As I’ve mentioned before, I am a very pear-shaped woman. My hips are huge. Consequently, I sometimes struggle in unfamiliar bathrooms where the toilet is too close to the wall for me. Frankly, as you can imagine, this can be inconvenient.

I tend to book handicapped rooms in hotels because the toilets are higher, and it’s easier to get in and out of the tub—sometimes there’s even a walk-in shower. However, handicapped rooms don’t always leave enough room on the toilet for me.

Since I will be traveling in a few months, I wanted to plan ahead. I visited the website of the hotel I’m considering and, from the pictures, it didn’t look like the handicapped rooms had a shower—just a tub. Additionally, I couldn’t determine how close the toilet was to the wall.

So, I called the hotel. The staff had the maintenance guy call me back. I first asked if they had any rooms with a shower. He told me they have one room with a roll-in shower. Then I explained that I am very wide and asked if he could tell me how much room there is between the toilet and the wall.

He said the toilet is fairly close to the wall but—are you ready for this?—if I tell him when I’m coming, he will turn the toilet on its base and angle it so it’s catty-corner (or do you say kitty-corner?) to the wall, giving me plenty of room. I was blown away.

He also advised me which room to reserve (room 101, so it’s on the first floor, the first room off the lobby!) and said I should just let him know when I’m coming.

My mother was right! “If you don’t ask, the answer’s always ‘no.'” This experience reinforced why it’s so important to advocate for yourself!

How do you advocate for yourself?