ada
Stools and Stereotypes: Why Accommodating Disabilities in Hotels Is Non-Negotiable
Chuck Simikian | October 23, 2024
An employee comes to you and says they need a stool to sit on while they do their job. You immediately think – “We don’t have stools for employees to sit on. That is a standing position.” But….is that the correct response? What should you do? It is a common scenario that I frequently see in my HR career supporting the hospitality industry. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been in effect for nearly 35 years, yet many employers still struggle with accommodating disabilities in the workplace. A recent lawsuit filed by the EEOC against TNNY Hotel, LLC, and other entities operating The Ned NoMad hotel in Manhattan h...
AHLA Statement Regarding Supreme Court Decision in Landmark Hotel Case
AHLA | December 6, 2023
WASHINGTON (Dec. 6, 2023) – After the U.S. Supreme Court vacated and remanded the case of Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, American Hotel & Lodging Association President & CEO Chip Rogers released the following statement: “Tester lawsuits, in which plaintiffs file hundreds of legal complaints against hotels seeking quick settlements, have become a cottage industry in the United States. In this case, a hotel decided to fight this scheme and in doing so shed light on the extortive practice. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a critical civil rights law, but this case was never about leg...
The Hospitality Industry’s Responsibility in Enhancing Disability Accessibility
Tanya Girdhar John | December 5, 2023
By Tanya Girdhar John Disability accessibility in hospitality is one of its most essential needs. According to an article by Skift more than half of hotels around the world don’t make it easy to book a room for senior citizens or guests with accessibility needs. While this may not be true for all hospitality businesses across the globe, the industry stakeholders have a responsibility to create spaces that cater to the diverse needs of their guests. In today’s inclusive world, ensuring accessibility for all is not only a legal requirement but also a moral imperative. But the concept of accessibility also impacts businesses fr...
How Hoteliers Can Create ADA Compliant Content
Paul DeHart | September 12, 2019
The internet was not what it is today when The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. This law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life – jobs, schools, transportation, access to areas that are open to the general public - and has been extended since then to include websites and web applications. Courts today are interpreting Title III of the ADA, which requires places of “public accommodation” like hotels, to ensure that their web presences are accessible. A study published by Open Doors Organization found that American adults with...
Hotel ADA Website Compliance – What You Need to Know
Lodging Interactive | February 20, 2018
Most people can experience the world through the internet. Travel information and choices to make those travel arrangements are at our fingertips. Now imagine a world where you could not easily access the internet to search for hotels and airlines that provide accommodations and accessibility for your specific needs? For most of us, this is not something we need to consider but, for the disabled, it's a daily challenge. To understand their frustrations in navigating a site is to understand what it means to make your hotel website "ADA compliant". You need to view it from their perspective. That is, putting yourself in the place of a dis...
ADA Conformity: It’s More Than Just Lawsuits
Milestone | April 25, 2017
Everything you need to know about making your website ADA conforming You may have heard about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but do you know how it applies to your digital presence? What is the ADA? The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. As part of the ADA, the law mandated that websites should abide by a minimum set of best practices to ensure that users with impairments would have equal access to the world-wide w...
Service Animal or Comfort Animal?
CLIA | February 9, 2017
There is a distinct difference between a service animal and a comfort animal or an emotional support animal. An "emotional support animal" is a dog or other animal that has not been trained to perform specific tasks that assist with a person's disability. Rather the person feels a sense of well-being or reassurance from the animal's presence. An emotional support animal is not necessarily a dog but could be. In California, there is not a specific definition for a "psychiatric service dog," but a dog that is specifically trained to assist a person with a mental disability with certain requirements is considere...
AH&LA Commends House Introduction of Legislation to Strengthen the ADA, Stop ‘Drive-by’ Lawsuits
American Hotel & Lodging Association | October 21, 2015
Washington, D.C. – October 21, 2015 – Twenty five years after the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law, AH&LA today endorsed the "The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2015," H.R. 3765, introduced by Representative Ted Poe (TX-2). This legislation builds on the historic progress made by the ADA and restores the integrity of the law by addressing the unseemly practice of "drive-by" lawsuits. The bill reforms Title III of the ADA, which covers private businesses open to the public, by specifying clear, unambiguous rules for identifying and correcting ADA access violations before allowing litigation or a ...
