U.S. Attorney’s Office reminds hoteliers of obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act

Seattle – The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington is investigating six hotels following complaints the facilities violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. In addition to the six active investigations, three area hotels have entered into settlement agreements after findings that they were not compliant with the ADA.

“As we enter the busy holiday travel season, it is critical that hotels and motels review their properties and reservation systems to ensure people with disabilities can reserve and be appropriately accommodated in rooms that meet their needs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “I’m pleased that three hotels have agreed to fix their accessibility issues, and we thank those customers who brought these issues to our attention. However, we’d rather see the hospitality community embrace the ADA guidelines without an investigation and action from our office.”

Over the last year, the Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office received and resolved complaints about three hotels in the Seattle area: The MarQueen Hotel on Queen Anne Avenue North in Seattle, The Hampton Inn and Suites in Lynnwood, Washington and the Holiday Inn and Suites in Bothell, Washington. In each case, a traveler who is disabled was assigned a room that did not meet the ADA even though the customer had requested appropriate accommodation.

• The MarQueen Hotel allegedly ignored the customer’s request for a first-floor room since the customer has mobility issues and the historic hotel has no elevators. While the investigation did not determine whether the hotel had promised a first-floor room, it did conclude that the MarQueen does not have the required number of rooms that accommodate people with mobility disabilities. Under the resolution, the hotel will provide the U.S. Attorney’s office with it’s plan to add an additional room for those with mobility disabilities.
• The Lynnwood Hampton Inn Suites resolved a claim that it failed to honor a request for an accessible bathroom from a guest with mobility impairment. Under the terms of the resolution the hotel will improve the reservations system and training for employees. If the hotel fails to have an accessible room for the person who has reserved one, it will assist the customer with finding an accessible room at another property or will move a non-disabled customer to provide such a room.
• The Bothell Holiday Inn and Suites similarly failed to have a room with an accessible bathroom for a customer who had reserved a room and believed the room would accommodate their disability. However, the hotel website was unclear as to the accommodation and the room did not have an accessible bathroom. The hotel has agreed to make changes to it’s website and changes in training for its employees so that it is ADA compliant.

In each of the resolutions listed above, the hotel management has agreed to alert the U.S. Attorney’s Office to any complaints of ADA violations that the hotels receive over the next year.

In some instances, the complainant is financially compensated as part of the resolution.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office actively works to ensure ADA compliance. You can learn more about our efforts here.

The resolutions in these cases were handled by Assistant United States Attorney Susan Kas.