Back in April, Jaelynn Chaney started a petition demanding additional free seats for plus-sized passengers which, she acknowledged, would mean that everyone else would have to pay more to accommodate her.
Now she’s back with demands for hotels. She wants wider hallways; larger elevators; and retrofits to bathroom toilet seat, shower heads, and sturdier beds. And she thinks it’s discriminatory for hotels not to stock bathrobes up to size 6XL.
- Airlines offer the option for passengers to buy extra seats if they cannot fit into just one.
- There’s a broad model in disability accommodation law that the expense burden should fall on a business and not an individual. So there’s at least an argument to be made to extend that model.
- With hotels, though, their hallways, elevators and showers are usually larger than an airline seat?
@jaebaeofficial Embracing Inclusivity in Hospitality Creating a space where every guest feels valued and comfortable is essential. Size-inclusive hotel amenities are more than just accommodations – they're a statement of respect for diverse needs and body types. From spacious chairs to thoughtful bathroom facilities, every detail matters. Elevators, pool areas, and dining spaces should be designed to ensure ease of movement and relaxation. Let's make travel truly accessible and welcoming for travelers of all sizes and abilities. • • • #InclusiveHospitality #TravelWithComfort #RespectAndDiversity #PlusSizeTravel #PlusSizeFriendly #InclusiveTravel #AccessibleTravel #SizeFriendly #TravelInclusivity #Fyp ♬ Good Vibes – Rerewrpd
It’s great that people can speak up and advocate for themselves. I’m not so sure that passengers who prefer not to sit next to someone that protrudes into their seat should be shamed for it, nor should airlines be required to widen their aisles to accommodate large passengers. That would take away from seat space. Tradeoffs!
United Airlines might generate $80 million per year in fuel savings if everyone took Ozempic but it seems like potential savings in capital costs are even greater for hotels if they don’t have to retrofit their hallways and elevators and buy new beds?
Try a salad.
“I’m not so sure that passengers who prefer not to sit next to someone that protrudes into their seat should be shamed for it”
Oh, I’m sure. I prefer to not sit next to someone who protrudes into my seat. Period. Will I be rude to them? No. Will I complain to the F.A.? No. Will I be happy about it? No.
But don’t try to “shame” me for preferring to have the seat I paid for all to myself.
She who yells the loudest gets the most attention. What a disgusting human being she is. I sincerely hope that one of these whales never gets too close to me when I’m travelling; I’d not be very accommodating to their deluded ideas.
Many hotels do need larger elevators, but not for plus sized people. I’ve been in hotels where it took a ridiculous length of time for some poor person in a mobi to get on or off the escalator, holding up not just them but everyone else waiting for the elevator.
But it’s an undue burden to ask them to fix it and in many cases impossible.
An actual disability activist would be going after carpets. Carpets? The heavy duty carpets found in most hotel corridors are horrible for people in manual wheelchairs. And I know it’s true because when I’m moving a dolly of books through a hotel, when I hit the carpet it becomes about three times as heavy. Somebody needs to design a better carpet…
I spent three decades working for a big three carrier. Until the 2000s, most stations didn’t even have wide wheelchairs. Now most of the chairs are the wide design. Seatbelt extenders almost never came out of hiding, and I could have counted on one hand the number of times someone even came close to encroaching on my seat.
People keep getting fatter. I don’t know why, but I’m guessing a lot of it has to do with how much they eat in restaurants. I know so many people that never cook at home. They eat out every day, consuming so many more calories than they need.
Fat people claim seats are smaller, but they really aren’t. I’m 20 lbs overweight, but fit comfortably into any seat. (Legroom can be another story.) Hubby is 6’4″ and 200 lbs. He fits in any width seat. Yes, a few carriers have shaved an inch off the width, but most seats are still 17.5 to 18.5 inches wide. What has changed is how wide people are.
There are rare metabolic conditions that can make it difficult to be a normal weight. Everything else is a simple matter of calories in vs calories burned. How we beat that into people’s heads is beyond my ken. I just know the rest of us shouldn’t have to pay for their choice.
Heart disease and diabetes are the #1 threat to American health yet we don’t dare point this out to the obese…. Just get a shot or take another pill, right?
In some cases, it would be cheaper to completely rebuild a hotel than just trying to retrofit and make the hallways wider and install larger elevators.
