ADA in Lodging

The ADA imposes requirements that address a wide range of obligations:

Architectural

These obligations are set forth in the federal ADA Standards for Accessible Design. They are enforced by the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice, and through private litigation. State and local building code officials have no jurisdiction over these obligations, and no enforcement authority. It Is essential that your architect understand the ADA Standards, not just the Florida Building Code. Far too often, business owners find out that their architect failed to comply with the ADA Standards, and find themselves in federal court defending a federal civil rights lawsuit. In addition, when a business renovates a property, additional ADA obligations are imposed, obligations often overlooked until a lawsuit is filed. We provide you with guidance about what is required, and access to architects with extensive experience and expertise in the ADA Standards.

Reservations Requirements – Describing the Accessible Features of Rooms and Making Changes to Reservation Policies

In an update to the title III ADA regulations, the Justice Department imposed new obligations upon places of lodging that are intended to assist guests with disabilities to in their efforts to make reservations for accessible rooms, requiring information to be provided about the accessible features of the accessible rooms (e.g., layout, roll-in shower or tub, etc.) and the accessible features of the property that are significant to one making a reservation (e.g. lift at swimming pool, accessible parking, accessible path to the front desk, etc.). The regulation imposes several other obligations as well. ADA litigants have increasingly filed lawsuits against properties that violate this obligation. We can help. I serve as an expert in federal court across the country, and as a consultant to hotels seeking to come into compliance.

Accessible Websites

In addition to the reservation requirements, the ADA requires websites to be usable by and accessible to visitors with disabilities, under the effective communication obligations of the ADA. To achieve this, the Justice Department has required businesses to take the necessary steps to ensure that the website is properly coded so that visitors with vision loss, who use adaptive equipment such as a screen reader, can utilize their site using a screen reader. They have also required websites to be accessible to visitors with hearing loss, requiring videos to be properly captioned. In addition, the Department has required websites to be accessible to users with other disabilities, including those who cannot use a mouse, but instead, use keyboard shortcuts to utilize the site. The sites must be usable by those utilizing adaptive equipment. To accomplish this, in its settlements of investigations concerning website compliance, the Justice Department has repeatedly required businesses to come into compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), an international Standard that sets forth strict standards for accessibility of websites.

Far too often, however, visitors with disabilities are finding that the websites are not in compliance with WCAG and the ADA, are inaccessible, and are not usable. And, as a result, ADA litigation against businesses, alleging inaccessibility of their websites, is exploding. According to a recent article:

“People with disabilities are filing hundreds of complaints each year to vendors that have a strong online presence and provide supplemental services via websites and mobile applications that don’t comply with modern WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards. According to Law360, over 240 federal ADA website compliance lawsuits were filed in 2016 alone. As stated by Seyfarth Shaw, the trend continued through 2017 with an astonishing 814 ADA website accessibility lawsuits filed. A more recent Seyfarth Shaw Synopsis states that web accessibility cases filed to federal court showed no signs of stopping during the first 6 months of 2018 and there have already been at least 1053 ADA lawsuits filed. Most of them were coming from California, New York and Florida residents with disabilities.”

To address this, business owners are turning to their website developers with an expectation that the websites they have purchased are ADA compliant, only to find that the web developer lacked expertise in what was required, and did not properly test (or test at all), the site the client paid for. Automated testing is one way to assess the accessibility of a site, but even the best automated testing systems have severe limitations, and miss violations that serve as the basis of an ADA lawsuit.

For example, many websites have videos that are not captioned, or poorly captioned. Automated testing may be able to identify that captioning is missing, but manual testing is needed to assess the quality of the captioning. Many website developers simply do not adequately test for this. As a result, visitors who are deaf are suing businesses (and state and local governments) for posting information on the site that is inaccessible. Mistakes in coding the site also result in photos being inaccessible to the blind user, with the screen reader simply skipping over the photo for lack of proper coding by the web developer. Similarly, some websites pose problems because of poor color contrast, or links that lack discernible text. Visitors with disabilities are finding that the websites discriminate on the basis of disability, and either file a complaint with the Justice Department, or hire an attorney and sue the business.

We can help you and we can help your web designer, to reduce your risk of being sued. We collaborate with experts in website accessibility, and can test your site manually, with automated testing, and with adaptive equipment used by the disability community. Our associates know the ADA and WCAG requirements, and have decades of experience. After a preliminary discussion, we provide you with pricing and a scope of work, and assist your web developer address the violations. If your web designer has not talked with you about what they are doing to comply, and what they are doing to test their site, it is time to ask them. Then, call me, and see how we can help.

Swimming Pools, Spas, and Lifts

Places of lodging are facing lawsuits by guests with disabilities who are demanding that the property’s pools and spas have pool lifts. Existing properties must provide a lift, if doing so is readily achievable, and often mistakenly think they are exempt. We provide guidance about the ADA’s requirements, in an effort to minimize your risk of ADA litigation.

