Excerpts from Lodging, February 2000
The Question of Compliance: For some properties, accessibility for disabled travelers—not to mention ADA compliance—is still a slow-moving process.
By Vicki Meade
Mike Leven, president/ CEO of U.S. Franchise Systems, franchisor of Microtel Inn & Suites, is an accessibility advocate. Earlier in his career, Leven says he was frustrated by his inability to bring about the changes he wanted, "but when I got to Microtel, I felt I had a shot at doing a better job to fulfill my responsibility legally, as well as morally," he says. Microtel's website (www.microtelinnandsuites.com) highlights its commitment to accessible travel and posts pictures of accessible rooms so visitors can check out their features.
Despite his views, compliance isn't easy, Leven says, even in newly constructed properties like Microtel. "We provide plans for all these accessible rooms, and in between the time they're approved and built, things get shaved, the builders don't do it exactly as specified." The other problem, Leven says, is "We haven't had clear guidelines. The rules keep changing. We think something is acceptable and suddenly it isn't." He's optimistic that the new ADA checklist will make compliance easier, and hopes it stays in force "long enough for us to comply."
Microtel employs a consultant to inspect facilities for compliance, and Leven is often amazed at the things he finds, he says. Recently, he inspected a shower with the right bench, but the wrong screws. It looked like the bench would fall over if you sat on it, he says "Sometimes things go wrong because of something simple‹like not spec'ing the right screws."
It's About People—and Money
Despite all the talk of door widths and grab bars, the ADA is about people. "People with disabilities have the right to travel and be comfortable," Leven says, "and we are in the hospitality business."
Microtel has contracted with W.C. Duke Associates in Woodford, Virginia, to train its customer service staff to be more understanding and helpful to people with disabilities. The program, called "Opening Doors," was developed by people with disabilities specifically for hotels and includes simulation‹trying out wheelchairs, blindfolds, earplugs, and taped hands‹to get a taste of what disabled people's needs are. The program also aims to teach practical skills, such as what to do if you don't understand what a guest with a speech impairment is saying.
Right: Bill and Cheryl Duke work with Microtel managers and owners in a training session at U. S. Franchise Systems headquarters in Atlanta, GA.
Cheryl Duke, president, says there's been an increase in use of the Opening Doors program in recent years, both from hotels that received complaints about their lack of sensitivity and those that want to be proactive. "The truth is, businesses have to think about appealing to people with disabilities, because it's the next hot marketing niche."
"Handicapitalism," a term defined in the December 15, 1999, issue of the Wall Street Journal, refers to the fact that people with disabilities are not "charity cases or regulatory targets," but rather "profitable marketing targets." According to the article, the United States had 48.5 million residents age 15 and older with disabilities in 1995, with annual discretionary income of $175 billion.
"We've got money, and if you want our business, you have to treat us right," says Barry Corbet, editor of New Mobility, a monthly lifestyle magazine for people with disabilities. The amount and scope of travel among people with disabilities is increasing, he says. "We want to go to skin-diving resorts, skiing resorts—there are all kinds of adaptive devices today that let us participate in sports and adventure travel."
I was appalled to learn that some hotels won't confirm that an accessible room will be available upon a disabled guest's arrival, and asked Mike Leven what Microtel does. "We will confirm it—I hope," he says. "If we don't, I will commit suicide." So I called one of Microtel's properties to book a wheelchair-accessible room, and was told it would be held if I confirmed it with a credit card. I didn't follow up by actually going and taking possession of the room‹but it seems that for now, at least, Leven can live.