Hotel & Motel Management - March 17, 2008 - (Page 44) 44 Hotel Operations ADA COMPLIANCE H&MM March 17, 2008 | HotelMotel.com www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition BY EMILY HANNA, ASSOCIATE EDITOR Play by the check IN Radisson Hotels & Resorts announced a special program that offers guests who pay for their hotel stay with the American Express Card the opportunity to receive savings of up to $500 on the purchase of a Sleep Number bed from Select Comfort. Savings can include free home delivery and free luxury pillows. The savings can be redeemed on top of any additional in-store offers. The brand has offerered the beds in guestrooms since 2004. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 51.2 million people in the U.S. have some level of disability, representing 18 percent of the population. In order to make their travels and day-to-day experiences possible, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. Title III of the act affects the lodging industry by prohibiting discrimination based on disability in public accommodations. “ADA compliance in every publicly accessible establishment is a necessity,” said Brad Dodson, national sales manager for HITEC Group International. All common areas must meet requirements, and the number of ADA-compliant guestrooms is on a sliding scale that generally requires one ADA room for every 25 guestrooms, according to Scott Watson, Chicago office managing partner and member of the labor and employment hospitality group at the law firm Quarles & Brady. Noncompliance can result in lawsuits, fines and a negative image. Lawsuits are the most common result of noncompliance. Also, there has been an increase in the number of class-action lawsuits in general, Watson said, and accommodations that don’t meet ADA standards could be hit hard. The Americans with Disabilities Act text says it covers “a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment.” The HITEC Group International Guest Room Set [above] meets all ADA requirements for the hearing impaired. HITEC GROUP INTERNATIONAL rules “Given the cost of that type of action, I think, is a very good reason that hotels, like other employers, should do the right thing from the beginning,” Watson said. Additionally, under Title III, the Department of Justice can penalize non-compliers up to $55,000 for the first violation and $110,000 for subsequent violations, Dodson said. However, “The biggest [ramification] is being sued, and it’s not just the amount of money in a lawsuit, but rather, do you really want to be known as a hotel that is sued for not being ADA compliant?” Watson said. The Gates of Paradise Package, offered by The Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle, includes two admission tickets to the Seattle Art Museum and a classic guestroom. The offer is good through April 6. The Wine Lovers’ Weekend Package at Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa in Galena, Ill., includes seminars led by winemakers from across the country, wine tastings, gourmet meals, a special rum tasting event, a beer and food pairing luncheon and a pastry extravaganza. The Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, Md., offers guests a botanical experience at its Linden spa with treatments influenced by the natural surroundings and Chesapeake Bay. The Linden tree bloom is used in a full range of services that focus on luxurious pampering and rejuvenation. La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa, introduced its “Ski, Spa, S’more” package, available through April 15. The package includes two nights accommodations, two full-day lift tickets per day at Ski Santa Fe, one 60-minute massage per person, a hot cocoa and s’mores kit, and daily breakfast for two. Compiled by Stacey Higgins, shiggins@questex.com Change designs for changing demographics which products are used that are accessible to all people. “People don’t want to see grab bars in the room. They want to see safe places to hold,” said Abbie JW Sladick, c.e.o. of Great Grabz. “ADA rooms get rented many times to guests that do not require ADA certifications, but you still want them to feel comfortable in their room.” Sladick said the slippery surfaces used in hotel bathrooms, such as marble and stone, make entering and exiting a tub more dangerous and could ruin a guest’s experience if proper precautions, such as well-designed grab bars, are not installed. “These baby boomers love to travel, and if they come to a hotel and they don’t feel they can take a shower because they don’t want to step over the tub to get into the shower, they are not going to have a positive stay,” Sladick said. Quotable “ GREAT GRABZ People don’t want an institutional feel when they walk into a room, but they want a safe bathroom … which is a hard line to walk.” Universal design helps ensure the safety of guests. “There’s no reason that ADA compliance has to look institutional,” said Abbie JW Sladick. ABBIE JW SLADICK, c.e.o., Great Grabz These days, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act in hotels benefits more than just Americans with disabilities. “At age 50, adults are likely to experience age-related physical changes that may affect hearing, vision, cognition and mobility,” said Brad Dodson, national sales manager at HITEC Group International. As of 2006, nearly 30 percent of Americans were over the age of 50, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. “By serving the needs of this demographic, many hotels are now making the ADA compliance requirement work for them as a revenue source, through creative marketing that positions their brand at the forefront of senior travel,” Dodson said. But some worry that travelers might be turned away from an “institutional” look that ADA-compliant products might evoke and instead promote the concept of universal design, in For more info Company Circle No. American Standard. . . . . . . . 270 Aquatic Access. . . . . . . . . . . 271 Great Grabz . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 HITEC Group International . . . 273 Sloan Valve . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 Speakman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 Vignola Hospitality Resources 276 http://HotelMotel.com http://www.HotelMotel.com/digital_edition
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.