Hospitality & the ADA:

1. Hospitality & the ADA: Accessible Conferences & Events Marian Vessels Director, Mid-Atlantic ADA Center

2. Accessible Conferences • Maximize attendance and participation through assessment, planning, and preparation • Sites and facilities • Transportation • Communication

3. Sites and Facilities

4. Location, location, location! • Choosing accessible sites and facilities • Ask the venue staff (hotel, convention center, etc.) • Ask the locals (people with disabilities, disability organizations) • Check it out yourself • Get professional help (consultants)

5. Think globally … • Assess the community, not just the facility • Navigating the surrounding area • “Walkable”? • Sidewalks, street crossings, etc. • Restaurants, attractions, shops, etc. • Service animal relief areas • Local transportation options

6. Local transportation • How will people get to the conference facility or around the community? • Public transit (city bus systems, streetcars, subway systems, etc.) • Private transportation (taxi companies, airport or hotel shuttles , etc.) Are these systems accessible??

7. Accessible transportation • Accessible communications • Stop announcements • Route/destination information • Accessible practices • Non-discrimination (e.g. stowing mobility devices) • Reasonable modifications (e.g. service animals, boarding assistance)

8. Accessible vehicles • Rail: one car per train • “Street” systems (e.g. city bus, shuttle service van) • Most systems, public or private, must have accessible vehicles or ensure equivalent service • Private transportation provider running only automobiles (e.g. taxi company) does not have to acquire accessible vehicles • Stations, terminals, stops! • If you can’t get to it, you can’t get on it

9. Equivalent transportation service • Hours, days of operation • Response time • Service area • Fares, etc. EXAMPLE: Hotel with inaccessible shuttle van contracts with local company to provide lift-equipped van when needed; service must be equivalent to what is available to other guests

10. Check it out! • Use the right checklist • Use the right tools • Invest in good quality, basic tools • Tape measure, level • Use them the right way • Follow the checklist instructions

11. Checklists: Hotels • Accessibility Checklist for Hotels (BluePath) • ADA Checklist for New Lodging Facilities (Department of Justice)

12. Checklist: Big Daddy • ADAAG Checklist • Organized by sections which can be used in various combinations or as supplements to more basic checklists • Includes sections on spaces and elements not always found or addressed in detail in other checklists, for example … • Assembly areas, including those with fixed seating • Bus stops • Transit terminals and stations

13. Checklist: Little Guy • Readily Achievable Checklist for Existing Business Facilities (Department of Justice) • Short, easy • Can be used at any type of facility • Addresses only basic spaces and elements • Parking • Entrance • Public restrooms, etc.

14. 2010 ADA Standards • New 2010 ADA Design Standards will be required for use on March 15, 2012 (can be used now)

15. New facility standards • 2010 Standards include many additions, for example … • Kitchens and kitchenettes • Laundry machines • Saunas and steam rooms • Exercise machines • Swimming pools and spas • Golf courses • Playgrounds • Boating and fishing facilities

16. Revised facility standards • 2010 ADA Standards also include many revisions to current standards, for example … • Parking • Toilet facilities • Assembly areas • Transient lodging guest rooms

17. Accessible Guest Room: EXAMPLE

19. Hotels: Reservation Policies and Practices

20. Hotel policies and procedures • New ADA regulations, effective March 15, 2012, establish new requirements for places of lodging to facilitate people with disabilities making reservations for accessible rooms …

21. Hotel reservation practices: #1 • Enable individuals with disabilities to make reservations during the same times and in the same manner as others • By telephone • In person • Through third parties

22. Hotel reservation practices: #2 • Identify and describe accessible features of hotel and guest rooms in enough detail that an individual with a disability can independently assess whether the facility meets his/her needs

23. Hotel reservation practices: #3 • Hold back accessible guest rooms until all other rooms of that type have been rented

24. Hotel reservation practices: #4 • Reserve accessible guest rooms and remove them from the reservation system to eliminate double-booking

25. Hotel reservation practices: #5 • Guarantee and hold specific rooms reserved by individuals with disabilities, regardless of whether specific rooms are held for others

