Margarita Calpotura Hospitality Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Make Sure Your Online Reservation System Complies with New ADA Requirements

Friday, December 2, 2011 by Margarita Calpotura

Compliance with the new ADA requirements means not only ensuring that your hotel is compliant, but also that your online reservations systems are compliant.

The new ADA requirements, which become effective March 15, 2012, require that individuals with disabilities be given equal access to make reservations for accessible guest rooms during the same hours and in the same manner as guests who do not have disabilities. 

The new ADA rules require that hotels identify and describe the accessible features of a guest room, hold back the accessible guest rooms for people with disabilities until all other guest rooms of that type have been rented, and to ensure that a reserved accessible guest room is removed from all reservations systems so that it is not inadvertently released to someone other than the person who reserved the accessible room.  Accessible rooms can only be made available on reservations systems to non-disabled guests after all other room types are booked.

The final rule limits the obligations of third-party reservations operators that do not own and operate places of lodging, but merely provide the reservations systems for places of lodging.  However, hotels must provide accurate inventory information to their reservations operators, and notify their reservations operators when accessible rooms are no longer available.

The new rules go into effect on March 15, 2012, and hotels should be proactive in ensuring compliance with the new requirements.

For questions, comments, or further information about the new ADA requirements, contact The Miller Law Group, P.C., at 650-566-2290, or go to http://www.millerlg.com.

Miller Law Group, P.C. is a full-service hospitality law firm representing hotel owners and management companies. 

Posted at 12:54 PM
Topic: Hospitality Law
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