also had accessibility needs so it would hardly be reasonable to evict them to accommodate your parents. I'm afraid they probably just have to put this one down to experience. I hope the refund comes through quickly and they manage to book another trip that works out well. I'd be upset on behalf of any of my elderly relatives if something like this happened too, but from what you say I really don't think that Butlins are at fault here and it's pretty decent of them to refund the whole cost.

Very poor service for Butlin's to be blase about it, but in the end, if they don't have any ground floor apartments available then they are not going to be able to accommodate.

Ultimately I think your parents are responsible for not sorting things out before they went and they're lucky to get a refund as unlikely Butlins will be able to fill it with zero notice.

I see your point about the visibility of the link, but that was only one way to make sure they could be accommodated. They could have mailed or called. They knew they had a need for accessibility. To expect the place to be able to provide just what they need when they get there without discussing those needs in advance was unreasonable of them.

I'm sorry they've had a sucky time, though and hope they can find an alternative and have a nice holiday elsewhere.

As they are gold members that suggests they are here often so know their way round.

Multiple times a year to be gold members - think it's 7 or 8 times in 3 years.

@JellyStarb is this the first time they've needed ground floor accommodation?
Otherwise surely they've booked it specifically on their multiple previous trips?

It's a shame they felt they had to drive straight back again - surely there was a nice little hotel on the way back or in the same location they could have checked into for a couple of days.
At any rate: Butlins have done nothing wrong: it's not their job to double check with people that they have booked the correct room for their own needs.
Someone who uses a mobility scooter needs to do the work ahead of time to check that the accommodation they have selected is accessible and can be used by someone with a mobility scooter. I would have phoned/checked at the time of booking, and also the day or so before going on the holiday to make sure everything was all squared away - at least then Butlins could have had a chance to make some last minute adjustments.

If Butlins had no availability in a ground floor room then it is what it is - they aren't required to force someone else to leave their room just because your folks forgot to double check that they'd booked the correct room.

In the future, now you know that your folks aren't as tech savvy as perhaps the might be, why don't you offer to help them with their holiday booking and also to help them by phoning Butlins to make sure they have a room that your mom can get to in her scooter? Or at the very least you could remind them that they need to call and make sure it's okay.

Nothing forced your folks to do all that driving in one day - they could have stopped half way and stayed over in all manner of lovely accessible hotel rooms.

You have needed to select ground floor accommodation as part of the booking process for at least 6 years. It was probably before then too, but 6 years ago is the first time I booked, so I don't know before then.

There is normally an extra charge for ground floor, but my understanding is that if you have proof of disability it will be refunded on site.

More recently they have introduced the option to pre- select the exact unit you are in. That also has an additional charge.

Despite having the discount, the computer allocating the accommodation probably doesn't know that.

Thise that booked a specific unit, will get followed by those selecting a specific floor level. If after that, there was a ground floor available they may have been allocated one, but there is a good chance that the ground floor had sold out.

we went to a haven recently. If you have mobility issues you book an accessible caravan (no extra cost) or you pay extra to select a caravan near
to the activities.

If I have a special or specific requirement I will always ask as part of the booking and make sure it is answered. I also book wheelchairs for my mum when on flights so will make sure I get confirmation in writing. I think you need to be proactive in these situations when you have limited options. Personally, I think this really sux but if there were no ground floor apartments then I'm not sure what they could do.

We go to Butlins every year with my in laws who use mobility scooters and always pay extra for the ground floor apartments. It's unfortunate they didn't move them or come across like they cared. I know you find out a few days before which apartment you are in so I am guessing if it was full then they couldn't move them as everyone would have known their allocated apartment by the time they realised. Once you have the full story I would encourage them to email. We have always found them to be good with disabilities.

My experience of booking accesssible accommodation at Butlin’s is that there’s very little of it, so even if you book months in advance, it’s likely to be sold out. This is true of most places, sadly.

I do think the site is clear about what floor your accommodation will be on though. The cheapest 2 levels are mostly ground floor anyway, no extra charge, and they have introduced a system where you can pick your unit for about £30 extra.

The best thing for them to do next time is to book over the phone, which you have to do for accessible accommodation anyway. The staff are very friendly and patient, in my experience.

As to people querying why an elderly couple might go to Butlin’s, all 3 of their sites are by the sea, and out of school holidays, it is often incredibly cheap. Far cheaper than a hotel. Plus you can use the ameties as well, if you wish. The pools are good, and some of the shows.

