CHICAGO-A new round of changes to the 20-year-old American with Disabilities Act will go into effect March 15. Most changes are innocuous, but one requirement, lifts for all public pools, may force some hotel chains to close pools for good because of cost concerns, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

The changes will be grandfathered in for existing construction, only required if new development or renewed work is done to a property. Kevin Hughes, a VP for project and development services, tells GlobeSt.com that many companies are only facing minor changes even if work is required. “There’s a lot of small tweaks, such as size of a slope or bathroom, even in employee areas,” he says. “The biggest impact will be the hospitality industry.”

Hotels will have to upgrade how they calculate rooms available for disabled persons. The biggest cost change will be for pools – the new rules seem to require a separate powered lift for each pool offered for public use. “It’s not a small cost,” Hughes says. “Companies that have to do renovations are giving some thought to just shutting their pools down.”

The American Hotel & Lodging Association has been trying to lobby for changes to the rule to allow at least portable lifts to be allowed, a lift that could be used for both a pool and a jacuzzi, or for properties for more than one pool. The rule still stands. “There’s no question (we) will continue to press for fair and reasonable measures to replace unnecessary and costly provisions,” said association president/CEO Joe McInerney. The group is also offering Webinars, in partnership with the ADA National Network, about the changes, running through March 21.

Another change is in how employee spaces are considered. Public areas were largely addressed in the 1991 ADA standard, but now rules are being applied for areas such as employee break rooms or restrooms.

Hughes says the biggest worry for commercial real estate owners will be in applying the rules across multiple properties. He has worked with companies such as a bank that had to survey more than 300 of its branches for compliance. “You first want to sit down and understand your portfolio to how they meet the 1991 standards,” he says. “Then you can evaluate for trouble spots that may come up later.” It’s not an unusual examination, and can prevent costly litigation or violations with the Department of Justice, such as fines and work forced on companies such as NPC International, JoAnn Stores and Quik Trip.

Instant Insights /

Hotels Have Most to Worry About With New ADA

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