Local experts, such as Convention and Visitors Bureaus and Chambers of Commerce, can help you find facilities, lodging, and services available in an area, though they may not know how accessible facilities are. You can search by city and state through the Chamber's online resource (opens in new window). Some local resources may offer additional services and incentives to support your planning efforts.

Centers for Independent Living (CILs) (opens in new window) are widespread in the United States and many have staff with significant expertise in ensuring accessibility through an array of services. They also know the local community, so they can be a helpful resource. Note, however, that services available may vary from one CIL to another, depending on funding and program focus.

Meeting Planners: If you plan to engage the services of a professional meeting/event planner, make sure your planner has sufficient experience working with attendees with disabilities:

• Seek a meeting planner with the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) or Certified Meeting Manager (CMM) designation. These planners have demonstrated years of experience in the industry and have training in all aspects of planning events and meetings.
• Ask the planner for a list of meetings they have planned for people with disabilities. How recent are these meetings? What percentage of total attendees had disabilities?
• Ask the planner how they will ensure the meeting is fully accessible to people with the following disabilities: physical, hearing, vision, environmental, and dietary sensitivities. If some of your attendees might have other disabilities (such as intellectual, cognitive, or developmental), inquire about the planner’s experience with these attendees' needs as well.
• Make sure that meeting planners appreciate the need for healthy indoor environmental quality, the environmental barriers to access for people with chemical and electrical sensitivities, and the ways in which these barriers can be minimized or eliminated by careful selection of meeting site, attention to specific details with conference staff (such as a fragrance-free meeting policy), and contractual language that precludes actions before or during the meeting that would deny access (such as remodeling activities or pesticide applications). Consider consulting an expert on environmental sensitivities who has experience in assessing meeting and hotel facilities. A facility that is accessible to people with environmental sensitivities is healthier for everyone.

Before reaching out to facilities to find the best choice for your event, you need to identify the needs of your audience. Here are some things to consider:

• • Where are most attendees located? How far will they need to travel?
  • What is an affordable price point for hotel rooms in the area if overnight accommodations are needed?
  • What amenities (nearby public transportation, restaurants, recreation facilities, side trips, night life, etc.) will attendees need?
  • What type of facility (hotel, convention center, resort, training facility, conference room, church hall, movie theater, other) would best meet the needs and objectives of your meeting?
  • Preferred dates (consider more than one so you have options)
  • Anticipated arrival and departure times
  • Weather factors (including weather along the travel routes of the majority of attendees)
  • Total number of attendees anticipated
  • Number of attendees with disabilities or functional limitations anticipated
  • Number and size of meeting rooms/exhibit space needed per day
  • Are other spaces (office space for your event team during the event, registration area, press room, etc.) needed?
  • Number of sleeping rooms needed, by single and double occupancy
  • Number of anticipated rooms needed that are mobility accessible and/or communication accessible
  • Number of food functions (meals, coffee breaks, receptions)
  • Parking requirements
  • Accessible transportation to and from the airport
  • Accessible transportation to and from any off-site program events

Information technology needs (videoconferencing, streaming/webcasting, recording, Internet connectivity for attendees, technical support, screens, projectors, speakers, etc.

Once you have identified your needs and narrowed the venue list to three to five choices, call or email the venue sales offices with your specific requirements and request a proposal. It is important in the initial contact to identify the needs you’ve outlined, as the venue’s responsiveness to your needs in their proposal can be telling.

Evaluating Bids

Create a “scoring system” to help you and your team rank each venue. You can use your Needs Assessment to determine your criteria and decide which items deserve more weight than others. For example, you might decide to rank location over price, or availability of an accessible fitness center over the number of restaurants in the vicinity. Choose a scale that is easy to use and calculate. As in the example below, each team member can be asked to rank each criterion from one to five, with five being best and one being the worst. Compare your team’s rankings to determine the two or three sites you will visit in the selection process.

Once you have scored the top two to three venues, you should visit each to continue the evaluation process. When possible, plan at least two visits to each venue. The first visit should be unannounced to the facility's sales team.

Visit the common areas, have coffee or a meal at a lobby restaurant, walk any of the grounds that are open to the public, assess the parking lot, review access to sidewalks, safety features like call boxes or shuttle service from distant lots, proximity to public transportation, and other “first impression” criteria. You can use your notes from this visit during your scheduled appointment with the venue’s sales team the next time you are on site. If there are concerns that their team cannot fix for your meeting, you will have good information in hand as you make your final choice of location.

Pay attention to your senses during the site visit. Healthy indoor air does not have an odor. Clean does not have an odor. Are you aware of fragrances and scents from “air fresheners,” deodorizers, or potpourri? Is your nose or throat burning from chlorine, formaldehyde, or other solvents? Are your sinuses and breathing impacted by mustiness? Even pervasive or lingering cooking odors can be a sign of poor or inadequate ventilation. Note that attendees may have allergies, asthma, sinus problems, frequent headaches and migraines, or chemical sensitivities, and may not be able to successfully participate in your meeting, event, or conference if air quality is poor.

Emergency Planning

Emergency planning must be done well in advance for all events, and it is important to know that facilities and their staff members are prepared.

