In an effort to make hotels, motels and other places of lodging more accessible to (and usable by) people with disabilities the Department of Justice’s revised Title III regulations include several requirements that go into effect March 15.
Places of lodging must:
1. Ensure that people with disabilities are able to make reservations for accessible guest rooms during the same hours and in the same manner as others;
2. Identify and describe accessible features of the facility and the guest rooms offered through its reservations service in enough detail so that people can assess whether the facility or guest room meets accessibility needs;
3. Reserve accessible guest rooms or specific types of guest rooms and ensure that the guest rooms requested are blocked and removed from reservations systems;
4. Guarantee that the specific accessible guest room reserved through its reservations service is held for the reserving customer, regardless of whether a specific room is held in response to reservations made by others; and
5. Make some of their accessible guestroom available to third-party services, such as Orbitz and Expedia (if they use such services) and provide information about accessible features to the third-party services.
Customer service staff need to know about accessible parking, entrances and routes to and through the facility; details about the configuration of accessible guest rooms and bathrooms; the availability of equipment such as bath benches, and visual alarm and alert devices for guests; and the accessibility of common spaces such as meeting rooms, lounges, restaurants, swimming pools and fitness centers. We recommend that information, including photos or other drawings, be posted on websites and included in brochures.