Your heading is a bit disingenuous. It seems Butlins DOES have accomodation for disabilities. The case here is your parents did not book that accomodation and expected the computerised booking system to somehow know. The computer ‘knows’ if you select that option, which is visible, yet your parents did not. The AI information OP provided appears to relate to people with visual disabilities. It would be hard to argue that is relevant in this case if you are visually capable of driving for 4/4.5hrs.

There appears to be no extra charge if you actually require the accommodation for disability, that charge is refunded. The only people who pay are the people who want it purely for convenience (ground floor) but don’t need it. This seems like a fair system.

i do understand if she’s booked before her information regarding accessibility would be on her account (you would assume)

but what i find is a lot of things people assume are automatic on the business side actually are not and require a human to check/ or arrange. Which they don’t more often than not.

Yes but if this was specific 'medical accommodation' or in an ideal world it may work like this but it is a holiday park not a charity it is up to the guests to book what is required not them, it does not matter what is on file

If there were no alternatives how could they offer? It does sound either

• they/you like the plane seats expected someone who had booked and paid properly to be moved...

•prepping for SM sad face compo....

This.

Mmm..

I don't think that link is particularly hard to find - some resorts/hotels make it VERY difficult to work out how to book an accessible room.

I can see how they have assumed that as they have a disability related discount, the resort should know that they're disabled, but they won't know what disability that actually is.

So this is really on your parents - if you have extra/different needs you need to let people know what those needs are, or accomodations may not be possible. Those disability discounts will be given to people with all manner of disabilities, not all of which will be related to physical mobility or an inability to walk.

Butlins could have handled it better, perhaps seeing if there was an accessible room at a different resort, but if there wasn't, and they didn't have one there, I don't really see what else they can do.

73 isn't especially old - I don't know anyone in their 70s who can't navigate a website reasonably well.

The link is there, this is 100% on your parents. Even if they missed the link, if they wanted a specific room they should have phoned to confirm.

It’s literally under the ‘choose your accommodation’ . This is on your parents.
So many questions:

they have been going for so many years, they got lucky each time?
they are Savvy enough to book online yet don’t read the fine print?
Savvy enough to drive there yet claiming they can’t see small print?
knowing they have a disability, the onus is on them to make sure they are accommodated. A quick call to confirm This would be expected.

I think Butlins would have a very good case. I clicked your picture without fully reading your post and immediately saw the option next to download maps.

The onus was on them when booking. Before I book anything I check they have ground floor rooms or rooms close to a lift. If I'm using the hotel site or a 3rd party one I phone as soon as I've booked to confirm I'll have a room allocated which suits my needs. I've never once had a problem

It's my responsibility to engage with the hotel ahead of time. I'd never risk turning up and hoping. The offer of a refund is very generous

The link is pretty clear and most people would expect to have to let somewhere know if you need a specific type of accommodation. 72 is not particularly old and plenty of people would be able to use the link available. I think your parents made a mistake and that's just one of those unfortunate things.

Oh dear that’s a nightmare for them. :(
I imagine that previously your parents have been lucky and the person allocating the accommodation perhaps realised your parents accessibility needs due to their disability discount. But on this occasion it wasn’t picked up.

But I do wonder how they didn’t pay extra for the ground floor in the past. And yes paying more does seem discriminatory. But could it be that anyone choosing their accommodation pays more, not just the ground floor?

It sounds like user error.

If your parents are finding it hard to do a simple thing like book an accessible ground floor room online then I would be offering to book it for them next time they are planning a trip. It doesn’t sound like Butlins fault.

This is on your parents, they’ve made a mistake.

I think your title is quite unfair, it’s like Butlins have done something wrong.

Sorry, but I think you're being unreasonable. It is very easy, on the Butlin's website, to book the correct accommodation. We have chosen our accommodation many times in the last couple of years because there is one room in the hotel we particularly like. Yes, we have to pay extra to do so, but that's our choice.
Having just looked on the website, it is highlighted when you're looking to book that "We have a wide range of options available for accessible accommodation today. If you're interested in discussing these please give us a call on tel:0330 100 9732 0330 100 9732 and one of advisers can listen to your individual needs and help you plan your holiday" - so, your parents could have done this before booking.
If they had done that, I think Butlin's would have been able to advise them of the accommodation that would have suited their needs perfectly.