During your inspection, be sure to ask about the facility’s emergency procedures and polices related to individuals with disabilities:

• Does the site have policies in place that detail procedures for providing evacuation assistance to people who would have difficulty or who would be unable to:
  • Use stairwells,
  • Hear alarms,
  • See exits,
  • Understand instructions?
• (If a multi-story facility) Does the facility have evacuation elevators (elevators with stand-by power and other safety features, which can be used in emergencies)?
  • If the facility does not have evacuation elevators, does it have areas of refuge (fire-rated spaces where people who cannot use stairs can go to register a call for help and wait for responders), or
  • Are there evacuation chairs or evacuation devices available to assist individuals who cannot use stairs?
    • If so, are staff trained on how to use them?
• How will staff orient people who are blind or don’t see well to the locations of emergency exits?
• (If a hotel or other overnight facility) Does the guest registration process include asking guests whether they would need assistance in the event of an evacuation?

The Inspection Team

Sites should be inspected by you as the meeting planner and by people with disabilities who have a user’s perspective. Ideally, your site selection team will include someone with a user’s perspective who also has knowledge of “cross-disability Refers to groups or individuals with expertise or interest in broad-based disability issues, including issues affecting people with hearing, vision, mobility, speech, psychiatric, intellectual, or cognitive disabilities, as well as a broad range of health conditions” access concerns. Don’t assume that someone with a disability understands the access needs of people with other types of disabilities. Make sure your entire site review team is qualified and has the knowledge and experience to evaluate venues for the widest range of needs. An excellent guideline for including individuals with disabilities within your planning team is provided in Effectively Including People with Disabilities in Your Policy and Advisory Groups (the PDF opens in a new window).

If you or your team do not have adequate representation, you may want to reach out to the local Center for Independent Living (opens in new window) (or other disability subject matter experts, such as the Commission for the Deaf, Blind, etc.) to request a site reviewer to join you on your visit. In determining who will accompany your team, you should determine what gaps your group may have and fill them with expertise in state and federal access codes, Title III of the ADA (opens in a new window), and elements of communication access.

Use a site evaluation tool that includes all of the items from your needs assessment. You may wish to use the same checklist that you developed for evaluating the bids received. Be sure to include space for each reviewer to make notes about specific concerns they may have, and plan a group meeting after the inspections to review the team's findings.

If multiple areas of the property will be used or there are any off-site events planned, the inspection team should visit all sites, including any transportation facilities, to ensure they are accessible. Sites should be reviewed for structural access features, including communication features such as signage and emergency alarm signals.

Once a venue has been selected for your function, make sure the arrangements and terms are spelled out in a contract. Most venues will provide a standard contract that includes your function’s specific details. Review all contracts carefully to make certain that the terms listed reflect your understanding of the agreement. You do not have to accept the contract as written. If needed, you can counter with an alternate agreement and/or contract amendments. For large and/or complex events you should seek legal advice.

In addition to the arrangements and terms specific to your function (the dates, type of space used, number of expected attendees, number of sleeping rooms etc.) the venue’s standard contract will typically include language about its ADA compliance and responsibilities.

Examine the ADA clauses carefully. Depending on the size and nature of your event you may choose to ask for modifications to the existing contract clauses or request additional clauses. Following are the contract areas most likely to affect attendees with disabilities. Again, these items are provided for information only and should not be viewed as a substitute for legal advice.

Americans with Disabilities Compliance Clause for the Venue

The contract should include a clause that indicates that the venue is responsible for complying with the public accommodations requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Your legal advisor may recommend including language that specifies items such as removal of physical barriers, emergency procedures, access in sleeping rooms and common areas, the provision of auxiliary aids and services, or language about attendees with disabilities receiving service equal to attendees without disabilities.

Americans with Disabilities Compliance Clause for the Group

The “Group” refers to the individual, organization or company contracting with the venue for the meeting, conference or event. The venue may require a clause that specifies the Group’s responsibilities for making the function accessible. This could include language about set-up of exhibits in an accessible manner, provision of certain auxiliary aids and services (e.g., alternate format materials or sign language interpreters) for the Group’s functions, and modification of the Group’s policies, practices and procedures to ensure that attendees with disabilities can participate fully and equally in the program.

Mutual Cooperation for Identifying Accommodations Needed

The Mutual Cooperation clause mandates that the Group shall attempt to identify in advance any needs of attendees with disabilities, and will notify the venue of such needs in a timely manner. Likewise the venue shall notify the Group of any attendee the venue receives for accommodations that may be required by the ADA.

Additional Clauses for Specific Disabilities

Consider including additional clauses that are specific to your attendees needs. For example, if the majority of your attendees are Deaf or hard of hearing you may wish to contract certain requirements, such as the availability of additional communication access equipment (e.g., assistive listening devices).

Likewise, if even a small portion of your attendees have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) or environmental illness, consider clauses requiring the hotel to avoid renovations prior to and during your event, use unscented cleaners, and avoid the use of pesticides. The hotel should be asked to comply with the fragrance-free meeting policy for the meeting space, common areas, restrooms, paths of travel, and guest rooms.

National and statewide associations specific to various types of disabilities may be able to recommend clauses to include.

Disability Awareness for Staff

When your meeting, conference or event will include many attendees with disabilities, it is recommended that you negotiate with the venue and contractually require that they conduct disability awareness training for their staff in advance of your function. The Hospitality and Disability Initiative (opens in new window) has customer service training materials (opens in a new window) that can be downloaded and used for training staff.