But the jokes on her as it’s inevitable that airline pricing on many LCC will soon be tied to a person’s weight.
https://brothke.medium.com/your-bmi-is-your-ticket-price-the-next-dimension-in-airline-pricing-c0592c755a8f?sk=6d63de598dbaa96540b9f3fc9255e571
Uh, no.
She needs to get smaller…..
She should come live with me for a month. I just walked 2 miles & had a cup of coffee & a banana for breakfast. The only irresistible impulse is the one you don’t resist.
I’m actually stunned she is willingly bringing attention to herself when she alone is responsible for her condition. I’d be in hiding or in a food rehab facility.
Coming soon:
XL by Marriott
A hip new place for large people to mingle. Now with extra bacon for breakfast.
The best response to this not-so-physically-active activist would be from Michael Corleone in Godfather II:
“My offer is this. Nothing.”
Gonna be the one to say it. Nobody gets to that weight without some kind of underlying medical condition.
While I do think she is asking for more than is feasible, it is unlikely she is the one responsible for her condition. I have *never* known anyone that heavy who didn’t have something else going on.
Weight gain can be caused by PCOS, hypothyroidism, depression, menopause (my current battle, sigh, believe me, the 20 pounds will NOT come back off), not getting enough sleep, diabetes, many medications. Many people who are overweight can’t get enough exercise because of a health condition and then they get heavy and it gets harder to exercise.
I don’t judge, and I knew this was going to be a judgefest. I hope none of you develop a health condition that makes you fat…but many of you will, statistically.
At a certain point, we need to knock it off with the fallacy of “plus sized” and start calling it “disgustingly elephantine”, like it is.
Fatbodies such as this woman are only trying to make a career as a “social media influencer.”Most of the hotels in existence already have half her fat body demand list or more because ACTUAL HANDICAPPED people need them.
Moreover, hotels in Europe have small elevators but large stairwells- which is clearly what she should be using anyway.
So, the many must stop and accommodate the few. It’s way past time to “get real” and this is a classic example. Her “issue” applies to about .0001% of the travelling public so we should just roll over, spend billions just to take care of her?
She needs to stop wasting her time chasing windmills and address the problem causing her condition.
@ Bob.
A hip new place. Very good.
Just stay home, or find a more suitable means of travel.
Airlines should charge by the kilo. For example, to make my example simple, everyone gets 100 kilos. Mix or match. Fat or luggage. Then charge per kilo over that.
Airlines start charging for these wide bodies. I don’t get why the Federal govt dictates to a company. Obesity is at 40% in the USA.
@Jennifer P. Gonna be the one to say it. Laziness and poor choices in the kitchen are NOT medical conditions.
WOHOO! Something we all agree on with the airlines!
I am completely disgusted by the fallacies and prejudices concerning overweight people in the comments.
No- it isn’t usually that obese people simply overeat. No, it isn’t merely a lack of exercise. https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/life/health-wellness/2021/07/27/myths-about-obesity-weight-loss-health/47649843/
Even among medical professionals, there is a lack of knowledge and a surfeit of prejudices concerning obesity. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1208051
In my own case, I was obese from age 3. I was shamed, put on diets, and suffered from all of the discrimination shown in the comments above for all of my teenage and adult life, although it was clearly a metabolic and genetic issue. It wasn’t until I had bariatric surgery for me to lose 70 lbs, which I have kept off since 2015.
The only intelligent comment was from @JenniferP. The rest of you need to (as they say in Ohio) “Beat the Stigma”. https://mha.ohio.gov/about-us/media-center/news/statewide-beat-the-stigma-education-awareness-campaign-launched
Why even waste time and space with this person. Her demands are absurd and it’s apparent that she is simply looking for her 15 minutes. It’s a waste read.
I have no problem if hotels accommodate those who need accommodating. Provided that those who need accommodating are willing to pay for the accommodations. Everybody wants to have fun. I get that. People should be able to enjoy themselves. I have no problem with that. I just don’t want to have to pay for it. And calling it discriminatory is a bit of a stretch. There are building codes to consider and structural integrity. It’s not possible to go back and widen hallways in existing properties without decreasing room size which would solve nothing.
And there are plenty of properties worldwide that can accommodate her. I’ve stayed in rooms where the bathroom is the size of a regular hotel room with a shower big enough for 5 of me. I”m guessing she doesn’t want to pay the rate for accommodations that will meet her needs.
