ADA Guide for Places of Lodging: Serving Guests Who Are Blind or Who Have Low Vision

Verbalizing Directions. When giving directions, do not point. Instead, explain the directions in words and be specific. Be sure to use right and left as they apply to the person who is blind. What is on your right is on the left of a person facing you. Indicate number of blocks to the department store and whether one proceeds right or left when exiting the hotel. Simply saying, “The department store is about six blocks down in that direction” is ineffective. Provide the address and, whenever possible, indicate such things as the number of doorways from the corner and distance. Similarly, be specific about directions to rooms within the hotel, e.g., “To find the Monroe Room, walk twenty feet forward, turn left, and it’s the fifth room on your right.”