ADA compliance · Hotels & Hospitality

ADA website compliance for hotels and resorts.

Hotels have a rule most industries don't: the ADA reservation rule. Your booking site must describe accessible rooms and let guests reserve them.

See plans and pricing

$75

Monitor · per month

$250+

Remediate · per month

The short answer

What does ADA compliance mean for hotels, resorts, and short-term lodging operators?

Hotel websites face two ADA obligations. First, the booking experience itself must be usable with assistive technology, measured against WCAG 2.1 AA. Second, the DOJ reservation rule at 28 CFR 36.302(e) requires hotels to identify and describe accessible features of the hotel and guest rooms in enough detail for a guest to decide if a room meets their needs, and to let them reserve accessible rooms the same way as any other room.

28 CFR 36.302(e) requires reservation systems to describe accessible features and allow booking of accessible rooms on equal terms.
The Supreme Court's 2023 Acheson Hotels v. Laufer case, a challenge brought by an ADA tester over reservation pages, was dismissed as moot. The court didn't resolve whether testers have standing.
Food service businesses made up about 21% of 2025 digital accessibility lawsuits (UsableNet). Travel and hospitality were about 1% in the same count.
The reservation rule applies to reservations made through third parties too. Hotels must provide accessible-room information to online travel agencies.

The exposure

Two obligations, not one

Most ADA website suits argue the site doesn't work with a screen reader. Hotels also get sued for content: a booking page that says 'ADA room' without describing roll-in showers, grab bars, bed height, or hearing-accessible features fails the reservation rule even if the code is perfect.

Serial testers have filed hundreds of these suits against independent and franchised properties. Acheson ended without a ruling on tester standing, so the question is still decided circuit by circuit.

Brand-managed booking engines don't cover you. Franchisees are often responsible for the property descriptions and local pages that sit outside the brand system.

The rules

Accessibility laws that apply to hotels, resorts, and short-term lodging operators.

ADA Title III reservation rule
Who it covers
Places of lodging and their reservation services, including third-party channels
Standard
28 CFR 36.302(e): describe accessible features, hold and book accessible rooms equally
Timing
In effect since March 15, 2012
ADA Title III (website usability)
Who it covers
Hotel websites and booking engines
Standard
WCAG 2.1 AA by reference
Timing
In effect now
California Unruh Act
Who it covers
Properties with California guests
Standard
ADA violations are Unruh violations
Timing
$4,000 minimum per violation

Accessibility laws that apply to hotels, resorts, and short-term lodging operators
Law or rule	Who it covers	Standard	Timing
ADA Title III reservation rule	Places of lodging and their reservation services, including third-party channels	28 CFR 36.302(e): describe accessible features, hold and book accessible rooms equally	In effect since March 15, 2012
ADA Title III (website usability)	Hotel websites and booking engines	WCAG 2.1 AA by reference	In effect now
California Unruh Act	Properties with California guests	ADA violations are Unruh violations	$4,000 minimum per violation

Common failures

Where hotel sites fail

What we find most often on sites in this industry, and the WCAG success criterion each one fails.

Accessible rooms listed without a description of their features
Where it shows up
Room type and booking pages
WCAG criterion
Reservation rule, 28 CFR 36.302(e)
Date pickers that can't be operated by keyboard
Where it shows up
Booking engine availability search
WCAG criterion
2.1.1 Keyboard
Room photo galleries with no alt text
Where it shows up
Rooms, amenities, and property pages
WCAG criterion
1.1.1 Non-text Content
Rate selection that updates without announcing the change
Where it shows up
Rate and package selection
WCAG criterion
4.1.3 Status Messages
Virtual tours and background videos with no alternative
Where it shows up
Hero video, 360° tours
WCAG criterion
1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative, 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide
Booking timeouts with no warning
Where it shows up
Guest details and payment step
WCAG criterion
2.2.1 Timing Adjustable

Common accessibility barriers on websites for hotels, resorts, and short-term lodging operators
Barrier	Where it shows up	WCAG criterion
Accessible rooms listed without a description of their features	Room type and booking pages	Reservation rule, 28 CFR 36.302(e)
Date pickers that can't be operated by keyboard	Booking engine availability search	2.1.1 Keyboard
Room photo galleries with no alt text	Rooms, amenities, and property pages	1.1.1 Non-text Content
Rate selection that updates without announcing the change	Rate and package selection	4.1.3 Status Messages
Virtual tours and background videos with no alternative	Hero video, 360° tours	1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative, 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide
Booking timeouts with no warning	Guest details and payment step	2.2.1 Timing Adjustable

What you get

What's included for hotels, resorts, and short-term lodging operators.

