Meeting News - February 16, 2009 - (Page 40)

Cover Story continued from page 18 ment Authority, said it depends: “In my 27 years of experience, I have seen a somewhat consistent pattern. The more formal the RFP and the larger the group, the more uniform the meeting planners are in requiring ADA compliance. In most cases, the contract will not be awarded without it. Smaller groups are not as diligent and especially those that do not have a formal bid process. I have never seen a ‘national’ organization’s RFP without ADA requirements listed.” Planners are on firmer ground with having ADA compliance included within hotel contracts; for one thing, even if they don’t ask, the standard hotel contract will cover it. As Brenda Miller, director of sales at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento, noted: “ADA never seems to be brought up because I think clients assume that reputable hotels chains are in compliance (which they are). Perhaps it’s more of an issue for hotels that are more than 20 years old.” Miller added, “We have a long section on ADA in our corporate contract, and it is rarely, if ever, questioned.” To be fair, planners who learn the job “on the fly” are not likely to be familiar with ADA and issues arising from disability until directly confronted. Responding to which facet of their meetings do attendees most frequently inquire, 64 percent of 371 planners answered with cost. Questions to planners regarding wheelchair accessibility and presence of sign language interpreters were the least frequently asked (3% and 1 %, respectively), and planners who offered more information typically gauged their disabled audience at 1 percent and offered no statistics on disabled veterans from recent conflicts, commonly referred to as “wounded warriors.” The NOD helps administer the U.S. Army Wounded Warriors (AW2) career program to ensure that the most severely injured soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are productively engaged in pursuing their careers after they return home from service. The current number of these wounded warriors is 3,980, but, Starnes added, “All four military branches have wounded veteran programs.” She said the Army’s program is the largest, followed by the Marines, then Air Force and Navy. According to AW2’s careers literature, “many of these veterans are young men and women formal the “The morethe larger RFP and the group, the more uniform the meeting planners are in ADA compliance. Smaller groups are not as diligent. —Chris Chapman, senior project manager, meetings and conventions, Mississippi Development Authority ” AD Index Advertiser Page Advertiser Page Barefoot Resort & Golf . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 www.barefootconferenceresort.com Branson Area Lakes CVB . . . . . . . . . . .35 www.MeetInBranson.net Georgia International Convention Center . .26 www.gicc.com Greensboro CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 www.VisitGreensboroNC.com Hutton Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 www.huttonhotel.com Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation .27 www.Knoxville.org Marina Inn at Grande Dunes . . . . . . . .28 www.MarinaInnAtGrandeDunes.com/plan_your_e vent Memphis CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 www.memphistravel.com Myrtle Beach Convention Center . . . . . .23 www.myrtlebeacgconventioncenter.com Nuevo Leon Monterey . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 www.ocvmty.com Prestige Resorts & Destinations, Ltd. .36, 37 www.prestigeresorts.com Rosen Hotels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 www.rosenhotels.com San Luis Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 www.sanluisresort.com Savoya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC www.savoya.com Smoky Mountain CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 www.smcvb.info St. Charles Convention & Visitors Bureau . .13 www.stcharlesilmeetings.com Texas Tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BC www.MeetingsTexas.com Visit Charlotte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24-25 www.charlottesgotalot.com The Index to Advertisers is published for the convenience of our readers. Every effort is made to list advertisers’ names, web addresses and page numbers correctly. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. fresh out of high school with little labor market experience. The careers they envisioned must be remade at the same time as they remake their lives in general and acquire a host of new life skills to accommodate their disabilities.” For meetings that specifically target attendees who are disabled, many suppliers are ready to go beyond ADA compliance. Chris Gahl, senior spokesman for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association, said, “We pride ourselves as a city that has been deliberately designed with accessibility in mind. We work closely with the mayor’s office and local ADA experts on evaluating our destination and convention offerings. To this end, we’ve been designated one of America’s top 10 ‘most accessible’ cities by the NOD.” For a meeting by the United Spinal Association, Gaylord Palm’s Salwoski said, “The group was expecting a lot of attendees in wheelchairs, and a planner was worried about them all waiting for the same elevator. In response, we mapped out multiple routes and installed ‘push-button’ hardware on doors along those routes to make traveling through the doors easier. We also put out a canopy across our piazza, to assist attendees who wanted to cut through the courtyard. Finally, we published custom maps for the group that outlined the multiple routes for wheelchairs. We also hosted a Q&A session for our [staff members] to better prepare them at providing flawless, compassionate, and appropriate service.” H Contact Terri Hardin at terri.hardin@nielsen.com www.meetingnews.com 40 MeetingNews February 16, 2009 http://www.barefootconferenceresort.com http://www.prestigeresorts.com http://www.MeetInBranson.net http://www.rosenhotels.com http://www.gicc.com http://www.sanluisresort.com http://www.VisitGreensboroNC.com http://www.savoya.com http://www.huttonhotel.com http://www.smcvb.info http://www.Knoxville.org http://www.stcharlesilmeetings.com http://www.MarinaInnAtGrandeDunes.com/plan_your_event http://www.MeetingsTexas.com http://www.MarinaInnAtGrandeDunes.com/plan_your_event http://www.charlottesgotalot.com http://www.memphistravel.com http://www.myrtlebeachconventioncenter.com http://www.ocvmty.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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