Attendees with Disabilities Require a Level Convention Field
By Kevin Woo

For 10 years Angela Briguglio fussed over spots on hotel carpeting, made sure that meeting rooms were set up properly, and checked to see that buffet tables were always perfect. As the manager of a Texas resort, it was her job to ensure that guests consistently received the type of luxury and attention to detail they had come to expect. In one horrible instant, however, the spotless carpeting that felt so good beneath her feet would become her nemesis. The buffet table that she agonized over would soon seem like a desert mirage, just beyond her reach.

In 1998, Briguglio contracted a rare form of bacterial meningitis. Within 12 hours she was in
a coma and given last rites. A doctor recognized her symptoms and determined that her life could be spared but it would require the amputation of both legs.

Now, Briguglio sees hotels from a different perspective. “People don’t understand what it’s like for a person like me to try and get around at a hotel,” says Briguglio. “While clean, plush carpeting is nice, for people in wheelchairs it means we have to work ten times harder to get around.”

Years ago it was thought that people with disabilities were a “niche” group. But according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wall Street Journal, 54 million Americans live with disabilities. Of adults with disabilities, 73 percent are heads of household and 58 percent own their own homes. The aggregate income of Americans with disabilities exceeds $1 trillion. People with disabilities spend more than $100 billion annually on travel, not including the expenditures of their family members and other travel companions. The population of people with disabilities is expected to grow as the general population ages and as adult onset diseases, such as diabetes, affect more individuals. Adult onset diabetes is the number one cause of amputation; many diabetics are also visually impaired.

It is the responsibility of meeting planners and facility managers to ensure that everyone has the same access to public meetings and venues. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) “prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government,
public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.”

The challenge is finding a way to work within the system; every venue is different and the needs of the disabled vary. One meeting planner, who asked not to be identified, organizes an annual meeting for 9,000 delegates and estimates that each year the conference will be attended as many as five people who are hearing impaired. “As the meeting planner, although we are responsible for procuring any interpreters, we have chosen to put that onus on our attendees.” This is a clear violation of the ADA.

Meeting planners and hotels are responsible for securing and paying for “reasonable” special needs of an attendee. Meeting attendees who are disabled cannot be asked to pay extra to cover the costs of interpreters or special equipment.

The Hyatt Regency Dallas recognized several years ago that travelers with disabilities were more than a niche market. The hotel converted 32 rooms into ADA compliant rooms and in July 2003 the hotel hosted 600 meeting attendees who were disabled. The Hyatt went through an extensive five-point preparation process to get ready for the conference. Hyatt management worked closely with the meeting planner to gain insight into the exact needs of the guests. Once the needs were understood the hotel made modifications to go above and beyond ADA compliance. Every menu was printed in Braille and rooms were altered with special equipment required by attendees. Guestroom furniture was removed to allow for passage by wheelchairs, wheelchair lifts were installed, and restrooms throughout the hotel were modified for easier accessibility. Finally, the hotel staff received extensive training on how to work with and service guests with disabilities. “Anticipating the needs of every guest is our top priority,” says Steve Vissotzky, the Hyatt’s general manager. “When hosting guests with disabilities our sensitivities are heightened to ensure that every guest is treated equally with the respect and with the exceptional customer service for which Hyatt is known.”

Elizabeth Heubner, a marketing executive for a high tech firm in Virginia spends an average of 10 days per month on the road. Heubner, who is deaf, recalled checking into a hotel in Chicago and asking the front desk clerk if alternate arrangements could be made to retrieve telephone messages (she was unable to hear her phone ring and the hotel did not provide teletypewriters). The front desk clerk refused to consider alternatives, stating that everything in the hotel was automated. “People assume that because I am deaf that I travel with a companion,” says Heubner. “I’m not looking for hotels to change policy, just to be flexible and realize that not everyone is the same.”

Ideally, hotels should provide hearing-impaired guests with a teletypewriter to access the
telephone. Televisions should be closed-captioned and rooms must provide visual alarms that are connected to the building’s emergency alarm system. Visual notification devices should be located in guestrooms to alert occupants of incoming phone calls or door knocks. For guests who are vision-impaired, hotels should provide guest services information, in-room dining menus and other important guest information in Braille, in large print (16 or 18 point size) and by audio cassette. Hotel personnel should offer to walk a vision-impaired guest around the hotel and describe the surroundings in detail.

TASH, an advocacy group formerly known as The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, has developed a partnership program with lodging, airline, and other
hospitality industries. Known as Code Plus, the program ensures employees in the industry learn the skills to go beyond the ADA code. “We ask every hotel we choose to make a commitment to be Code Plus,” says Denise Marshall, director of meetings and information resources. “They will not only comply with the letter of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, but they will meet the spirit of the act , too, and go over and above to assure equal access for all. We conduct an employee survey in each hotel we access, and work with the training department to secure identified training in areas identified as a weakness.”

For people who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility, hotel rooms can seem like an obstacle course. Hotels should provide shower wheelchairs for their wheelchair-bound guests. (Shower wheelchairs ensure that the guest’s personal wheelchair does not get wet.) Showerheads should be at a level that can be easily reached by someone in a wheelchair. Towels should not be placed on high racks above toilets or in showers; they should be low enough to be easily accessible. Bathroom counters should allow enough clearance so that people who are in wheelchairs can slide easily underneath to use the sink. Bathroom doors may need to be removed if they are not wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. Furniture may need to be removed from the room so that wheelchairs can navigate easily through.

“One of our first questions to a new venue is the number of ADA rooms, and we are lucky if we can find a hotel with 20,” says Vicki Foster manager, communications and outreach, Amputee Coalition of America. “I would love to see designs in meeting space and accommodations that could be altered by demand. It is amazing how surprised some of the hotel conference directors are when you make them aware of problems. The good news is that most of the ones that we found problems with were sincerely grateful to know their shortcomings.”

Food service can be especially difficult for people with disabilities. Buffet tables are a nightmare for people in wheelchairs. “When you’re in a wheelchair you’re very unlikely to be able to reach very far at a buffet,” says Briguglio. “And trying to navigate a wheelchair with a plate of food on your lap is difficult at best.” She suggests that meeting planners either make meal arrangements ahead of time with attendees who might be unable to navigate a buffet line, or provide a staff member to assist. Vision impaired attendees should be provided with menus in Braille or large type or meeting planners should assign someone to read the menu to them aloud. Attendees who are deaf or are hard of hearing can communicate through talking or lip reading, notes, or sign language, but may need a sign language interpreter. Meeting planners may also have to accommodate people who have special dietary requirements.

Heubner says that it’s her responsibility to let meeting planners know what she needs. “The ADA says that meeting planners have to make ‘reasonable accommodations’ for people who are disabled. Waiting until an hour before I arrive to let a meeting planner know that I need a sign language interpreter is not reasonable. I have a responsibility to make my needs known in a timely fashion and the meeting planner has the responsibility for including a ‘specials needs’ section on registration forms.”

For assistance in ADA compliance, meeting planners can contact a number of national organizations. The National Braille Press (http://www.nbp.org/) will translate documents into Braille; they can be reached at (617) 266-6160. The Department of Justice has a 34-point check list that meeting planners can use as a guide for hotel inspections. It can be found at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/lodgesur.html. The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing can help meeting planners find resources for the deaf and hard of hearing. They can be reached at www.agbell.org/information/resources.cfm or (202) 337-5221.