Service Animal Policy

While many places of lodging have a policy of welcoming guests with disabilities who are accompanied by a service dog, many do not have a lawful policy that complies with the requirements of the ADA, and ask questions that are unlawful, or demand paperwork or other indicia that the dog is a service animal, demands that violate the ADA. We provide you with a lawful policy, train your staff, and test your staff, to identify weaknesses and improve their response. Call us to see what we can do for you.

Attention Travelers with Service Dogs & Hospitality Professionals!

As the holidays approach, it's vital to address a widespread issue: many lodging properties fail to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when welcoming guests with service dogs.
From unlawful requirements like proof of training or dog vests, to restrictions on rooms or restaurant seating, these practices violate ADA regulations.

Common Violations Include: Demanding documentation or vests for service dogs.
Imposing pet fees or weight limits.
Restricting rooms, areas, or seating.
Asking intrusive, unlawful questions.

Test it for Yourself: Call a property and mention you’re traveling with a service dog. Ask about fees, restrictions, or documentation requirements. Share your findings with me, Marc, at mdubin@ADAexpertise.com.

Include:
Your name/contact info.
Property details (name, phone number, address).
Who you spoke with (name/position).
For Hospitality Operators: I offer a free 39-question ADA compliance quiz and 30 minutes of my time to help your property get it right. Email me today to improve your training and ensure ADA compliance!
Let’s work together to ensure fair and welcoming travel for everyone.

I have been calling various places of lodging across the country to assess their compliance with the requirements of title III of the ADA regarding their obligation to engage in reasonable modifications of policy concerning guests with disabilities accompanied by a service dog. I have primarily focused on chain hotels, and I regret to report that my experience with calling reservation agents (including central reservations) and calling the front desks of properties reveals that discrimination on the basis of disability remains rampant.
When I was at the Justice Department, I investigated many hotels and handled many cases involving service animals. I also was instrumental in drafting the CDC's guidance to hospitals regarding admission of service dogs and handled the first investigation of a zoo (the San Diego Zoo) and helped develop the Justice Department's position regarding the obligation of zoos regarding guests accompanied by a service dog. I am very, very familiar with the DOJ regulations on this, and have provided ADA training across the country to places of lodging, and have advised and trained clients across the country on this, including the Marriott properties in the Florida Keys, where I live.
The violations occur when reservation agents and front desk staff, and their supervisors and managers fail to understand what is required of them when serving a guest with a disability who is accompanied by a service dog. I want to share the range of violations I have documented in my calls, without identifying the properties by name. It is my hope that owners and operators of palces of lodging learn from this, and chaange the way they operate when serving these guests.
Boston: When I asked reservations about staying at the property with a service dog, I was told that no pets were allowed, and that I would have to stay at a diffferent property. Note that I said it was a service dog, not a pet.
Key West: I would need to show paperwork evidencing that it was a service dog or I would be charged a non-refundable fee of $75, This was a pet-friendly property.
White River Junction, Vermont: Pet-friendly property. I was told I would need to show papers evidencing that it was a service dog or I would be charged a non-refundable $75 fee.
Champlain VT: I was told I would need to bring paperwork evidencing that it was a service dog or that the dog would have to wear a vest showing that it was a service dog.
Burlington, VT: I was told that I would have to show paperwork evidencing that is was a service dog. I called back, spoke to someone else, and was told the same thing.
Marathon, FL: A pet-friendly property. I was told that I would need to provide a certificate evidencing that it was a service dog or I would be charged a nonrefundable fee.
Boston: Pet-friendly hotel. I was told that I would need to provide a card evidencing that it was a service dog or I would be charged a nonrefundable fee.
Orlando, FL: Vest required or other paperwork evidencing that it was a service dog.
Orlando: I was told that if I have paperwork I should bring it.
Brooklyn, NY: Pet-friendly hotel. I specifically said it was a service dog and was told all about the pet policy, and said there would be a non-refundable fee and a weight limit. When I again pointed out that I was asking about a service dog, he hung up on me.
Brooklyn (different property): I was told there would be a $150 non-refundable fee.

These responses are all too common. For excellent technical assistance from the Justice Department on this, go to:
https://www.ada.gov/topics/service-animals/
https://www.ada.gov/resources/service-animals-2010-requirements/
https://www.ada.gov/resources/service-animals-faqs/

If you care to share your experiences, please write to me at .

Serving Guests with Disabilities

Places of lodging are facing a challenge – more and more people with disabilities are traveling and looking for services. Guests with service animals, vision disabilities, hearing disabilities, mobility disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, cognitive disabilities, and other disabilities are protected by the ADA, and the number of people with disabilities is increasing. According to the Justice Department:
“Data provided by the Disability Statistics Center at the University of California, San Francisco demonstrated that the number of adults who use wheelchairs has been increasing at the rate of six percent (6%) per year from 1969 to 1999; and by 2010, it was projected that two percent (2%) of the adult population would use wheelchairs. In addition to persons who use wheelchairs, three percent (3%) of adults used crutches, canes, walkers, and other mobility devices in 1999; and the number was projected to increase to four percent (4%) by 2010. Thus, in 2010, up to six percent (6%) of the population may need accessible guest rooms.”
We provide your staff with training in what they need to know when serving guests with disabilities.

Contact us to see what we can do for you.