Blind man shares ‘humiliating’ story on TikTok after he gets stuck in US hotel elevator

Tan KW

Publish date: Tue, 11 Apr 2023, 12:47 PM

A man who is blind shared an “absolutely humiliating” experience on TikTok after he got stuck in a hotel elevator in Georgia late last month.

Mario Bonds said in his video he is extremely independent and never had to worry about getting trapped in an elevator that wasn’t ADA-compliant until he visited a hotel in Atlanta Midtown.

A hotel spokesperson told McClatchy News that the hotel took steps necessary to resolve the issues around the elevator and is conducting sensitivity training in response to Bonds’ complaint.

“I don’t feel blind when I walk with my cane, I don’t feel disabled when I have to feel around for stuff but when things are inaccessible, I’m forced to live in my disability,” he said to the camera in the very elevator he was previously trapped in.

Bonds stepped into the elevator to go downstairs to get some food and realised there was a problem: the elevator was touchscreen, he said.

Below the giant touchscreen is a keypad with numbers but no braille, which didn’t help Bonds much because he said he was unable to tell if the buttons were a number keypad or a phone keypad.

The hotel lobby was also on the 20th floor of the building, not the first, which posed another challenge to Bonds. He accidentally pressed the elevator to go down to the ground floor, which wasn’t the lobby of his hotel.

After making his way back to his room floor thanks to the help of a janitor, he discovered his key card didn’t work. What should have been a simple trip down in the elevator turned into another challenging venture for Bonds, he said.

“I didn’t want to go through another horror story again of being stuck on this elevator,” Bonds said.

“Before this situation, I did not have anxiety around being stuck alone in an elevator that I can’t operate because it was not ADA compliant,” he wrote in his TikTok caption shared on March 28. “Also, to be treated (with) disregard by the hotel staff was absolutely humiliating. I believe in teachable moments and I hope this is one for (the hotel).”

“The hotel is aware of these reported concerns. Providing a hospitable, welcoming environment is the essence of our business, and it is our policy to comply with all ADA regulations,” a spokesperson for the hotel told McClatchy News in an email.

“We immediately took the necessary steps to investigate further, including a consultation with our elevator company regarding potential updates to our equipment. We are also conducting additional training to provide a more seamless guest experience for individuals in need of accessibility accommodations.”

According to the Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards published by the United States Access Board, elevators must include braille below or next to raised characters such as numbers or words on an elevator panel.

- TNS

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