On Monitor ($75/mo)

Reservation rule content audit: every room type checked for accessible feature descriptions
Manual screen reader and keyboard test of the booking engine, date to confirmation
Monthly scans of property, room, dining, meetings, and local area pages
Gap list for your booking engine vendor with the WCAG criteria that fail

Added on Monitor + Remediate (from $250/mo)

Accessible feature descriptions written for each room type and common area, from your property survey
Template fixes across property pages, galleries, and specials
Captions and text alternatives for video and virtual tours
Accessibility page and statement that links from every booking step

Pricing

ADA compliance pricing for hotels, resorts, and short-term lodging operators.

No annual audit invoice, no widget license. Monthly pricing and work you can see in the report.

Monitor

$75/mo

Continuous WCAG 2.2 AA monitoring and a prioritized fix list your team can ship.

Baseline audit against WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 Level AA
Automated scans of your site every month, plus alerts when new issues ship
Manual checks of key templates: keyboard, screen reader, zoom, and forms
Prioritized recommendations with the exact WCAG success criterion and fix guidance
Monthly report showing open issues, resolved issues, and trend
Accessibility statement drafted for your site

Best for: Teams with a developer or agency who can implement fixes.

Start monitoring

Monitor + Remediate

$250/mo and up

Everything in Monitor, and we fix the issues in your code and content.

Everything in Monitor
We implement fixes in your theme, templates, CMS, and content
Alt text, captions, form labels, color contrast, focus order, and ARIA repairs
Accessible PDF and document remediation, quoted by volume
Regression checks after every fix and every major release
Documented remediation log you can hand to counsel or procurement

Best for: Businesses that want the issues fixed, not just reported.

Get a remediation quote

Monitor + Remediate starts at $250/mo. Final price depends on site size, number of unique templates, platform, and how much content (PDFs, video) needs remediation. You get a fixed monthly quote before anything starts.

How it works

Baseline, prioritize, fix, and keep it fixed.

01
Baseline
Automated crawl plus manual testing of your highest-traffic and highest-risk templates. You get a scored list of every WCAG failure we find.
02
Prioritize
Issues ranked by user impact and legal exposure: checkout, booking, forms, and navigation first. Cosmetic issues last.
03
Fix or hand off
On Monitor, your developers get fix-ready tickets. On Remediate, we ship the fixes and verify them.
04
Hold the line
Monthly scans and manual spot checks catch regressions from new pages, plugins, and releases before a plaintiff's scanner does.

Questions

Hotels & Hospitality ADA compliance FAQ.

What does the hotel reservation rule actually require online?

Your reservation service, including your website, must identify and describe the accessible features of the hotel and its guest rooms in enough detail for a guest to judge whether a room meets their needs. You must also let guests reserve accessible rooms the same way they reserve other rooms, hold accessible rooms until all others are booked, and guarantee the specific accessible room reserved. Describing 'accessible room' with no detail doesn't meet the rule.

Our booking engine is from our brand or a vendor. Is that on us?

The rule applies to reservations made by any means, including third parties. The vendor controls the engine's code, but you control the property content and are the named defendant. We test the engine, document what fails, and fix everything on your side of the line.

What details should an accessible room description include?

DOJ guidance points to things like the type of accessible bathing facility (roll-in shower or tub with grab bars), communication features for guests who are deaf or hard of hearing, and the accessibility of common areas, entrances, and parking. We work from your property survey so the descriptions are accurate.

Keep reading

More on ADA website compliance

Related industries

Other industries we cover.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Quorum is not a law firm, and this page is not legal advice. Deadlines and rules change. For advice on your situation, talk to an attorney.

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See every WCAG failure on your site, ranked by risk, before you commit to fixes.

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