ADA in Hotels

kareng · May 1, 2012

I just stayed in the Sheraton in Clayton, MO. They charged $25 to get a fridge in your room for medical needs. Didn't ask for proof of need. I can afford the $25 but this is the first time I have heard of this. Has anyone else had this? I'm wondering if they charged the kid in the wheelcahir to use the elevator or extra for an accessible room!

I will email them but thought I would see if anyone else had this?

anabananakins · May 1, 2012

Gosh, thats pretty crummy (ha, pun not intended). How many nights did that fee cover? I stayed in the Holiday Inn in North Hollywood (the Beverly Garland) a year or so ago and they were great. I don't have a formal diagnosis and I was still new to gluten free so I didn't feel comfortable saying it was for a medical need, I just called and said I wanted a fridge and they said sure, that'd be $10 per night. But then on check-in the gentleman (old enough to be my father) questioned me about why I wanted the fridge and I explained I'd be catering my meals because I had food allergies and it was hard to eat out. He said he thought that sounded like a medical reason to him and waived the fee. I guess perhaps my original request just made it sound like I wanted it for beverages but when he saw me I didn't look quite the party animal type! I was staying 5 nights so I was really grateful, $10 isn't much but it adds up over multiple nights.

kareng · May 1, 2012

It was $25 for the whole visit. So $25 if you stayed 1 night or 21 nights. Also, I could have had a microwave for another $25. We weren't there much so I didn't bother. I specifically asked the corporate reservations and then the hotel. Both said the same thing.

anabananakins · May 3, 2012

On 5/1/2012 at 2:26 PM, kareng said:
It was $25 for the whole visit. So $25 if you stayed 1 night or 21 nights. Also, I could have had a microwave for another $25. We weren't there much so I didn't bother. I specifically asked the corporate reservations and then the hotel. Both said the same thing.

I guess that's a bargain if you stay a longer visit but that's a pretty big charge for just one night. Especially when there are so many hotels that do offer a fridge for free. I guess maybe they figure their market is business traveller's whose employer will absorb the cost... it would put me off staying with them, as comfy as they are.

kareng · May 3, 2012

On 5/3/2012 at 7:30 PM, anabananakins said:
I guess that's a bargain if you stay a longer visit but that's a pretty big charge for just one night. Especially when there are so many hotels that do offer a fridge for free. I guess maybe they figure their market is business traveller's whose employer will absorb the cost... it would put me off staying with them, as comfy as they are.

They weren't even that nice of a place. I got a form letter about sorry you were dissatisfied & we sent it on to yor specific hotel. I sent back a note that the corporate reservations told me a fee first. They will probably refund & that is the easiest thing for them to do. I was hoping they would change the corporate policy for people with medical needs.

anabananakins · May 11, 2012

It would've been nice if you could've gotten them to change the corporate policy, oh well, at least you tried. If I stay with them again I'll check and maybe make a fuss too. I get that there's work/cost involved in providing fridges but not *that* many people would ask for them.

JNBunnie1 · May 15, 2012

On 5/11/2012 at 11:13 PM, anabananakins said:
It would've been nice if you could've gotten them to change the corporate policy, oh well, at least you tried. If I stay with them again I'll check and maybe make a fuss too. I get that there's work/cost involved in providing fridges but not *that* many people would ask for them.

On the contrary, every third guest asks for a refrigerator. I spent six years behind the front desk of a hotel. In our case, we never charged for them, so this wasn't an issue. My understanding is that most places that will charge are what's called limited service, meaning the housekeeping staff goes home at 3, and so does everyone else except for one person at the front desk who answers the phone. Many places that are very small won't even have an overnight person on the desk. These places charge purely for the purpose of having less work to do because they have so few staff. It is frustrating, but I have no idea if the ADA requires hotels to waive fees for things like fridges. I know anyone who brought a pet for medical reasons still had to pay the pet fee, because extra cleaning is still required whatever the reason the pet is there. That may have changed though, it's been awhile since I worked in a hotel. (thank god!)

Mom23boys · May 15, 2012

We stay at the Hampton Inn when we travel. They have a fridge and microwave in the room. I don't know if we are lucky or if they set up by a 24 hour grocery on purpose. They have made traveling easy.

kareng · May 15, 2012

On 5/15/2012 at 2:20 AM, JNBunnie1 said:
On the contrary, every third guest asks for a refrigerator. I spent six years behind the front desk of a hotel. In our case, we never charged for them, so this wasn't an issue. My understanding is that most places that will charge are what's called limited service, meaning the housekeeping staff goes home at 3, and so does everyone else except for one person at the front desk who answers the phone. Many places that are very small won't even have an overnight person on the desk. These places charge purely for the purpose of having less work to do because they have so few staff. It is frustrating, but I have no idea if the ADA requires hotels to waive fees for things like fridges. I know anyone who brought a pet for medical reasons still had to pay the pet fee, because extra cleaning is still required whatever the reason the pet is there. That may have changed though, it's been awhile since I worked in a hotel. (thank god!)

In this cas, its the whole Sheraton corporate policy as well as the individual hotel. They can't charge an extra fee for service animals. Sheraton has been fined for doing that under the ADA. I didn't see anything about fridges. but they are the only ones I have found who charge if you have a medical need.

anabananakins · May 17, 2012

On 5/15/2012 at 2:20 AM, JNBunnie1 said:
On the contrary, every third guest asks for a refrigerator. I spent six years behind the front desk of a hotel. In our case, we never charged for them, so this wasn't an issue.

Interesting, that's way more than I thought. I used to work at a hotel too but I don't think we had them to offer even if someone wanted to pay.

ETA, I'm in Australia.