A coalition of the largest disability rights groups in the country has announced a national boycott of hotels along with a public awareness campaign concerning an “intensive campaign to stop enforcement of the ADA’s pool regulations” as America approaches the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the Disability Rights Coalition.
The campaign calls for a boycott of hotels represented by the executive officers of two industry lobbying associations: the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA). In addition to targeting leisure travelers, According to a report in USA Today, the coalition plans to reach out to meeting planners, to encourage them not to book business at hotels that don't have fixed wheelchair lifts.
Hotels and hotel chains represented on the board of AH&LA and AAHOA include Kimpton and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group—which operates brands such as Radisson Blu, Radisson Hotels, Park Plaza and Park Inn by Radisson—as well as many other national hotel chains and several smaller, independent hotels. And starting on July 26, the ADA's anniversary, the boycott will escalate to a much broader range of hotels and hotel chains, said the DRC.
“It is fundamentally unfair to expect people with disabilities to pay for an amenity that they cannot access,” said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, the nation's largest provider of legal services to people with disabilities. “Hotel owners and operators across the country should be ashamed of the groups representing their interests in Washington at the expense of paying customers across the country."
