 A young disabled woman was forced to sleep on a Travelodge café sofa despite booking an accessible room. The incident happened at Travelodge's hotel in Farringdon London, while Bethany Handley, 24, from Monmouth, in Wales, was visiting the capital for a hospital appointment the next day. Bethany told staff at the hotel chain she needed an accessible room because she could not access the toilet. But she said staff told her 'it doesn't matter' and was left extremely tired having to lay on the sofa. She was told the accessible room was not available and was offered a regular room instead. Travelodge has since apologised. Bethany 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. 'I couldn't get through the bathroom door.' Bethany told staff she needed an accessible hotel room because she could not access the toilet in a regular room (Picture: Bethany Handley/Wales News Service) Bethany had to relocate to another hotel on the other side of London (Picture: Bethany Handley/Wales News Service) The incident happened at the Travelodge branch in Farringdon, London (Picture: Wales News Service) Travelodge has since apologised to Bethany for the mishap (Picture: Wales News Service/Bethany Handley) Bethany's mum was forced to find another hotel on the other side of London for her daughter. Bethany continued: 'Travelodge showed complete disregard to disabled people. 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. '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 Bethany, saying t){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A woman visiting London for a hospital visit ended up having to sleep on a sofa after a booking error.
Bethany Handley, 24, booked an accessible room at Travelodge in Farringdon, but when she arrived from Monmouth she was told none were available.
She ended up sleeping on a couch in the hotel’s cafe.
Bethany said: ‘The hotel made me feel like I was the problem for being a wheelchair user.