For the hospitality industry, navigating the maze of complex requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") can prove to be a daunting task. The risk of being sued for noncompliance has never been higher. Disabled individuals have been pursuing hospitality companies in court for years, asserting a variety of claims related to physical accessibility issues, such as pool lifts, parking lot configurations and guest room features.
Often, the accessibility issue stems from a misunderstanding on the part of the lodging facility as to the applicable ADA standards; it is sometimes difficult to determine when alterations and renovations made to a facility-or portion of a facility-trigger application of updated ADA standards. Making it more difficult, different aspects of a facility may be subject to different versions of ADA Accessibility Standards.
Click here to read the entire article, published in Hotel Executive.