In 2018, Vizergy began noticing a sharp increase in lawsuits and threats to our clients regarding ADA accessibility information on their websites. When it comes to ADA compliance for a hotel, there are two points to consider when evaluating a website. The first point is to ensure the website is easy to use for screen readers, and the second point is to include content on the website letting those with disabilities know what rooms and amenities accommodate them. Over the past few years, we’ve learned that a property’s digital marketing and website matters as much as their physical ability to accommodate visitors (ramps, accessible bathrooms, etc.). The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires hotels to maintain a booking and reservations system that’s accessible to people with disabilities and does the following:
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Ensure that individuals with disabilities can reserve accessible guest rooms in the same manner as other guests;
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Adequately describe the accessible features in enough detail to permit individuals with disabilities to assess whether the room meets their needs;
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Ensure the accessible guest rooms are held for use by individuals with disabilities until all other guest rooms have been booked; and
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Guarantee the reserved accessible guest room is held for the reserving customer.
In 2019, Vizergy developed the Performance Analysis tool to integrate with our CMS. This streamlined our process of running hotel websites through multiple scanning tools to check things like ADA compliance, page speed, structure, etc. The Performance Analysis tool can be purchased by clients as a full-service or self-service tool. With the full-service option, Vizergy performs the scan quarterly and consults with our design team to quote any needed changes. The self-service option gives the client access to the tool, where they can run it whenever they would like.
Ensuring that a hotel’s website is ADA compliant has many advantages. It allows hotels to better serve guests and cater to a wider range of people. However, the major advantage is that it will protect a hotel against a potentially costly lawsuit. Another thing to consider is that customers with disabilities are very brand loyal and will be more likely to share their experiences with others in their community. Whether you’re considering building a new website for your hotel or not, those three letters — ADA — are ones all hospitality and digital marketers should keep in mind.
