ADA Standards For New Lodging Facilities

There may be confusion about why an ADA guest room would have bathtubs when it seems a large number of disabled persons use roll-in showers.  Everybody can use a roll-in shower but not all disabled people can use a bathtub.  Here again, the minimum requirements of the ADA have been followed rather than the principles of Universal Design.

According to ADA guidelines, a new lodging facility must have a certain number of accessible rooms in relation to the total number of units, and, some of those accessible rooms must have roll-in showers based on the table shown here.  (Hotels must also keep a certain number of kits on hand for deaf or hearing impaired persons that includes visual alarms, notification devices and TTY – telephone accommodations.)

TOTAL ROOMS      ACCESSIBLE ROOMS      ROOMS W/ROLL-IN SHOWERS

1 – 25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26 – 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

51 – 75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

76 – 100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

101 – 150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

151 – 200. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(for the complete table, follow the link at the end of this article)

For example, if the Hotel has 50 guest rooms, according to the table, at least 2 of those units must be accessible.  The accessible room may have an accessible bathtub, with grab bars and a tub seat, or, a small shower that is 36″x36″ with a fixed folding seat, and it must be free of any curbs or lips greater than 1/2″ at the floor.  The accessible room may also have a large shower measuring at least 30″x60″ with grab bars along each of the three shower walls and curb or lip no greater than 1/2″ at the floor.  Both showers must be free of shower doors.  Any of these three options may be provided.

If, however, the hotel provides 51 guest rooms, they must provide at least 1 accessible room with a roll-in shower in addition to the required accessible rooms.  The roll-in shower must be at least 30″x60″ or 36″x60″ with a securely fastened folding seat at 17″-19″ above the floor.  The roll-in shower must be free of shower doors and can have no lip or curb at the shower floor.

These are just a few of the standards governing new construction for lodging facilities.  For a more thorough list of ADA standards you may check out the link at  www.ada.gov/hsurvey.htm to find the “ADA Checklist for New Lodging Facilities”.