The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act with the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield to resolve alleged violations.
The agreement requires the hotel to renovate its facilities by increasing the number of accessible rooms and eliminating barriers in existing rooms.
The settlement resolves an ADA complaint alleging that after reserving an accessible room, when an individual with a disability attempted to check-in, the Crowne Plaza provided a room that lacked toilet handrails and did not have an accessible shower. According to the complaint, after the complainant explained their needs, the hotel provided a second room that lacked toilet handrails, had broken toilet seat hinges, and had an inaccessible shower. Despite the complainant requesting an accessible room, the hotel did not provide one, leaving the complainant unable to use the shower or toilet without assistance from a family member.
The complaint prompted an investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois. The investigation revealed that the Crowne Plaza does not maintain the number of accessible rooms required by the ADA and that many of its existing accessible rooms may contain barriers prohibited by the ADA.
Under the agreement, the hotel will create eleven new accessible rooms and eliminate existing barriers in other rooms. Driftwood Hospitality will also create an ADA policy and provide ADA training for all hotels it owns, operations, and manages, including the Crowne Plaza. Without admitting to violating the ADA, the hotel also agreed to a monetary payment to the complainant to fully resolve the matter.