FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CR
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1998
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The owner of the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza chain of hotels will make it easier for guests with disabilities to get a room and will set up a system to mediate access-related complaints, under two agreements reached today with the Justice Department.
The first agreement, with Bass Hotels & Resorts (BHR), is the Justice Department's first settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that establishes a nationwide mediation program to address future complaints.
BHR will pay for the mediation program, but it may be used by all the nearly 2000 domestic BHR owned or licensed hotels, including franchised hotels. BHR owns, operates or franchises all hotels that use the Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, or Crowne Plaza brand names.
The second agreement with BHR resolves complaints alleging the chain's central reservations system refused to guarantee reservations for accessible rooms, or, sometimes provided designated accessible rooms that were not accessible.
"No American should be denied an opportunity to stay where they choose, just because they happen to have a disability," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Bill Lann Lee. "After today's agreement, travelers with disabilities will be able to make reservations for rooms, instead of having reservations about whether the room will be there."
Under the agreements, BHR will:
- bring 3 Crowne Plaza hotels that it owns and manages into compliance;
- provide ADA training materials and architectural assistance to franchisees, as well as revise their Rules of Operation and Standards Manuals;
- pay $75,000 to the Key Bridge Foundation, to provide ADA-experienced mediators to help resolve future ADA complaints from persons with disabilities
- submit reports on mediations conducted under the program to the Justice Department, for evaluation;
- change its central reservations system to allow people to guarantee accessible rooms and require hotels to hold accessible rooms for people with disabilities; and,
- pay approximately $75,000 to resolve all outstanding issues.
The out-of-court agreement stems from an investigation of complaints filed with the Justice Department about various Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brand hotels. The complaints alleged a wide range of ADA violations, including: insufficient numbers of accessible rooms, inaccessible entrances, designated accessible guest rooms that lacked grab bars or had insufficient maneuvering space in bathrooms; hotel restaurants without accessible restrooms, and hotels without any closed captioned televisions or telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs).
In addition to the agreements with the chain, 19 individual franchisees also signed agreements with the Justice Department, requiring them to modify their hotels. The agreements address 19 complaints received by the Department against the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza chain. The Department is currently negotiating agreements with additional franchisees.
Title III of the ADA requires that places of public accommodation, such as hotels and motels, be accessible to persons with disabilities. Newly constructed hotels and hotels altered after the law went into effect, must be built or altered according to specific guidelines, called ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Pre-existing hotels, on the other hand, must meet those standards only if it is readily achievable to do so.
People interested in finding out more about the ADA or today's agreement can call the toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383/TDD or access the ADA home page at:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
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