The settlement required Courtyard by Marriott to make the parking lot, public restrooms and two guest rooms at the Memphis hotel accessible. The changes in the reservations policy affect all of the 200-plus hotels in the chain. Henceforth, the company may not rent accessible rooms to nondisabled customers unless all other rooms have been taken. The chain must guarantee an accessible room to a customer with a disability if one is available at the time the reservation is made, and it must provide its employees with training on ADA requirements. Company spokesmen did not return phone calls seeking comment about the settlement.
Some places go out of their way to be accessible.
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania has a wheelchair repair shop stocked with spare belts, tires and batteries. The school also has an attendant care program that operates around the clock and a van service that takes students with disabilities to class. It's as much to get through the snow as anything else. In selecting a college, most students consider such factors as academic reputation, size, athletic opportunities and closeness to, or distance from, home. Students with disabilities, however, have one overriding concern.