FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CR TUESDAY, JULY 1, 1997 (202) 616-2777 TDD (202) 514-1888 HOTEL BEL-AIR AGREES TO MAKE ITS SERVICES ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles will provide special phones, flashing smoke and fire alarms and television decoders for closed captioning for guests who are deaf or hard of hearing, under an agreement reached today with the Justice Department. Today's settlement with the owners of the Hotel Bel-Air resolves a complaint filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by the father of two deaf children who were guests of the hotel. The agreement outlines the steps the Bel-Air will take to comply with the law, including providing closed captioning decoders, telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs), and other services. "Deaf and hard-of-hearing guests deserve the same quality of services as other guests," said Isabelle Katz Pinzler, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "By entering into this agreement, the Hotel Bel-Air has shown that it values all of its guests. We are pleased that it will take these steps to ensure equal treatment." According to the complaint, in December 1996 the Crane family, which was visiting California from Ohio to see the Rose Bowl, checked into the Bel-Air. Upon arrival, the father contacted the hotel management after finding that his two daughters could not watch the television because it was not equipped with a closed captioning device. Mr. Crane spoke with four different managers over the course of two days to try to obtain the equipment. He finally suggested the hotel contact the Greater Los Angeles Council of the Deaf (GLAD) about renting a decoder. The hotel contacted the group but indicated that it would not pay the rental fee and never provided the Crane family with the decoder. Under today's agreement the hotel will: * purchase 9 TDDs for guests (and an additional TDD to be used at the front desk); * install flashing alarms to alert deaf and hard-of- hearing guests of visitors and phone calls; * install flashing alarms to alert deaf and hard-of- hearing guests of fire and smoke; * provide televisions with decoders for closed caption television broadcasts; * make arrangements, within two hours, to rent or share additional TDDs upon receiving a request by an deaf or hard-of-hearing guest that cannot be met because all units are already in use; and, * pay $5,000 in compensatory damages to the Crane family. The Department reached a similar agreement today with the Lauderdale Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Under the Title III of the ADA, which was signed into law July 26, 1990, public accommodations, such as hotels, must provide effective communication for persons with hearing disabilities. This includes the provision of TDDs, televisions with captioning and visual alarms. The Justice Department has reached more than 500 settlements under the federal disabilities law. Copies of the settlement may be obtained by calling the ADA Information Line at 1-800- 514-0301 (voice) or 1-800-514-0383 (TDD). ADA information is also available from the Department of Justice's HomePage on the internet, at: (http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm). # # # 97-275