Prepare a requested accessible stay without assuming or over-promising
For reservations, front desk, housekeeping and guest services teams
When a guest mentions an accessibility need, ask what would make the stay work for them, check the specific feature with the team that knows the room or space, and pass on only what is confirmed. This page uses a fictional property, Harborlight Hotel, to show how that coordination looks across departments.
Scope: this page covers guest-specific stay preparation. It is separate from workplace accommodations for employees. Harborlight's examples are illustrative. For regulated, privacy-sensitive or safety-critical questions, follow your property's approved local procedure and involve the trained role it names.
Questions about this page: Hospitality Operations owns it. Raise corrections with that team, and review the page whenever a local procedure or a room's features change.
Two common requests, two different follow-ups
Swipe sideways on a phone to read each row in full.
- Guest names a feature:
- "Does the room have a roll-in shower?"
- Guest describes an outcome:
- "I find it hard to step into a bathtub."
- Guest names a feature:
- "Is that feature needed for the whole stay, or just for one part of it?"
- Guest describes an outcome:
- "What would make the bathroom work best for you?"
- Guest names a feature:
- That the specific room type has that exact feature, with the team that holds room details
- Guest describes an outcome:
- Which available rooms or arrangements could meet the outcome the guest described
- Guest names a feature:
- That a similar-sounding feature or a nearby room type is the same thing
- Guest describes an outcome:
- That you know which feature the guest wants, or that one solution suits everyone
- Guest names a feature:
- What was confirmed, what is still being checked, and when you will update them
- Guest describes an outcome:
- The options that were confirmed, plus a follow-up on anything still open
The coordination sequence
Follow it in order, whichever team takes the first call or message.
-
1
Ask what would help
Use open wording such as "What would make your stay easier?" Let the guest describe it in their own terms. Do not ask for more detail than the service needs, and do not ask for medical information. -
2
Confirm the exact feature and its availability
Ask the team responsible for the room or space to verify the specific feature for the dates requested. Do not rely on a room-type name or a past stay. -
3
Record only the relevant agreed details
Use your property's approved local method. Write the confirmed request in practical terms, for example "bathroom with a shower seat confirmed for Room 412", not the reason behind it. -
4
Hand off the confirmed information
Send the detail to each department that needs it to deliver the service. Name the person or role who owns any open question. -
5
Recheck unresolved items before arrival
Review open questions the day before arrival. If something is still unconfirmed, contact the guest before they travel rather than at the desk.
Who does what: a worked example at Harborlight Hotel
A guest asks whether a room has a particular bathroom feature. Here is how each team contributes.
- Reservations: clarify the request The guest asks about a bathroom feature for a three-night stay. Reservations asks what the feature needs to do for them, notes the dates, and asks the responsible team to verify. Reservations does not promise a specific room yet.
- Housekeeping or the room-details owner: verify the room The responsible team checks the specific room for the requested feature and replies with what is and is not present. Anything unclear is reported as unconfirmed, not guessed.
- Front desk: receive only the confirmed detail The arrival note reads: "Room 412 confirmed with the requested bathroom feature. Guest asked for a ground-floor drop-off; bell team notified." It carries no reason or background.
- Guest services: close the loop Guest services contacts the guest once the room is confirmed and checks whether anything else would help on arrival. If anything is still open, they name who is checking and when the guest will hear back.
When it is not straightforward
Pause any assurance you cannot support, and use the trained role or approved local procedure.
What if the feature cannot be confirmed?
Tell the guest plainly what you could and could not confirm. Do not say "it should be fine". Ask the responsible team whether another room or arrangement would meet the same outcome, and share the options only once verified.
What if the guest's preference is unclear?
Ask again in different words, such as "What would a good arrival look like for you?" Offer the verified options you do have and let the guest choose. Do not pick for them.
What if a request raises a privacy question?
Share the detail only with teams that need it to deliver the service. If you are unsure who should see it, stop and ask the role your approved local procedure names.
What if a request raises a policy or safety question?
Do not improvise an answer or an exception. Pause, tell the guest you are checking, and take it to the trained role or approved local procedure. Give the guest a time for your update.
Can I record the reason for the request?
Record only what teams need to carry out the service, using your property's approved method. The reason behind a request is generally not needed for service delivery.
Handoff checklist before arrival
A handoff is ready when every item below can be answered in a sentence.
- Confirmed request: the specific feature or arrangement, the room or space, and the stay dates.
- Verification source: the team or role that confirmed it, and when.
- Open question and owner: anything still unconfirmed, and the named role checking it.
- Next guest update: who will contact the guest, by when, and about what.
- Limited content: the note holds only what is needed for service, with no reasons, diagnoses or unrelated personal detail.
Example note: "Room 412, 14-17 May: bathroom feature confirmed by Housekeeping on 9 May. Ground-floor drop-off requested; bell team notified. Open: reserved parking near the entrance, owner Guest Services, update to guest by 12 May."