For a more in depth review of the A.D.A. go to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Wiki and the < a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADA_Amendments_Act_of_2008” target=”_blank”>ADA Amendments Act of 2008 for more information.
Since the Americans with Disability Act was signed into law there have been legal decisions, Department of Justice rulings and amendments to the law intended to clarify and expand the law. One such proposed addition was made the Department of Justice in 2010. This change would mandate that hotels and public pools would need to provide sloped ramps or lifts to be installed at the pools.
You would think that something like pool lifts or sloped ramp access to the pools at your hotels would be a huge marketing tool given the aging of the population and the increased visibility of the disabled in American society. Maybe make a point of rolling them out in your largest hotels and resorts in places like Las Vegas, Orlando and Miami Florida, Los Angeles and any other large tourist destinations. Use the lifts to show how welcoming and inclusive your hotels are to all people. Maybe have a family on vacation with Grandma and as they check in the kids asking Grandma to come swimming with them. Grandma begs off because she can’t climb down the steps into the pool, but your helpful check in person tells her all your hotels have pool lifts for guests with disabilities or trouble getting in and out of the pool, then show Grandma in the pool playing with her grandkids.
On Aug 30th, 2012 American Hotel and Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association held a fundraiser in Colorado Springs Colorado to fight against this Department of Justice rule. The AHLA and AAHOA have made the following arguments:
- Installing pool lifts are too expensive
- Fixed pool lifts are unsafe for other guests and their children
- People with disabilities don’t go to hotels
- People with disabilities will make pools unsanitary (i.e. They’ve actually tried to use the argument that if you have a disability you’ll defecate in the pool)
1.) Installing pool lifts are too expensive.
In just a quick look at a handful of websites that sell both commercial grade fixed and portable pool lifts, the cost of the lift ranges from $3,500 to roughly $5,300 dollars. Now I’m pretty sure if you called one of the manufacturers of pool lifts and said to the manufacturer “Hey I need 1800 pool lifts, what kind of volume discount can we work out?” I bet they would be willing to work out something. So let’s say using Wyndham Hotels, which has 7200 properties worldwide, and say 25% of those properties are in the U.S. That would be 1800 hotel pools you would need to install. Now in this example you order 1800 pool lifts at $3000 a piece that comes to about 5.4 million dollars. Now to the average person 5.4 million dollars that sounds like a ton of money, but When the Wyndham hotel chain makes 4.6 Billion dollars back in 2011 that come to a whopping .00011 percent of their profits. Yes… that’s 1/10000th of a percent of their yearly profits.
2.) Fixed pool lifts are unsafe for other guests and their children.
I’m not sure how they can justify this statement, but ok if you’re so worried about safety they also make pool lifts that can be rolled into place, locked down, used and then rolled out of the way.
3.) People with disabilities don’t go to hotels
Well if this is true I think the AHLA needs to send out refunds to all the disability activists I know who have traveled and stayed in hotels in places like Washington DC and Denver Colorado and I’d personally like my refund for the vacations I paid for in Las Vegas, Nevada and West Palm Beach, Florida as well as the hotel stays in St. Louis Mo., Indianapolis Indiana, Milwaukee Wisconsin, Davenport Iowa, Houston Texas, Daytona Beach Florida, Rochester Minnesota and several conventions and events I’ve paid for hotel rooms because apparently I was never there.
4.) People with disabilities will make pools unsanitary
So you actually want to use the argument that the disabled will urinate or defecate in the pool. Do you ban small children or babies from your pools, cause I can guarantee you they are more likely to urinate or defecate in the pool than I or anyone with a disability I know.
What this really boils down to is the AHLA and the AAHOA are trying to change the law so that their clients aren’t inconvenienced or made to feel uncomfortable by the presence of an icky disabled person wanting to take a dip in the pool.
I have news for you, we’re out of the house and out there in the world and we are not going back in the box to make you feel better…
Now you might ask how can I help? Well here are a few twitter links you can click to let them know how you feel.
Tweet to @AHLA @AHLA STOP fighting to weaken the ADA and equal access through Pool Lifts
Tweet to @AHLA @AHLA is fighting against permanent pool access for people with disabilities! Stop trying to weaken the ADA! AccessIsACivilRight
Tweet to @AHLA @AHLA Tell AHLA to stop discriminating against people with disabilities! Support the ADA Equal Access and Pool Lifts
One of the largest proponents of changing the law is the Wyndham Group of hotels. They include the following properties and hotel chains:
Wyndham Garden
TRYP by Wyndham
Wingate by Wyndham
Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham
Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham
Dream Hotels
Planet Hollywood
Ramada Worldwide
Night Hotels
Baymont Inn & Suites
Days Inn
Super 8
Howard Johnson
Travelodge
Knights Inn
Please let them know you are against them fighting against this rule.
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