Disabled woman left on hotel sofa after Travelodge room error

Bethany, a full-time wheelchair user, says she was feeling poorly while waiting for hotel staff to find her an accessible room

A wheelchair user said she was left waiting for hours in a Travelodge café because staff failed to book her into an accessible hotel room.

Bethany Handley, 24, said staff told her "it doesn't matter" when she explained she could not access the toilet in a regular room.

After becoming unwell she was forced to rest on the cafe's sofa at the hotel in Farringdon, London, before her mum found her somewhere else to stay.

Travelodge apologised to Ms Handley.

Bethany, from Monmouth, said: "The hotel made me feel like I was the problem for being a wheelchair user.

"I'm not disabled by having to use a wheelchair. I'm disabled by Travelodge not having a safe place for me to stay."

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The writer and disability activist arrived at the hotel with her mum at about 20:15 BST on Tuesday 26 September ahead of a hospital appointment the following day.

But Travelodge staff said the accessible room the hospital had booked for her was not available, and showed her to a regular room instead.

"I couldn't get through the bathroom door," Bethany said, adding that she has to wheel herself up to a toilet or shower to use it.

Bethany Handley says her mum had to find her another hotel

Bethany said a manager told her "it doesn't matter" when she said she had to have wheelchair access to a toilet in her room.

She said she ended up "feeling poorly" and lay down on a couch in the hotel cafe until about 22:30, when staff offered an accessible room at a Travelodge on the other side of London.

Her mum left her there alone, and eventually found her another hotel nearby with an accessible room.

Bethany's mother ended walking around at night near the Travelodge in Farrington to find them another place to stay

Bethany said it cost her £400 and the ordeal left her feeling unwell for her appointment.

"Travelodge showed complete disregard to disabled people," she said. "Access should be a right, but in this case it seems to be an afterthought.

"Everyone should have a right to safe accommodation. Our rights are being violated."

Bethany shared her experience on social media, where other wheelchair users described similar experiences.

She called on Travelodge to listen to feedback from disabled customers.

"Staff need disability awareness training so they don't blame customers who have access requirements and offer better service to disabled people."

Travelodge apologised to Ms Handley, saying a reservation for a standard room rather than an accessible one was made by a travel agent.

It said the hotel team did "everything possible to accommodate her needs".

A spokesman added: "While we were not able to provide an accessible room in this hotel for the first night of the booking, we were able to allocate an accessible room for the second night of Ms Handley's stay.

"We understand this room did not meet her specific requirements and have offered Ms Handley a full refund which she has accepted."