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

Your ADA Obligations

Places of lodging, like other places of public accommodation, must provide their services to the public in a way that gives people who are blind or who have low vision a full and equal opportunity to enjoy the services that are provided to others. You must, for instance:

• Follow accessibility standards when constructing or altering facilities;


• Remove architectural or structural communication barriers in existing facilities where it is readily achievable to do so;


• Make reasonable modifications in policies and procedures (e.g., allow person to be accompanied by service animal or guide dog, even if a hotel has a ‘no pets’ policy);


• Eliminate discriminatory eligibility criteria (e.g., allow a guest to use alternative state ID to substitute for driver’s license at check-in); and


• Provide auxiliary aids and services leading to effective communication if it is not an undue burden and does not fundamentally alter the nature of the goods or services provided (e.g., provide alternate format materials such as Braille, large print, and audio tape when guest cannot read standard print materials due to a disability).

This publication is designed to help you and your staff to understand these obligations.

The ADA gives businesses a certain degree of flexibility in meeting these obligations. If some steps are too costly or burdensome for you to undertake, you must use alternative methods that are not so costly or burdensome in order to afford people with disabilities as much access as possible to your goods and services.

To make sure your hotel and the services you offer do not discriminate against people who are blind or who have low vision, it is helpful to think about how guests use your hotel:

How do guests arrive at your hotel and what do they do once they get there?

How do guests check-in and check-out?

How do they move about your facilities?

How are the rooms set up?

What in-room guest services are provided?

What other amenities are available?