Hotel Reply

The on-going saga of the Radisson Hotel continues........

I have received a response from the Radisson, Birmingham over the weekend. They have duly acknowledged their mistakes and shortcomings and have offered various gestures to apologise for this situation. However, I am concerned as to their understanding of the DDA as they comment that "The Radisson SAS Hotel Birmingham takes the Disability Discrimination Act extremely
seriously and the hotel fully complies with the Act" - The DDA is not compliant based legislation but is an evolving piece of legislation whereby the boundaries may change on a daily basis.

Even though the gestures and the apology were made, the response did state that they accept no liability but surely the admission itself implies this?

hotel refusal continued

I was incredibly disgusted with the hotel’s mistake on Saturday 4th October 2008.

I had previously booked a twin accessible room and a twin connecting room staying at the Radisson, Birmingham. On Saturday, my Personal Assistant arrived at the hotel at approximately 12.00 noon to leave our bags there and I was horrified that there was no mention of the Hotel’s mistake then.

We went out for the day and returned at approximately 9.00pm in order to check-in. We were told that the Hotel had been double-booked and as it was the Radisson’s mistake. they had arranged for us to stay in similar rooms with similar facilities and same star category at the City Inn, Birmingham. We were told that a taxi had been ordered on account and would arrive to take us to the City Inn.

The taxi did arrive and we were taken to the City Inn, at which point, the driver insisted on payment and would not accept that this had been paid on account. This issue was resolved when I checked out as the taxi fare was deducted from my hotel bill.

The rooms were not twin bedded nor connecting which I found particularly disturbing as I had to share a bed with my Personal Assistant (and his snoring).

Secondly, this contravenes the DDA, which I did point out to the Radisson in my original booking – therefore, surely under the DDA the second room should have been free of charge. This matter has made me incredibly angry indeed and this is the reason why the DDA exists in order to preserve the rights of the disabled person as people like the Radisson take advantage.

I was equally disturbed by the fact that the Radisson reception staff looked me directly in the face and misled me about the taxi and about the same standard of room. I am not only seeking compensation but I am also seriously considering taking legal action against the Radisson.

In any case, I will not be staying at a Radisson ever again, but should this be mistaken as a complaint from one individual please be aware that all family, friends and colleagues will learn about this treatment and I am sure that they will also decide not to use the Radisson in the future.

Therefore, i asked them to consider the issues raised above and get back to me their comments.

I am stIll waiting........

Twin beds?

Further to my post last week about hotel refusal, I can confirm that the Radisson did in fact come back to me and after seeking advice, they were able to offer a twin accessible room rather than an accessible plus a PA room. I believe that this meets adequate to meet their legal requirements under the DDA but I still do not feel that this is not best practice, as a PA is completely separate from the disabled person unless they require assistance at that particular time. Therefore, best practice would dictate that the PA should be accommodated within a separate room in order to preserve the privacy and dignity of the disabled person. The decision by the hotel means that I will have to put up with the drone of my PA’s constant snoring – cocktail sticks need to be packed to keep my eyes open the next day!

Hotel Refusal

I am going to see the football in October (West Bromwich Albion versus Fulham - with a Fulham win of course) and need to stay overnight in Birmingham City Centre. After sourcing a hotel to stay in - the Radisson - which is accessible and fitted my access requirements perfectly, I contacted the Reservations Department. My access requirement was for a wheelchair accessible room with a connecting room for my personal assistant to stay in (his snoring is the worse but don't tell him I told you). This connecting room should be complimentary, so as a disabled person, I do not need to pay any more than anyone else as per the needs of my condition i.e. having a personal assistant. I believe there was a case under the Disability Discrimination Act about two or three years ago which clarified the situation that the hotel must only charge for one room in these circumstances - the original claim was made against Intercontintental Hotels for a stay in an Express by Holiday Inn. I emailed the Radisson on Monday to make the request which they have refused. Now I have emailed them again but this time I have sited the DDA case and I am currently awaiting their reply.

It should be done as best practice in the original enquiry and it should not be necessary for someone to quote the law every time they want the same service that should be afforded to anyone.