Communicating with Guests who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Hotels, Motels, and Other Places of Transient Lodging

U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section
Americans with Disabilities Act
Communicating with Guests who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
in Hotels, Motels, and Other Places of Transient Lodging
ADA Business BRIEF:
People who are deaf or hard of hearing use a variety of ways to
communicate. 	Some rely on sign language interpreters or assistive
listening devices; some rely primarily on written messages. Many
can speak but are not able to hear words spoken by others. The
method of communication and the services or aids hotel staff must
provide will vary depending upon the abilities of the guest and on the
complexity and nature of the communications that are required.
orders, or responding to other
guest calls. Hotel desk staff
should be trained in handling
TTY equipment.
The ADA established a free
nationwide relay network to
handle voice-to-TTY and TTY-
to-voice calls. Individuals may
use this network to call the
hotel from a TTY. The relay
consists of an operator with a
TTY who receives the call from
a TTY user and then places the
call to the hotel. The caller
types the message into the TTY
and the operator relays the
message by voice to the hotel
staff person, listens to the staff
person’s response, and types the
response back to the caller
using the TTY. The hotel must
Under the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), hotels and
motels must provide effective
means of communications for
persons who are deaf or hard of
hearing to ensure that they have an
equal opportunity to enjoy the
goods, services, accommodations,
and amenities offered.
For short and relatively simple
in-person conversations, such as
inquiries about room rates and
availability, or questions about
restaurant menu items, an
exchange of written notes may
be effective.
For telephone communications,
many people who are deaf or
hard of hearing use a
teletypewriter (TTY, also
known as a TDD) rather than
standard telephones. These
devices have a keyboard and a
visual display for exchanging
written messages over the
telephone.
To allow guests with hearing
disabilities access to hotel
telephone services, the hotel
must provide a TTY, on request,
for use in guest rooms. The
hotel also will need to have a
TTY at the front desk, and
perhaps at other telephone
stations, for handling billing
inquiries, taking room service
A hotel guest who is deaf
communicates using written notes
with the desk clerk at check-in.
Front desk staff use a TTY to take a
call for room service from a hotel
guest who is deaf.

be prepared to take and respond
to relay system calls, which
may take a little longer than
voice calls. For outgoing calls
to a TTY user, simply dial 7-1-1
to reach a relay operator.
Where televisions are provided
in guest rooms, closed caption
decoders must be provided
upon request. New televisions
at least 13 inches or larger have
such devices built in.
Some people with hearing
disabilities use service animals
— often “Hearing Ear Dogs” —
to assist them with safety and
way-finding. 	The hotel must
permit guests to bring such
animals into areas of the hotel
where guests are normally
allowed to go, even if it
otherwise prohibits animals in
the facility. For further
information on the ADA’s
requirements for service
animals, please see the “ADA
Business Brief: Service
Animals,” which is available
from the ADA Business
Connection website or the ADA
Information Line.
If communication with guests is
lengthy or complex, it may be
necessary to provide a sign
language interpreter, or oral
interpreter, or computer-
assisted, real-time captioning in
order to ensure effective
communication with persons
with hearing disabilities.
A hotel or other place of
lodging need not provide any of
the communication aids or
services described above if
doing so would fundamentally
alter the nature of the goods or
services offered or would result
in an undue burden.
Hotels and motels must also
provide built-in communication
features in a certain percentage of
guest rooms.
These features include:
• 	Visual alarms in guest rooms
that are connected to the
building’s emergency alarm
system.
• 	Visual notification devices in
guest rooms to alert persons
with hearing impairments to
incoming telephone calls and
door knocks or bells.
• 	Electrical outlets to facilitate
the use of text telephones.
These communication features are
required in hotel facilities built or
altered after the effective date of
the ADA. They are also required
in hotel facilities built before the
effective date of the ADA to meet
the ongoing obligation to remove
physical and communication
barriers to the extent possible
without much difficulty or
expense. Hotels and motels may
also use portable visual alarms and
communication devices to satisfy
these requirements (ADA
Standards 9.3.2).
Portable communication
kits that include text
telephones, visual alarms
and visual notification
devices are available on
the market at relatively
modest cost.
Communicating with Guests who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (continued)
ADA Information
You may view or download ADA
information on the ADA website.
This website provides access to the
ADA Business Connection, ADA
design standards, regulations,
policy letters, technical assistance
materials, and general ADA
information. It also provides links
to other Federal agencies and news
about new ADA requirements and
enforcement efforts.
www.ada.gov
If you have specific questions
concerning the ADA, call the
Department of Justice ADA
Information Line.
(800) 514-0301 (voice)
(800) 514-0383 (TTY)
2
Duplication is encouraged
October 2003

The Americans with Disabilities Act authorizes the Department of Justice (the Department) to
provide technical assistance to individuals and entities that have rights or responsibilities under the
Act. This document provides informal guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA and the
Department's regulations.
This guidance document is not intended to be a final agency action, has no legally binding effect,
and may be rescinded or modified in the Department’s complete discretion, in accordance with
applicable laws. The Department’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish
legally enforceable responsibilities beyond what is required by the terms of the applicable statutes,
regulations, or binding judicial precedent.