Justice Department Secures Agreement with Hotel in Peoria, Illinois, to Ensure Access for People with Disabilities

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Department of Justice announced today it has reached a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the Hampton Inn & Suites Peoria at Grand Prairie, located in Peoria, Illinois, to resolve alleged violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Department reached the agreement with Mark B. Peterson and Petersen Hospitality LLC, who own and operate the hotel. The agreement requires the hotel to train its staff and provide equal service to customers with disabilities.

The settlement resolves an ADA complaint alleging that after reserving an accessible room, when an individual with a disability attempted to check-in, the Hampton Inn provided a room that was not accessible as it lacked bathroom grab bars. According to the complaint, the hotel then said no physically accessible rooms were available, cancelled the reservation, and said it could not accept “liability” for the individual with a disability. This left the complainant, who was traveling from out of town, stranded with nowhere else to stay.

The complaint prompted an investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois. The ADA requires that hotels provide access to individuals with disabilities, including honoring reservations, providing fully accessible rooms, and making accommodations.

“For many people with disabilities, the decision to travel is unfortunately fraught with uncertainty over many of life’s most basic necessities, such as whether they will have a place to sleep at night or be able to use the bathroom,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua I. Grant for the Central District of Illinois. “The law protects people with disabilities who are traveling and requires that hotels provide equal access to their rooms and facilities. We appreciate the hotel’s prompt remedial action and encourage all hotels in the Central District of Illinois to train their staff regarding the ADA’s requirements.”

Under the agreement, the hotel will provide training to its staff about the ADA’s requirements to ensure that customers enjoy equal access to its services. Without admitting violating the ADA, the hotel also agreed to a monetary payment to the parent of the individual identified in the complaint to fully resolve the matter.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua I. Grant represented the government during the investigation and settlement process. For more information about the ADA, please visit www.ada.gov, or call the Department of Justice’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD).  Information about filing a complaint, including instructions for filing a complaint online, can be found at https://www.justice.gov/crt/how-file-complaint.