Hotels Gradually Meeting Needs of Handicapped : Legislation: Americans With Disabilities Act requires industry to make wide variety of lodging improvements.

Many U.S. hotels are now in the process of trying to conform to the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act-- a broad-based civil rights bill signed into law in July, 1990, that forbids discrimination against the disabled in public facilities. However, according to some hoteliers, since the legislation set no deadline for existing hotels to comply with the ADA’s requirements, there is general confusion over when the changes must be made.

Under terms of the bill, which officially took effect in January of 1992, lodgings that have at least five rooms available to guests, and in which the proprietor does not live on the premises, must remove all architectural barriers to the disabled in public places, as well as provide in-room aids. New hotels are expected to meet these requirements when they open, and hotels undergoing renovations must make them at the time of construction.

So, almost two years after the ADA became law, how is hotel compliance going, and how is it being monitored?

Under the provisions of the ADA, existing hotels must make changes if they are deemed “readily achievable,” which is being loosely translated to mean changes that can be accomplished without much difficulty or expense. Hotels undergoing alterations have to make sure that refurbished areas meet the accessibility standards when they reopen those areas. And hotels opening after Jan. 26, 1993, have no leeway and thus must meet the standards completely.

What is considered “readily achievable” has been a point of contention for many hotels. “This is a vague guideline,” said Thomas Daly, corporate director of safety for Hilton Hotels. “No one knows for sure what it means. What’s ‘readily achievable’ for a small motel could be different for a major hotel. We asked the government to set a specific financial basis, but it didn’t and we probably won’t know until there are precedents set through court cases.”

In many cases, Daly charged, the concept of “readily achievable” translates into the financial strength of the hotel. “This is a disservice to both disabled guests and the industry because the end result is that no one wants to make renovations incorrectly and then have to do it over,” he said. “Nor does anyone want to pay for expensive renovations that aren’t required.”

Some hoteliers also criticize what they call a poor system for determining which changes should be made.

“While providing help in communications has been good at some hotels, I haven’t seen any hotels rushing out to comply with more expensive architectural changes,” said Yvonne Nau, a travel agent with Carlson Travel Network in Northridge and spokeswoman for TIDE--Travel Industry and Disabled Exchange, a Los Angeles-based newsletter for disabled travelers.

In response, Joan Magagna, deputy chief of the public access section of the U.S. Department of Justice, said: “The standard is intentionally flexible to allow businesses of all sizes to comply within the limits of their resources. One of the impressions we have is that there are some (hotels that) are waiting to see if anyone files a complaint before taking action. Our knowledge of whether hotels have complied or not depends, to some extent, on the complaints we receive.

“Thus far, the complaints have been primarily on failure to remove architectural barriers and to provide TDDs (telecommunication devices for the deaf), and allegations that rooms for the disabled have been given to non-disabled guests. No cases have been filed in court yet, but we have settled some cases out of court.”

Among the exterior improvements required by the ADA bill are a percentage of available parking spaces set aside for the disabled (i.e., up to 25 spaces requires one disabled parking space, 26-50 spaces requires two, etc.), as well as wheelchair-accessible ramps to the hotel, if needed, and access to the property itself. Airport-area hotels that offer shuttle service to and from terminals must make sure vehicles carrying 17 or more passengers are wheelchair-accessible. Hotels offering such service in smaller vehicles must provide free alternative transportation to a guest in a wheelchair.

Inside, hotels must provide accessible check-in areas and accessible bathrooms with a wide range of features--special stalls with grab rails, lever faucets, space under wash basins, paper towels and lowered hand dryers; public and house phones with lowered heights, longer cords and adjustable volume controls, and signage in both raised letters and Braille. There must be visual and audio indicators in elevators to signal floors, and telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDDs) must also be available.

Space must be provided in rooms and bathrooms for wheelchair maneuverability. For hearing-impaired guests, some hotels offer in-room television decoding (a closed-caption device displays the spoken words on the TV screen), plus visual warning systems in case of fire and vibrating alarm clocks that can be placed under pillows.

Finally, the bill requires that hotels use a formula similar to the one for disabled parking spaces to determine the number of wheelchair-accessible rooms. Hotels with up to 25 rooms need one accessible room; 26 to 50 rooms, two accessible; 51-75 rooms, three accessible; 76-100, four accessible; 101-150, five accessible, and so on up to 20 accessible rooms in 1,000-room hotels, plus one for every hundred over that. There is also a graduated scale for roll-in showers (where the wheelchair can be wheeled into the shower), starting with one such accessible shower in a room for hotels with 51-75 rooms.

If barriers can’t be removed physically, hotels still have to find a means to adhere to ADA requirements. When the front desk is inaccessible, some hotels allow guests in wheelchairs to check in at concierge desks or similar spots in the lobby area.

“Let’s say there are two physically identical hotels that have different (financial) resources,” said Marsha Mazz, coordinator for technical assistance at the U.S. Architectural & Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, a federal agency based in Washington. “What’s ‘readily achievable’ for one of the hotels might not be for the other one. But the property without the resources at this time still has the ongoing responsibility to make the changes when it can.”

Complaints about lack of compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act can be made to the Public Access Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, P.O. Box 6678, Washington D.C. 20035-6678. In addition, you can get information on the ADA by calling (202) 514-0301.