ADA to Crack-down on Hotel Industry

Back when I was playing in baseball tournaments and traveling every weekend, we had to stay at different hotels in strange and non-familiar towns. One reprieve from being out in the sun all day was getting back to our hotel and going straight to jump in the pool-it was amazing! However, unless hotel owners are ready to shell out some major money, the days of enjoying a hotel pool may be over.

The Department of Justice along with the American with Disabilities Act have imposed some new strict regulations concerning hotel pools. Taking effect March 15th, 2012 if you do not have an ADA compliant chair lift at every one your pools and hot tubs, you will be forced to shut it down or face potential fines.

Let’s clarify what they are expecting of hotel owners to purchase to meet these new requirements: They are mandating that every pool has an ADA complaint chair lift to assist people with disabilities getting in and out of the pool. If you have more than one pool, this requires you to purchase more than one lift, and after pricing these items out, it can get extremely expensive. At an average price of $5,000 dollars, this new ADA requirement could be devastating for your business. There are several hotels in Arkansas that have decided to shut down their pools and hot tubs all together instead of purchasing multiple chair lifts.


This is a major decision hotel owners are going to have to make in the near future, and it could be one that would affect your entire operations. No matter what the decision you come to, the question is are you prepared?

Clay George
Risk Specialist
Commercial Risk Service