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
te