28 Feb
Expedia Changes Follow Lawsuit
Americans with disabilities spend over $10 billion annually on travel, and almost half of them consult the Internet to support their travel needs. Recently (19 February 2010), Access Tourism New Zealand quoted an Expedia.com press release which stated that Expedia had “launched a unique suite of search tools designed to help disabled travellers find and book accessible accommodation”. However, Suzanne Robitaille points out that while customers can now search for an accessible room on Expedia, they can’t actually directly book them! Also, these developments by Expedia follow a successful class-action lawsuit against that company and its subsidiary, Hotels.com. The lawsuit was brought by two California women with disabilites, Public Justice, and Chavez and Gertler LLP. They complained that wheelchair accessibility was treated by Hotel.com as an optional amenity. Disabled customers couldn’t learn whether a wheelchair accessible room was available until they checked in.
