FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1996                         (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
       JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES DAYS INN CHAIN FOR BUILDING
                       INACCESSIBLE HOTELS

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department today sued the
Days Inn of America hotel chain, claiming that at least five of
its hotels were not built to provide access for guests with
disabilities.  All of the hotels surveyed failed to comply with
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
     The suits are the first to be filed by the Justice
Department under the ADA challenging the construction and design
of a building built after the law went into effect.  
     The five suits allege that each of the hotels -- in
Evansville, Indiana;  Wall, South Dakota; Hazard, Kentucky;
Champaign, Illinois; and Willows, California -- was constructed
after Congress enacted the ADA, which requires builders to comply
with specific architectural guidelines ensuring that persons with
disabilities can gain access to the facility. 
     "Travelers with disabilities should be as welcome at our
nation's hotels as anyone else,"  said Assistant Attorney General
for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick.  "It is much easier to make a
hotel accessible from the start than to go back and fix it
later."
     Today's actions stem from an 18-month Justice Department
investigation of 28 newly-built Days Inn hotels in 17 states. 
The investigation revealed that all 28 failed to comply with the
ADA.   The 23 other hotels have engaged in negotiations with the
Justice Department.
     But in the five cases filed today, the owners have refused
repeated attempts by the Justice Department to resolve the
matters out of court.  The Justice Department had also attempted
unsuccessfully to reach an agreement with Days Inns of America,
Inc. and its parent company, Hospitality Franchise Systems, Inc.
(HFS), both of Parsippany, New Jersey, to remedy the violations
nationwide.  
     While Days Inn hotels are not identical, the Justice
Department investigation exposed similar problems throughout the
chain.  The investigation, among other things, revealed that:

    some hotels lack sufficient visual alarms to alert those who
     are deaf or hard-of-hearing to smoke, fire or other
     emergencies;

    the deadbolts and security latches, switches for lamps,
     heating and air conditioner controls require tight grasping,
     pinching, or twisting, which is difficult or impossible for
     individuals with limited manual dexterity;

    many ramps for wheelchair users are either too steep, have
     no handrails, or hazardously slope sideways; 

    bathrooms in the so-called accessible rooms lack adequate
     clear floor space to maneuver around the toilet or bathtub;

    individuals who are blind have difficulty finding their
     rooms because the hotels lack proper signs with raised or
     Braille characters;

    clothes rods and shelves are mounted too high to be reached
     by an individual using a wheelchair, while lamps and levers
     to maneuver drapes are blocked by furniture; 

    parking is inaccessible or there is no clear route from the
     parking lot to the hotel entrance.

     "Not only do these violations impede access, in many cases
it is unsafe for guests with disabilities to stay at these
hotels,"  Patrick added. "We just cannot not ignore such a
blatant disregard for the law."
     The ADA, passed in July 1990, prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities.  Title III of the Act requires
that those building and designing public accommodations,
including hotels and motels, built after January 1993, comply
with certain architectural guidelines known as the ADA's
Standards for Accessible Design.
     "These hotels were built well after the law was passed,"
added Patrick.
     Each of the suits seeks a court order requiring Days Inn
America (DIA), its parent HFS, as well as the individual owner,
architect, and general contractor of the building to correct each
violation and pay a civil penalty of up to $50,000 for the first
offense.
     The Justice Department included DIA and HFS in the suit
because they participated in designing and constructing each
hotel.  The company's involvement included preparing standard
plans for new hotels; in many cases reviewing and approving hotel
plans prior to construction; and inspecting and approving
completed facilities.    
     "They all shared responsibility for the problem.  They
should all share in remedying it," added Patrick.
     The Justice Department has engaged in an extensive nation-
wide education campaign to inform Americans about their rights
and obligations under the law.  Since the ADA went into effect,
the Department has reached out to builders, architects, and hotel
and motel operators to make certain they know about the law.
     As part of its public education campaign, the Justice
Department has created a public service announcement advertising
a toll-free ADA hotline.  The ADA hotline number is 1-800-514-
0301 or (TDD) 1-800-514-0303.
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