Imagine the following scenario. After a long travel day you check into your hotel only to find that it’s not as accessible as you expected. So what do you do? Cry? Swear? Facebook shame the property? Or maybe all three? Unfortunately, even though these actions are a good way to vent your frustration, they won’t really do anything to solve the problem at hand. With that in mind, here are five common hotel wheelchair access failures, along with some solutions to solve, or even prevent them.

Failure

You reserve a wheelchair-accessible room, and when you check-in you discover that there’s no roll-in shower. Instead the bathroom has a tub/shower combination with grab bars. “How can they even consider this accessible?” you scream.

Fix

The fix for this one is actually in the reservation process. The problem is that not all accessible rooms have roll-in showers; in fact properties with 50 or fewer rooms are not required to have them. So when you make a reservation, make sure to reserve an accessible room with a roll-in shower — and make sure they block the room upon reservation. Blocking a room means they set aside a specific room for a specific guest on a specific date, and it’s required under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Choosing a larger property also increases your chances of finding an accessible room with a roll-in shower.

Failure

You get to the accessible room, and are thrilled to find that it has a roll-in shower, but you stare in disbelief at the portable shower chair. “There is absolutely no way that I can use this piece of junk, as it’s nothing like the one I have at home,” you mutter.

Fix

This is a common problem, as everybody has different access needs, and sometimes the perfect shower chair for one person is an utter nightmare for the next person. The fix for this problem also lies in the reservation — or rather the pre-reservation — process. If you can only manage with a very specific type of shower chair, call the hotel and ask them to snap a photo of their model and send it to you. With technology today it’s a totally doable request. Alternatively, you could bring along your own shower chair if you don’t want to risk dealing with an unknown commodity.

Failure

You check out the bathroom in your accessible room, and for the most part the shower and shower chair look fine. Then you look over at the toilet and feel a sinking feeling in your stomach. “That toilet is way too low for me, and I’ll never be able to transfer to and from it in my higher wheelchair,” you think.

Fix

Under the ADA, accessible toilets are required to be 17 to 19 inches high. That said, sometimes 19 inches is still too low for some people. A good fix for this problem is to call housekeeping and ask them for a toilet riser. This will raise the seat about four inches, and since it’s removable it’s not an access obstacle for people with lower wheelchairs. And if you want to make sure the toilet is ready to go upon your arrival, request a toilet riser when you make your reservation.

Failure

You get to your accessible room and are over the moon about the bathroom access features. An accessible shower, shower chair and toilet are all in place. Then you look over at the bed, which is much higher than your wheelchair. “How will I ever get into that bed?” you wonder. “This can’t be wheelchair accessible.”

Fix

Unfortunately the ADA does not cover bed height. Even worse, there’s no real agreement among disabled guests on the ideal bed height. Generally speaking wheelchair-users like lower beds, while slow walkers who have difficulty bending prefer higher models. And you’ll see all sorts of variations in hotel rooms. If bed height is an issue for you, call the hotel and ask them to measure the bed in the accessible room. If it turns out that the bed is too high for you, ask if they will remove the frame to lower it to a more doable height. Many hotels will do this, but if you run into a property that won’t, then find another hotel.

Failure

You can’t really walk too far without tiring or sitting down, so you always get an accessible room near the lobby. When you check in and get your key, you are surprised to see that your room is on the third floor. You are even more surprised when you get upstairs and discover that the room is at the end of a long hallway. You eventually make it to the room but you have to stop several times along the way. “How do they expect slow walkers to get to this accessible room that’s so far away from the lobby?” you ask yourself.

Fix

Under the ADA, accessible rooms must be dispersed throughout the different rate categories, which results in the varied placement of these rooms. And although a slow walker may need a room near the elevator, a power wheelchair-user might prefer a room in a quieter location at the end of the hallway. The bottom line is, not all accessible rooms are located near the front desk, so if you can’t walk very far you will have to request a room near the lobby or by the elevator when you make your reservation.