REPORT FROM THE U.S.—A group of disability rights organizations are declaring “guerilla warfare” on the U.S. hotel industry over lobbying efforts related to the installation of fixed pool lifts.
Representatives from the groups said during a telephone news conference Wednesday that they are angry the lobbying resulted in the U.S. Department of Justice pushing back the enforcement date and loosening the requirements governing pool-lift installation.
The groups—which include the American Association of People with Disabilities, National Disability Rights Network and the National Council on Independent Living—said they will boycott, picket and pass out leaflet-style information at the hotels and hotel chains represented on the boards of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Asian American Hotel Owners Association.
“We’re saying, ‘No,’” said Mark Perriello, president and CEO of the AAPD. “No, you can’t have my money to lobby against me.”
|
Mark Perriello |
The AH&LA and AAPD have butted heads before. In June, the AAPD orchestrated a protest in front of the AH&LA’s Washington, D.C., offices to demand the trade group stop its lobbying efforts to “block equal access to America’s swimming pools.”
Kevin Maher, senior VP of governmental affairs for the AH&LA, said the most recent move by the groups amounts to nothing more than a publicity stunt.
“We’re disappointed that the AAPD decided to organize this cynical campaign about a regulation that’s not even in effect at this point,” he said during a telephone interview following the news conference. The DOJ pool-lift requirements are set to go into effect 31 January.
Officials at AAHOA said they had no comment on the groups’ actions.
The pool-lift requirement had been slated to go into effect 15 March, but the DOJ granted a 60-day extension on the day the measure was to be enforced. The DOJ then further pushed back the deadline, and said there is no need to provide access to existing pools if doing so would be too costly or involve significant difficulty. The DOJ also said it would not pursue enforcement against those properties that have already purchased otherwise-compliant portable lifts, as long as the lifts are kept in position at the pool and operational during all times the pool is open to guests.
The cost of installing pool lifts at properties, which might have several pools and spas, has been a sticking point for some hoteliers. Officials of the disability rights groups said they are upset that hoteliers seem to have no problem renovating rooms and adding new flat screen TVs but are reluctant to pay for lifts.
Maher said, however, that the pool-lift issue is not about cost. He sees it as more of a guest safety issue. There have been concerns that children could injure themselves playing on or around the lifts.
Kelly Buckland, executive director for the National Council on Independent Living, said it should be up to guests to watch their children and ensure they are not in danger.
“As a father, I would certainly not leave my child alone at a pool for any reason,” Buckland said.
Boycott details
The disability rights advocates did not reveal details of which specific hotels would be targets of a boycott, picketing and/or the leaflet distribution.
“Think of it kind of like guerilla warfare,” said Bruce Darling, CEO of the Center for Disability Rights and member of ADAPT, a self-proclaimed civil disobedience organization that organizes disability rights activists to engage in nonviolent direct action. “You won’t know exactly where we’re going to be, but you’ll know it when we’re there.”
Buckland said the groups don’t know exactly how many U.S. hotels are without fixed pool lifts. But he said the group is creating a database that will track members’ experiences at hotels across the country, good and bad. This database also will include whether the hotels have accessible pool lifts.
|
Curt Decker |
Officials at the disability rights groups, which represent more than 54 million Americans, believe redirecting their group business to properties with fixed pool lifts will get the hotel sector’s attention.
“If you’re accessible, you will get our business,” said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network. “If you’re not, you will not.”
The groups intend to launch a website and have an active Facebook campaign aimed at identifying hotels that lack fixed lifts.
Buckland said the groups also will ask meeting planners to not book business with these hotels.
“This is personal,” Darling said. “We’re taking this very personally, and we’re going to respond very personally.”
Solution offered
Officials of the disability rights groups said they are angry over the time it takes to set up a fixed lift and the overall lack of lifts found at hotels.
Buckland, who is in a wheelchair, said he has never been able to get into a pool with his family. “I will no longer be a second-class citizen at hotels,” he said.
Maher said the AH&LA reached out to the AAPD to offer a possible solution. He quoted research that found the average length of time it takes to set up a portable lift is six minutes.
“That seems to me to be a pretty reasonable amount of time,” Maher said.
He said the AH&LA asked AAPD if the group thought it would be appropriate for front-desk staff to ask every guest whether they would need a pool lift. If the guest indicated they do require a lift, the staff could set up the equipment while the guest went to the room to change. And when the guest is ready to swim, the lift would be ready to go. That was not a solution the AAPD took to, however, he said.
Colleen Starkloff, co-director of the Starkloff Disability Institute, said in her experience, it takes much longer for hotel staff to get a lift in place.
“(Non-disabled) people who want to use a swimming pool and swim just get in,” she said.