Inaccessibility for the differently enabled can be the low hanging fruit for law suits
Legal shenanigans have given rise to a cottage industry where unhurt plaintiffs lob lawsuits of questionable merit, while using the threat of attorney’s fees to extract settlement payments.
Some disabled persons (plaintiffs) and their lawyers find the US’s Americans with Disabilities (ADA) act a potentially lucrative avenue for making money. A small group of people (which is growing now), bring up a large number of cases, mainly against hotels because it is so profitable, and, the incredible thing is that these professional plaintiffs (serial plaintiffs as some call them), don’t even have to go to these hotels. All they need to do is simply look up a range of hotels online each day until he/she strikes gold.
All eyes will be focused on the case involving Acheson Hotels v. Deborah Laufer, scheduled to be heard sometime after October 2023, by the Supreme Court, which will determine whether someone has standing - if they do not intend to visit the hotel they are suing. Laufer has brought approximately 600 lawsuits against hotels in several states for their failure to provide accessibility information online. Under the ADA, hotel reservation portals must provide accessibility information about their accommodations to individuals with disabilities.
Deborah Laufer, the respondent, is disabled. She is unable to walk more than a few steps and uses a wheelchair. She also has limited use of her hands, which impacts her ability to grasp objects. Laufer is vision impaired as well. Laufer is a self-proclaimed "advocate" for "similarly situated disabled persons. On her own accord and with no intention to visit, she reviewed Acheson Hotels’ website. Laufer sued the hotel, alleging that their website did not provide sufficient information to determine whether her disabilities could be accommodated at the hotel.
In the US, there were over 3200 lawsuits filed in courts last year over website accessibility by visually impaired users who were unable to reserve a room online at the pre-stay phase. Yes, some cases involved those who were truly distressed during the arrival or hotel stay phase; such as been told, at check-in, that handicap-accessible rooms were unavailable - even after having booked one or being unable to shower in the bathroom, because there were no grab bars or roll-in showers as mandated by the ADA.
Then there were occasions where disabled guests were at the receiving end of poor treatment from hotel workers when seeking their assistance. Even in the worst of times, empathetic customer service can lessen the chances of been slapped with litigation from angry people. In such instances, and, especially where the claims seem legitimate, judges are prone to side with plaintiffs owing to the emotional content attached to it. Hence, it can turn out to be an expensive and difficult exercise to settle – be it in or out of court.
Unsurprisingly, hotels accounted for the majority of those cases - because hotels (especially independently run ones),are attractive targets, as they present several opportunities for guests to complain since they stay longer than at a restaurant or café.
The ADA specifies a multitude of requirements for hotel guest rooms and restrooms, but properties also must ensure accessibility at their restaurants, pools, spas, gyms, and other facilities on-site. Accessible parking with flat handicapped parking spaces, marked with signage painted stripes on the road surface, a clear path from the car park to the property entrance for persons using a wheelchair, a low section at the front desk for such people to be able to fill out forms a check-in. Lowered sections must also be available at hotel bars for disabled guests.
A report released in April 2021 providing a descriptive analysis on more than 31,000 hotels from the online travel agency Booking.com, in the 100 most touristic cities in the world, revealed that the adapted hotel infrastructures by countries are uneven.
The main adaptations are those that help to avoid mobility barriers, and in contrast, hotels offer very few adaptations for sensory disabilities such as visual disabilities. The Asia and Pacific region is the least adapted. On the other end of the spectrum the US led with having the highest percentage of hotels being accessible to the disabled.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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