25. RESERVATIONS SYSTEM. No later than 18 months after the Consent Decree Date and for the term of this Consent Decree, HWI shall take steps to further provide that (1) individuals with disabilities can make reservations for accessible rooms in the United States, including rooms for individuals with mobility disabilities and rooms equipped for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, over the Reservations System with the same opportunities to guarantee the reservation for an accessible room that are offered for any other reservation in the system; and (2) the options and amenities identified as available for particular rooms in the reservation process reflect accurately the inventory and availability of accessible guestrooms at all Brand Hotels. The Parties agree that HWI satisfies its obligations under this Paragraph 25 by implementing subsections (a) through (e) below:
(a) HWI will require that each Brand Hotel update the room inventory information that it supplies to the Reservations System to identify by room type which rooms are accessible, and for each such room type, which of the following accessibility or other features it has:
(i) Number of beds
(ii) Size of bed(s)
(iii) Roll-in shower or accessible tub
(iv) Visual alarms
(v) Executive level
(vi) Suite
(vii) Kitchen/kitchenette
(viii) View, if a particular hotel charges more for a room based on the view.
HWI will require that each hotel update the information collected in subparagraph 25(a) upon any material reconfiguration of room types and, in any event, no less than once every two years.
(b) HWI will configure the Reservations System such that users of the Reservations System will be able to determine, for any Brand Hotel, the current availability of accessible rooms by room type and which of the features set forth in subparagraph 25(a) above each such room type has.
(c) HWI will provide its Franchised Hotels with instructions and checklists to assist the hotels in accurately compiling the information described in subparagraph 25(a) above. HWI may rely in good faith on the information provided by the hotel owner of a Franchised Hotel described in subparagraph 25(a) above.
(d) The Parties recognize that the Reservations System currently accommodates only a limited number of room types due to capacity limits of the software, and that the inventory information prescribed by subparagraph 25(a) above may, for certain hotels, result in the hotel exceeding the room types number limitation. Accordingly, for any Brand Hotel for which the above-described process would cause the individual hotel to exceed 94 percent of its available computer capacity for room types, HWI may instead indicate (on the Reservations System) that the availability and reservation of some accessible rooms with some of the specific features described in subparagraph 25(a) above can be determined by calling the specific hotel, which HWI will facilitate by having a telephone Reservations System agent contact the Help Desk and/or call the hotel directly on behalf of the customer, obtain the requested information, and, if appropriate, make the reservation for the customer. For each Brand Hotel for which the room type limitations will be exceeded, HWI and the United States will reach agreement on those accessible features that will be categorized on the Reservations System. Under no circumstances will the limitations on capacity prevent a guest from using the Reservations System to complete a reservation for an accessible room, although some details about the features may not be displayed on the system at the time of the reservation. In addition, a guest who cannot make an online reservation because of the computer system’s limitation on capacity for room types shall receive the price offered through HWI’s online reservations system (on the date of booking) for the room that (s)he reserves, if that price is lower.
(e) HWI’s policy shall be that in assigning guestrooms upon check-in, each Brand Hotel shall hold available at least two non-premium accessible rooms for guests requesting accessible rooms (if the hotel is required to have two or more accessible rooms and provided that there are two such rooms that have not been previously reserved by a guest requesting an accessible room) until those rooms are the last non-premium rooms available. If a hotel has accessible rooms with one bed and accessible rooms with two beds, the hotel will be required to hold available at least one accessible room in each category. Once the two non-premium accessible rooms are the only two rooms left in inventory, the hotel may sell the rooms to any guest. When a guest checks in for a reserved accessible room, hotel staff may ask if the guest needs the accessible features of that room for a disability. If the guest does not need the accessible features of that room for a disability, the hotel shall substitute a comparable available non-accessible room for that guest. Unless rooms designated as accessible are the last of their room type(s) available at any given time (in which case, any guest may reserve the room(s)), rooms designated as accessible shall be rented only to persons specifically requesting such rooms for disability-related reasons, based on self-identification by the person(s) seeking to reserve the rooms. HWI shall facilitate self-identification by advising each guest who requests an accessible room by telephone that accessible rooms have features that are required by guests with disabilities and directing guests who do not need the room for a disability-related reason to select a non-accessible room if one is available. If a guest seeks to reserve a room on-line, HWI shall facilitate self-identification by advising guests by a pop-up notification that accessible rooms have features that are required by guests with physical disabilities and directing guests who do not need the room for a disability-related reason to select a non-accessible room if one is available.
(f) If and when a customer reserves an available accessible room type at a property in the United States through the Reservations System, a room of that room type will be placed in reserve for that customer and will be taken out of the available inventory for that hotel. The room may be released back into available inventory if the reservation is cancelled or the customer fails to check in by the specified check-in deadline time. This Consent Decree does not require that a reserved accessible room or room type be made available if the room becomes unavailable for reasons beyond the reasonable control of the hotel, specifically including but not limited to the following: the occupant of the room has not checked out or vacated the room and the hotel has asked (by calling the guest room and leaving a voicemail message and putting a note on hotel letterhead under the guest room door if no one is there) whether the occupant would be willing to move to a non-accessible room, if one is available; the room is undergoing maintenance, or is otherwise not in a condition to be made available to a guest; or the hotel is closed, in whole or in part. For those occasions when the room is or has become unavailable for these or any other reasons, the hotel will attempt to identify and reserve an appropriate equivalent accessible accommodation for the guest at that hotel or another hotel.
(g) To the extent necessary to implement this Paragraph 25, HWI will amend its Brand Standards.
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