News for the Hospitality Executive |
ADA Defense Lawyer: How to Quickly Lose Business
By
Jim
Butler
and the Global Hospitality Group®,
Author of www.HotelLawBlog.com May 25, 2011 For
the most recent update on this topic, click
here
ADA
Defense Lawyer: ADA reservation system requirements As we
have reported in the Hotel Law Blog, the US Department of Justice has
revised
the regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
for the
first time in nearly 20 years. While the revisions to the ADA
Regulations
include broad changes in many areas, today's blog focuses on the
changes to
Reservation Policies. JMBM
hotel and timeshare lawyer, David Sudeck informs us that the Department
of
Justice has received so many complaints concerning failed reservations,
that
the DOJ felt it necessary to include the changes to the law. Most of
the
complaints involve individuals who have reserved an accessible hotel
room only
to find upon check-in that the room they reserved was either not
available or
not accessible. The
changes to the reservation policies will go into effect on March 15,
2012 to
allow properties time to comply with the new requirements. To
understand the
requirements, read on. How the
new ADA
Regulations affect hotels. More
than 50 million Americans have disabilities, and each is a potential
hotel
guest. Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is not
only
smart business, but if a hotel owner or operator fails to comply with
the ADA,
the resulting fines and litigation costs can be financially
devastating. The US
Department of Justice has revised the regulations implementing the
Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Certain of
these revisions took effect on March 15, 2011. The changes to the law
are
complex and far-reaching. According to one disability group, the
revisions
affect more than 7 million "places of public accommodation"! The 1991
ADA Standards contained approximately 1,000 technical requirements. The
2010
Standards add approximately another 1,000 technical requirements. Local
building codes often add hundreds of additional requirements. Hotel
owners and
operators need to understand how these new laws affect their operations
and how
they may result in required structural and other modifications to
"places
of lodging." The
revisions to the ADA Regulations included some broad changes to the
following
topics: the definitions of "Disability" and "Place of
Lodging", Reservation Policies, Standards for Accessible Design,
Service
Animals, Mobility Devices, Communications with Customers, and Safe
Harbor
Provisions relating to "readily achievable barrier removal." This
article includes a discussion of only the changes to Reservation
Policies.
Subsequent articles will cover the other topics, which are also
important.* The
Reservation System Requirements in Section 36.302(e) of the ADA
Regulations
have been significantly expanded. A modification of reservation
policies was
not originally part of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making; however, the
Department of Justice has received so many complaints concerning failed
reservations, that the DOJ felt it necessary to include the changes to
the law.
Most of the complaints involve individuals who have reserved accessible
hotel
room only to find upon check-in that the room they reserved was either
not
available or not accessible. The
changes to the reservation policies will go into effect on March 15,
2012 to
allow properties time to comply with the new requirements. With
certain exceptions, "places of lodging" must now:
The
new reservation requirements will require that hotels and other
hotel-like
facilities properly train their staff and implement significant changes
in
reservation policies. For example, the reservations staff must be able
to
identify which specific features are included in a hotel's accessible
guest
rooms; an accessible bathroom may meet accessibility requirements with
either a
bathtub or a roll-in shower, but the specific feature may make a
difference to
a particular disabled person so it must be identified. The
Hotel lawyers of JMBM's Global Hospitality Group® offer training
and revisions
to policy manuals to comply with these requirements. Each lodging
property and
each ADA claim is unique. If you would like to request an ADA survey of
your
property, if you are dealing with a disability-related claim relating
to your
property, or you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this
article, please contact the author for a more thorough discussion. *
These articles are not intended to serve as a complete discussion of
the
applicable ADA revisions. This information may not be relied upon as
legal
advice, which can only be given by a lawyer based upon your specific
situation. ________________________ David Sudeck is a
member of
the JMBM's Global Hospitality Group®. David's law practice focuses
on the real
estate and business aspects of the hospitality industry, with a special
emphasis on the hotel, resort, vacation ownership and resort
development
industries. As a member of JMBM's Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Group,
he counsels hospitality clients on accessibility issues and ADA
compliance. You
can reach David at 310.201.3518 or at [email protected]. Other
articles on ADA If you
found this article of interest, you may want to check out some of the
other
articles on this topic on www.HotelLawBlog.com which can all be found
under the
"HOTEL LAW TOPIC" of "ADA" at the top of the home page (or
by clicking here). ________________________ This is Jim Butler,
author of www.HotelLawBlog.com
and hotel lawyer,
signing off. We've done more than $60 billion of hotel transactions and
have
developed innovative solutions to help investors be successful in
bidding for
hotel acquisitions, and helping investors and lenders to unlock value
from
troubled hotel transactions. Who's your hotel lawyer? ________________________ Our
Perspective. We
represent hotel lenders,
owners and investors. We have helped our clients find business and
legal
solutions for more than $60 billion of hotel transactions, involving
more than
1,250 properties all over the world. For more information, please
contact Jim
Butler at [email protected]
or 310.201.3526. Jim
Butler is a founding partner of JMBM and Chairman of its Global
Hospitality
Group®. Jim is one of the top hospitality attorneys in the world.
GOOGLE
"hotel lawyer" and you will see why. JMBM's
troubled asset team has handled more than 1,000 receiverships and many
complex
insolvency issues. But Jim and his team are more than "just" great
hotel lawyers. They are also hospitality consultants and business
advisors. For
example, they have developed some unique proprietary approaches to
unlock value
in underwater hotels that can benefit lenders, borrowers and investors.
(GOOGLE
"JMBM SAVE program".) Whether
it is a troubled investment or new transaction, JMBM's Global
Hospitality
Group® creates legal and business solutions for hotel owners and
lenders. They
are deal makers. They can help find the right operator or capital
provider.
They know who to call and how to reach them. JMBM’s Global Hospitality Group® The hotel lawyers in the Global Hospitality Group® of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell (JMBM) comprise the premier hospitality practice in a full-service law firm and are the authors of the Hotel Law Blog. We represent hotel owners, developers, investors and lenders and have helped our clients find business and legal solutions for more than $60 billion of hotel transactions, involving more than 1,000 properties worldwide. For more information about the Global Hospitality Group®, go to www.HotelLawBlog.com. For more information about full range of legal services provided by JMBM, go to www.JMBM.com. |
Contact:
Jim Butler
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