Guide
Hotel websites: the reservation rule, and what else gets claimed
Hotels carry an accessibility obligation that restaurants and shops do not: a federal regulation about what your reservation system has to tell a guest with a disability. That rule created a whole category of claim that has nothing to do with alt text, and it is why hotel filings keep their own rhythm. In the twelve months through June 2026, at least 80 distinct hotels and lodging businesses were named in federal ADA filings, counting only those whose business name says so.
The reservation rule, in plain terms
The Department of Justice's ADA regulations for public accommodations require places of lodging to identify and describe accessible features in the hotel and in guest rooms in enough detail for a guest with a disability to decide independently whether the room meets their needs, and to allow accessible rooms to be reserved in the same way and on the same terms as other rooms (28 CFR 36.302(e)). In practice that means a booking flow that says what "accessible room" actually means at your property: roll-in shower or tub, door widths, transfer space, visual alarms, and the ability to hold that specific room rather than a note in a comments box.
Two things follow. First, generic wording ("ADA room available") is the specific thing the rule was written against, and it is what most reservation-rule complaints quote. Second, this is a content and process problem, not only a code problem: a technically perfect booking widget with vague room descriptions still fails the rule, and an accessibility scan will not tell you that.
What else gets claimed on hotel sites
- The booking engine. Date pickers and room selectors that keyboard users cannot operate, and modal dialogs that trap focus. Most hotels run a third-party engine, and the complaint still names the hotel.
- Room photos and floor plans published as images with no text alternative, which is exactly where accessible-room details usually live.
- Rate tables built as layout grids that read as noise, so prices and conditions cannot be matched up.
- Third-party listings. Your rooms are also described on travel sites, and the descriptions there come from you.
How to check a hotel site
- Read your own accessible-room descriptions as if you needed them: could someone decide, without calling, whether the bathroom works for them? That question is the rule, and no tool answers it for you.
- Book an accessible room with the keyboard only, start to finish, without touching the mouse.
- Run the mechanical layer across the site: the free one-page check for a first look, the automated audit ($149, 24 hours) for every page with evidence and fixes.
- If a lawyer, an insurer, or a brand standard will read it, the signed audit ($490 for 10 pages, 48-72 hours) carries a certified specialist's name.
Common questions
Our booking engine is the chain's, or a vendor's. Is that their problem?
The claim names the hotel. What an audit gives you is the specifics to hand the vendor or the brand, which is the fastest route to a fix you do not control yourself.
We are a small independent property. Are we a realistic target?
Yes; filing data shows small lodging businesses named regularly, and the reservation rule applies regardless of size. The pattern behind that is in why small businesses get ADA lawsuits.
Does an audit cover the reservation rule?
Our audits test the site against WCAG 2.1 AA and will find the booking flow's technical barriers, and we will point out where accessible-room information is missing or unreadable. Whether your descriptions satisfy 28 CFR 36.302(e) is a legal judgment for your attorney, and we will not pretend otherwise.