26. Communication

27. Be proactive • Establish non-discrimination, equal opportunity policy and include in conference promotions and materials • Establish and publish a reasonable deadline for participants to make requests that will require individualized response • Remember presenters, speakers, and guests

28. Be prepared • To establish a reasonable deadline, and to respond effectively to requests, you will need to learn about the resources and procedures available to obtain various goods and services • Interpreters or CART providers • Assistive listening devices (if not already available at conference facility) • Braille or audio-recording services

29. What you can do • Design and create materials to be as accessible and user-friendly as possible • Brochures and promotional materials • Registration materials • Conference programs, maps, handouts, etc. • Temporary signs • Web sites

30. Print communication • Simple, easy-to-read fonts • Good contrast between text and background • Non-glare finish • Uncluttered designs … will be more user-friendly for everyone

31. Electronic communication • Electronic materials are not “automatically” accessible • Web sites, electronic files on CDs or flash drives, etc. must be designed to be accessible, especially for people using computer screen-readers (assistive technology that converts text to mechanized speech)

32. Accessible electronic communication • Alt tags (simple text descriptions) on images and graphics • Description for video • Captions for audio • Meaningful hyperlink text (Mid-Atlantic ADA Center, not click here or www.ADAinfo.org) • Consistent, meaningful styles (heading 1, heading 2, etc.) • Simple tables

33. “Insist and assist” • Insist that your sub-contractors, trainers, and speakers follow guidelines and meet deadlines to ensure accessibility • Assist and support them • Presentation practices and tips • Designing, producing accessible materials

35. Putting It All Together

36. Train the trainers • Train event staff • Disability awareness • People-first language • Offering assistance • How to communicate effectively • Working with interpreters, CART providers • Accessible presentation practices • Not an option!

37. Set-up • Accessible routes, accessible counter and table heights, reachable self-serve items • Displays and booths • Registration and information areas • Refreshment and food service stations • Tables and seating • Integrated wheelchair seating options

38. Classroom Set Up Good for trainings and informal presentations Easy for participants to take notes, have refreshments, etc. Allows some interaction between trainer and participants Can be difficult to foster interaction among participants

39. Banquet Set Up Great for small group interaction Often used when meals are being served Works well for large groups Can create undesirable sight lines where participants have their back to the speaker(s)

40. Chevron Set Up Similar to classroom, but creates a more intimate setting Allows for more interaction between trainer and participants Provides good sight lines throughout the room Excellent for trainings and audio-visual presentations

41. “U” Shape (Horseshoe) Set Up Excellent for large group interaction among participants Provides good sight lines throughout Allows space for the trainer to stand and be seen by everyone Best for small to medium-sized groups

42. Theater (Auditorium) Set Up Maximizes room space for large groups Good sight lines throughout the room Difficult for participants to take notes or have refreshments Can be uncomfortable for long trainings

43. Hollow Square Set Up Good for facilitated discussion Small to medium-sized groups Fosters interaction and brainstorming Best if there is no one facilitator or if the leader is also part of the group

44. Board Room (Conference) Great for discussion and group interaction Best for small groups (no more than 24 people) Best for meetings without a trainer or where the leader is part of the group If there is a trainer, some participants will have poor sight lines

45. Temporary fixes • Temporary accessible parking spaces • Temporary signage • Portable ramps • Prop open heavy doors • Place detectable warning objects

46. Tax Incentives • Tax credit for small businesses (30 or fewer employees OR $1 million or less revenue) • Up to $5,000 to offset costs of hiring interpreters, producing accessible materials (Braille, etc.), removing structural barriers in existing buildings • Tax deduction for businesses of any size • Up to $15,000 for removing barriers in buildings or vehicles

47. Resources • ADA National Network Hospitality Initiative • www.ADAhospitality.org • 1-800-949-4232 V/TTY • U.S. Department of Justice • www.ada.gov • 1-800-514-0301 V • 1-800-514-o383 TTY • U.S. Access Board • http://access-board.gov • 1-800-872-2253 V • 1-800-993-2822 TTY