Maybe she should listen to the “Let’s Get Small” LP by Steve Martin
If a whale sits down beside me on a flight, the armrest goes down and not one single centimeter of my space is being shared. I didn’t pay for only 75% space (more or less) but 100% of my space. Sounds cruel, but why should I have a sweaty fat body pressed up against me the whole flight? Oh, and I’m 200 cm (6’6″) tall @ 235 lbs and do fit in my seat albeit with cramped legroom. But I don’t whine about it nor expect special treatment!
Ok y’all I’m a “plus sized” guy. Specifically I’m 6’2″ and 335 lbs. When I travel I don’t expect others to pay to accommodate me. If I fly I’ll book a seat that will accommodate me without undue hardship to my seat mates. As far as hotel hallways are concerned if you’re to big to navigate them then get your Jabba the Hut butt to the gym. Morbid obesity is not healthy. I do have a magic cure for it though: EAT LESS AND MOVE MORE! I promise you the weight will come off. Not quickly mind you but safely and permanently as long as you don’t start pigging out again. I’ve lost close to 100lbs in the past several years, kept it off and continue to lose. The delusional people that say fat is health and there’s no reason for them to change and everyone should accept and accommodate them are just sad.
Signed a fat guy on his way to be healthy.
Thank you, Retired Lawyer.
Laziness and poor choices in the kitchen can get you a little bit fluffy, but on their own, they aren’t going to get you to that size.
Food addiction, which that link is about, is a real issue too. Personally, I was mostly thinking of the people I know who are overweight because they have medical conditions that keep them sedentary.
Which I will lay bets is the case for this person.
She could also have hyperphagia, which is where the mechanism that tells you you’re hungry gets stuck in the “on” position. It can be caused by a variety of things ranging from diabetes to depression to genetic conditions. (Mild hyperphagia is why you reach for cookies or chocolate when stressed).
Most of the really obese people you see are either disabled/chronically ill or poor (in our society cheap food makes you fat). Or, of course, both.
I did some research into this influencer and it seems I was right. Chaney, the influencer in the picture, has pulmonary hypertension. It’s incurable. She’s in a wheelchair much of the time and *cannot exercise*.
https://www.intheknow.com/post/jaelynn-chaney-plus-size-travel-accessibility/
Now, businesses only have to make reasonable accommodations for disabled people and it’s not reasonable to ask them to enlarge elevators and hallways in existing buildings.
But it would be compassionate to realize a lot of the fat people you guys love to whine about are disabled.
And that you could become disabled, temporarily or permanently, *at any time*. I was temporarily disabled from December 2021 to February 2022…I was in an accident and temporarily lost the use of my dominant hand. I do not recommend! (All healed now, but it required surgery and weeks of physical therapy to get full use back).
Anyone reading this blog could become disabled *tomorrow* and start needing accommodations.
@Jennifer P and @Retired Lawyer
There are very few true medical conditions causing obesity that are not self inflicted. The food industry and the government are complicit in ruining the American diet. Sugar will kill you. Excess carbs will kill you. The USA Today article is essentially worthless—making exceptions to everything they state. I know a number of morbidly obese people and their eating habits are clearly an issue. Do a lot of people have gut issues? Yes, but maybe they should completely eliminate vegetable oils from their diet, along with artificial sweeteners.
Keep making excuses about why youre obese JP and you’ll die an early death. Post all the links you want but the magic pills and injections aren’t going to save you. Eat less. Move more. Feel better. Look better. Live longer. It’s not difficult.
Ha.
I’m 20 pounds over my ideal weight, which I am trying to lose. They don’t want to come off. I’m pretty dang active, but fluctuating estrogen levels *cause weight gain*. So do dropping testosterone levels in case all of you people with balls think you’re immune.
Stop making the base assumption that anyone who sticks up for a group of people is, in fact, part of that group. Some of us have enough empathy to be able to stick up for people who are not like us. It would be a better world if you all learned that.
Jurassic girl needs to eat a salad. Without ranch.
I get a feeling that she won’t be around too much longer. Just a hunch.
@Jim Warren. You want to take away the artificial sweeteners. If you can’t have sugar you need something. I don’t want tea or coffee with no sweetness at all.
I feel bad for the people with the extra weight and for the people who have part of their seat area taken away by the overweight seatmates. It’s not good to be in either situation. I wish obesity wasn’t an issue or that there was an instant cure for it. It would be nice and appreciated by me when special accommodations are provided. I don’t expect them however. If you need an extra large robe maybe the best thing would be to bring one from home. This poor woman looks so large I don’t know if 6X would fit her.
