Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its chill on the hospitality
industry, ADA-related digital lawsuits increased by approximately
23% in 2020. Many of these lawsuits are filed against hotels. The
complaints allege that a hotel's online reservation system
failed to provide enough detail for individuals with disabilities
to decide if the hotel meets their accessibility needs.
These plaintiffs will often claim that it is insufficient to
describe an aspect of a hotel or room as “accessible”
because the term is an opinion or conclusion. Plaintiffs argue that
a hotel's reservation system must report specific
information, such as the dimensions of space under accessible desks
and sinks, the slopes of surfaces, doorway clearance, and numerous
other technical requirements under the ADA.
