by Maybe it’s a holiday in the sun or a weekend in the city to catch up with a show or similar event. Maybe it’s just to reconnect with family and friends. Whatever the reason, short or long breaks usually give you a chance to relax, recharge, release some endorphins and improve your well-being.
My partner of 20 years, Julie, who is now my full-time carer, and I have taken some amazing trips home and away over the years. However, we can no longer throw a load of clothes into a suitcase and ride off into the sunset.
In 1997 I was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Since then, I have had to adapt from walking with a limp, to a walking stick, crutches, manual wheelchairs, manual bicycles, to now flying around in a power electric chair. I don’t have much core strength left, so I need a lift and a sling to get me into bed or onto the toilet.
We live in a beautiful location in Devon – which is a holiday in itself – and have adapted to the trials and tribulations of living with my progressive disability.
We don’t travel abroad much now. Although I have long avoided being left on a plane, I had to endure the horror of being physically carried up and down escalators and dragged through planes strapped to an aisle seat with fellow passengers stared at them very incredulously. It feels like a circus act or Hannibal Lecter in you, and I was very upset that I had to put up with it.
However, we still like a change of scenery, and there are some beautiful spots to visit in the UK, many of which are on our to-do list. Driving across the UK can be as long as a long-haul flight (it took us 11 hours to get to Northumberland once) and getting the train requires logistical planning to ensure there is an attendant to take you on and off. But these obstacles seem like small potatoes compared to finding suitable accommodation.
Despite the fact that the Equality Act 2010 provides better transport facilities and access to public buildings, it appears to be lacking when it comes to ensuring better services and accessibility for disabled customers staying in one of the 39,000 hotels in the UK.
Five per cent of Travelodge’s 43,000 rooms are wheelchair accessible or adapted in some way – including grab bars around the bathroom, widening doors and step-free access – and cost the same as other rooms (£ 64 on average). That percentage is in line with building regulations for new hotels but when it is shown on a national scale, it is doubtful whether it is high enough considering that people with disabilities make up a fifth of the population.
Of course, “disability” includes people with a wide range of conditions and needs, and for many, a few nights away in a hotel can be a little problematic. However, for the UK’s 1.2m wheelchair users, especially those like myself, where a lift is an essential piece of equipment, there are still serious gaps in the services provided.
According to the Ceiling Lift Users Community, out of 1.4m hotel rooms in the UK, less than 20 have full access for disabled people, including a ceiling lift, six of which are in London. Some hotels will no doubt allow you to hire a hand lift but these are generally not available for short term stays and would double the cost of any stay, adding to the disability price tag.
Things are better if you search online for fully accessible holidays
Things don’t get much better when you search Airbnb. After checking all the accessibility features on their website, including a lift, I found one log cabin – in Devon. It looked very nice but it was less than an hour from town and the prices were just shy of £200 a night. Availability in the summer months was already very limited, which reflected the demand for such accommodation.
Things are better if you search online for fully accessible holidays. You can find more availability there as owners have approached the potential market and gone that extra mile to ensure peace of mind for their visitors. Most properties list and specify their services clearly, so there are no hidden surprises, and the owners seem to get what they mean and are subsequently rewarded with repeat bookings. On social media, private groups of people, many with personal experience of disability and suitable places to stay, have come together to find and recommend accessible properties to those looking for them. It builds a community of like-minded people helping each other and sharing their knowledge and endorsements.
Nothing comes cheap these days, and a four-day out-of-season break could set you back more than £600. That’s great if you can afford it. But most of the properties are located in rural areas, which means that city breaks must be ruled out.
The hotel industry could learn a lot from and even benefit from the fully accessible holiday sector. The “purple pound” for the domestic tourism market is worth £16bn a year – a fifth of which goes to night periods. In the grand scheme of things, a ceiling lift would be a small investment (£4k or £5k) for most hotels, wouldn’t need to spoil the aesthetics of the room and would likely increase financial returns .
