Guides
Part of Pedestrian Friendly Stays Comparison: A Vetting Guide
Pedestrian friendly stays booking: What to ask hosts
Use this pedestrian friendly stays booking message to ask a host about entrance steps, ramp details, the route into town, and the nearest crossing.
This pedestrian friendly stays booking message works best as one note rather than a conversation. Send everything at once, ask for numbers, and read the reply for what it does not say. A host who answers four of six questions has told you which two are the problem.
What to take away
- Ask for measurements. Steps, widths and minutes, not descriptions.
- The entrance and the nearest crossing matter more than anything inside the room.
- A ramp is a specific thing with a slope and a landing, not any sloped surface.
- Ask about the crossing you will use twice a day, especially if anyone in the group has low vision.
The message to send
Copy this, adjust it, send it before paying:
Hi, I'm considering booking your place. Before I pay, could you answer these questions?
- How many steps are at the entrance, and is there a step-free route into the property?
- If there is a ramp, what are its slope and landing dimensions? Could you send a photo?
- What is the doorway width, and could you send a photo of the entrance from across the street?
- About how many minutes is the walk to downtown and to the nearest signalized crossing, and what route would you take?
- Which signalized intersection is nearest, and does it have an accessible pedestrian signal?
- If it does, does the signal provide an audible walk indication and a vibrotactile arrow? If you're unsure, please share the intersection so I can check with public works.
Thanks!
Pre-booking host questions
- Steps to entrance and handrail?
- Walking route to main street?
- Lift floors and outage plan?
- Outdoor path lit all night?
- Bag storage hours?
- Quieter side available?
Six questions, one message, one reply to keep. Send it before your deposit, and set a deadline: no word in two days means book something else.
Hosts who are attentive before payment are usually attentive after. Hosts who are not have saved you the trouble of finding out on a Friday night with luggage.
Resist the temptation to soften the questions. Asking how many steps there are is not rude. Asking whether the entrance is "easy" invites the answer everyone gives, which is yes.
What counts as a ramp
Hosts call many things ramps. The Access Board's guide to ramps and curb ramps explains the term in accessibility standards, including the ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
It covers the top landing that connects an accessible route to the ramp opening. Side flares mainly prevent tripping, not wheelchair maneuvering. Flare slopes max out at 1:10, or 1:12 in alterations lacking a top landing.
Ask for a photograph of the entrance taken from across the street. It answers the ramp question, the step question and the lighting question at once.
| Answer you get | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| "One small step" | Between four and eight inches, no handrail |
| "There is a ramp" | Possibly a plank kept behind the desk |
| "Close to everything" | Under a mile, route unknown |
| "The lift goes to all floors" | Except the one with your room, sometimes |
Ask about the crossing
The crossing you use to get to town gets used four or more times a day. If anyone in your group is blind or has low vision, ask whether the nearest signalized crossing has an accessible pedestrian signal.
The Access Board's research includes a checklist for APS installations, adapted from a national best practice guide, listing the steps an installer should carry out at each signal once installation is complete. An APS may provide an audible walk indication and a vibrotactile arrow. Local public works departments can usually say whether a given intersection has one.
If the answer is no, that shifts the whole choice of block. Our walk-shed method covers how to choose around it, and the three-zone check is what to run on the shortlist that survives.