The evidence against sugar AND artificial sweeteners is overwhelming. I won’t use any product with an artificial sweetener—no exceptions. I try diligently not to use foods with added sugar. But I fail when it comes to my coffee—it get one sugar and occasionally two. I know if I put junk in my body it dramatically increases my propensity for disease.
Disgusting and has no right to complain. Just quit eating.
I won’t use artificial sweeteners either, in part because some of them make me very sick.
You’re better off using sugar, but less of it. Train your palate not to want things quite as sweet. It’s hard, but doable.
Artificial sweeteners don’t help you lose weight at all and often have other issues.
@Jennifer P and @Retired Lawyer – this is a travel blog. You’re looking for the Fatty Lovers subreddit.
I have news for her. It’s not my responsibility to pay for her poor eating / health habits. It’s unhealthy to be obese no matter what the cause of the obesity is.
I have been obese. A car accident left me unable to exercise like I had. My mistake was not adjusting my diet to take into consideration the fact I was burning fewer calories. Add in a couple meds that can cause weight gain, and getting rather depressed by the situation, I piled on the pounds.
Eventually, I got tired of it. I couldn’t walk a lot, but I could walk for 10 minutes. Do that three times a day, cut back on calories, and now I’m not embarrassed to wear a pair of shorts or skinny jeans.
Medical issues, that aren’t metabolic in nature, are rarely an excuse. You may gain weight, but you can make changes to take it off. You just have to accept that there’s no shortcut. You definitely don’t get to insist others pay extra so you can travel by air or stay in a hotel with wider hallways.
Jennifer and retired lawyer. I disrespectfully disagree with you
To the OBESE “influencer “ or whatever you call yourself, lose weight.
How does somebody lose weight when they can only exercise under medical supervision? When they are in a wheelchair most of the time and can’t walk any distance? The condition the influencer has causes severe shortness of breath.
You can only cut calories so much. And with her condition, she wouldn’t be a candidate for bariatric surgery.
Telling obese people to lose weight is ableist.
It’s also self-defeating.
Studies show that exposure to fatphobia, which most of the people on this blog are demonstrating, actually causes the victim to gain more weight and increases their risk of depression, anxiety, eating disorders. It causes exercise avoidance (have any of you ever laughed at a “whale” exercising at the gym? Do you think they came back afterwards?)
So if you actually DO care about people’s health, you should knock it off. It’s fine to be mad if you end up next to somebody who doesn’t fit in their seat, whether it’s because they’re overweight or because they’re 6’6 and their normal weight is too wide…but ya know who’s fault that really is.
But the behavior on this blog causes harm to anyone who is a little fluffy who comes here, and I’m being attacked on the assumption that I’m obviously obese. You all need to knock it off. Stop acting like schoolyard bullies and grow up.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6565398/
In a world where inclusivity and equal rights are more important than ever, it’s essential to distinguish between reasonable requests for accommodation and those that seem quite absurd. In April, Jaelynn Chaney garnered attention by starting a petition demanding additional free seats for plus-sized passengers on airplanes, acknowledging that this would potentially increase costs for everyone else. Now, she’s back with a new set of demands, this time directed at hotels. While advocating for inclusivity is a commendable goal, it’s essential to assess the reasonableness of these requests.
Hope she gets cancer.
Keep defending the creature all you want. It deserves nothing it’s asking for.
Sadly, the way society is going, we are probably not too many years away from “plus-size” rights and more legitimization of mental illness. If you can’t accept the gender you were born and simply can “change” your sex with or without mutilating yourself, then where do you draw the line? Why can’t I declare myself 12 again and go kick butt in the Little League World Series? I feel young. Then go back to High School and have “underage” relations like I did 20 years ago? Then Excel in non contact sports and win awards meant for the opposite sex. Why are my true “feelings” not accommodated? If I want to be morbidly obese my travel rights should not be violated too. And the public better put up with it, like it or not. Its “inclusive”. And your kids too.
I tell you, we are not too far removed from this.
Steven – being an UFT isn’t a protected class. The minute I can associate an increased cost to pandering for it, it and the service provider are getting sued. This is America after all.
Entitlement, entitlement, entitlement. Everthing being forced on us, from the use of pronouns that don’t make sense to someone’s orientation. I just want my hair back, is that too much to ask? lol