Bed Phrame Lift - Enables Wheelchair Customization to Ultra High Hotel Beds

 Imagine this: You just checked into an expensive hotel and are given your key. You are tired from traveling and cannot wait to get into a clean luxury hotel bed. You open the door and suddenly notice your bed is 20 feet off the ground and there is no ladder. You are bewildered and wonder how you will get into bed to sleep. That scenario is commonplace for those of us who are mobility impaired. Hotels have adopted luxury bedding and a 30-inch bed in a wheelchair accessible hotel room might as well be 100 feet off the ground for those of us that use wheelchairs. 

Hotels have adopted luxury bedding as a marketing tool to enhance their customers hotel experience. Wheelchair accessible hotel rooms have been upgraded with ultra high mattresses. The bed height makes it difficult, impossible or even dangerous for the mobility impaired to get into bed. Many environments are still not completely wheelchair accessible. However, the hotel bed in a wheelchair accessible hotel room should not be inaccessible. 

  A portable lift, designed by a wheelchair user, to allow a wheelchair seat to be raised to be equal to the top of a luxury hotel mattress.  Ideally, every hotel would offer a lift and store it on premises like a roll away bed. When requested, the lift can be easily rolled to a room and placed next to the bed. Any height bed up to 36 inches is now accessible. Hotels offer lifts to get into swimming pools and jacuzzi's and now there is a lift to help people do the most important thing they want to do when they rent a hotel room - to get into bed to sleep.

Anthony Melchiorri wrote about this problem in Lodging Magazine August 2017 "ASK ANTHONY" column: "How can hotels better serve guests with mobility needs"

Thirty plus years ago, the United Nations General Assembly began putting forth various resolutions ultimately leading to the UN Standard Rules of 1993; providing for a worldwide focus on equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities. In the U.S., the Americans with Disabilities Act established equal opportunity and non-discrimination requirements with strict compliance standards. To this day, despite some “grandfather” clauses which delay certain changes in older hotels, more and more, especially at franchised properties, there are dedicated efforts factored into new hotel development and renovations ensuring the highest standard of compliance with these requirements.

(continued)

Ask Anthony Melcchiorri (continued)

                                                                                         However, challenges remain. For example, a friend of mine, requires the use of a wheel chair. Throughout his life, he’s traveled around the world to the finest hotels, yet he has difficulty getting into bed. There is no effective, convenient, affordable lift product currently on the market for people to use. Commercial products are expensive and clumsy. Laws have required lifts for swimming pools and hot-tubs, yet people with mobility issues do not have access to an on-site lift to get them into bed. Instead, my friend developed his own lift technique. He has reached out to national associations such as AH&LA, various politicians and advocacy groups; but no luck. We have come far with regards to accommodating guests of all types, however its clear to me that we still have work to do. As a champion of all guests, I’m hoping we make further strides.

We have created a petition to remedy this equal access issue. The mobility impaired need to be able to travel anywhere confidently. The Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division is aware of this problem. People have been complaining for years. The American Hotel and Lodging Association also knows of this problem. They too must endorse a remedy to this widespread problem. The portable bedside lift is the easiest remedy to help make hotel beds accessible. Hotels could continue their marketing of luxury bedding and still offer equal access to sleeping in a hotel bed. The portable bedside lift is an easy solution to fix ultra high mattresses for both the hotel industry and the mobility impaired traveler. 
Please help make sleeping in a wheelchair accessible hotel room bed accessible to those of us with mobility issues.
Thank you 
Anthony Amorello