Marriott Enhances Accessibility in Room Reservations
A significant stride in accessibility is on the horizon for Marriott International. Following numerous complaints from individuals with disabilities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado has announced an agreement with Marriott to improve the reservation process for accessible rooms across their U.S. hotels.
Under this agreement, Marriott is set to enhance its accessibility features by ensuring accurate listings of accessible rooms on their centralized reservation system and third-party booking platforms like Expedia and Booking.com. Additionally, Marriott will feature their accessible room inventory prominently on their websites and confirm compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regarding the minimum number of accessible rooms.
Marriott will also allocate more accessible rooms to their rewards program, train call center employees on handling accessible room requests, and monitor guest complaints related to accessibility.
While Marriott denies any ADA violations or liability, it has agreed to a $50,000 civil penalty and committed to implementing these changes.
Marriott, one of the world's largest hotel chains, manages over 600 hotels directly in the U.S. and franchises more than 5,000 hotels under brands such as Ritz Carlton, W Hotels, Sheraton, and Westin.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, Matt Kirsch, praised the agreement, stating, "This settlement will significantly enhance the experience for individuals with disabilities booking accessible rooms at Marriott-branded hotels. We commend Marriott International for their commitment to addressing the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and for upholding ADA standards."
While this development is fabulous for those in the U.S. and travelers like myself who visit the States, it is important to note that such improvements are unlikely to translate across the border to Canada until the Accessible Canada Act is firmly established in our country. The Act, once fully implemented, will hopefully inspire similar commitments from Canadian hotel chains to ensure accessible accommodations are equally available here.
