Homeless in Arizona

Government nannies require pool lifts at hotels???

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Hotels to put in lifts at pools

Wheelchair lifts at valley resorts

By Dawn Gilbertson The Republic | azcentral.com Sat Feb 9, 2013 8:32 PM

Phil Pangrazio honeymooned at a luxury Maui resort and likes to check in to Arizona resorts for mini vacations, but one thing is always missing from his getaways: a dip in the pool.

The Phoenix man has used a wheelchair since his spinal cord was injured 34 years ago, and he has never stayed in a hotel with easy access to the pool.

“It’s very frustrating when you’re with your friends and they can get in and out of the pool and you can’t,” he said.

That frustration should be erased or, at least, eased for travelers with disabilities thanks to new federal requirements that public pools and hot tubs have permanent wheelchair lifts. Previously, hotels either had portable lifts or, in most cases, no lifts. The only way into the pool was to be carried. The regulations, part of the Americans with Disabilities Act, went into effect Jan. 31 after a controversial 10-month delay sought by the hotel industry.

“I’m just thrilled by it,” said Pangrazio, president and CEO of the non-profit Arizona Bridge to Independent Living, a Phoenix center serving those with disabilities. “There are going to be tons of people that are going to use these.”

Arizona resorts — luxury playgrounds that attract big-spending visitors from around the world — have spent the past several months prepping their pool areas and installing the permanent, self-operated lifts. Most resorts have multiple lifts because a lift is required at each pool and hot tub, including those in spas. Lazy rivers, wave pools and sand-bottom pools, all of which have one point of entry, are exempt.

The Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in northeast Phoenix has seven lifts, which the American Hotel & Lodging Association says cost from $2,000 to $7,000 each, not including pool-area construction, if necessary.

When the new ADA requirements were announced, Westin Kierland took a broad look at its accessibility for travelers with disabilities and ended up budgeting $250,000 for improvements, according to managing director Bruce Lange.

In addition to adding the lifts, it cut the curbs on its golf-course cart paths to make them more accessible, bought a special golf cart that enables wheelchair users to swivel around and take a shot from the seat and redid the walk-up counters at its bars and restaurants. The Westin is also hiring its first “mystery shoppers” to test how accessible the resort is regularly.

“We’re in the accommodations business,” Lange said. “I think the welcome mat shines ever brighter when you’re able to accommodate a wider range of guests. It’s certainly the right thing to do.”

The hotel association faced criticism and boycott threats last year for seeking the extension and for challenging the government’s requirement that the lifts be permanently affixed instead of portable.

“Having the industry raise this at the 13th hour was odd,” said Henry Claypool, executive vice president of the American Association of People With Disabilities, which represents 57million people.

Kevin Maher, senior vice president of governmental affairs at the hotel association, said the industry needed more time because it learned at the last minute that the lifts had to be permanent.

“It was a bombshell to the industry,” he said. “Hotels had two months (without the extension) to go out and install the lifts.”

The group is still hoping the requirement will be changed to allow portable lifts, which could be shared among pools and stored when not in use. But for now, member hotels are “moving forward with compliance,” Maher said.

One of the trade group’s concerns about permanent lifts: Guests might treat them like toys and jump off them or hop on to see how they work. They could get hurt — a liability for the resort — or break the lifts, putting them out of commission for those who need them.

“Keep in mind most pools don’t have a lifeguard,” Maher said. “You’re putting something out there that people are going to climb on. People are going to use this as a diving board or a toy.”

Pangrazio dismisses such concerns. “I just think it’s an absurd argument,” he said. “If kids were going to do this, they would drag a lawn chair over to the side of the pool and dive off that, too, I guess.”

Lange said some concerns about misuse are legitimate, but it is too early to gauge whether it will be a big issue. The Westin has had a few instances of guests playing on the lifts.

“I think you’re in uncharted waters there,” Lange said. “It’s going to have to take a team event between our team (of employees) and parents to keep a close eye on young children who will try to use that as some sort of a jungle-gym device.”

Bret Bunnett, who stayed at the Westin Kierland in late January for business meetings related to the Waste Management Phoenix Open, loves the water but didn’t bring his swimsuit because he wasn’t aware of the new wheelchair lifts.

The Dallas man, who broke his neck in a diving accident in 1992, travels on business a couple of times a month and takes four or five vacations a year. He has never been able to use a hotel pool. Water is therapeutic for many people with paralysis or back injuries.

“It’s certainly something I miss,” he said.

Bunnett, an executive with commercial-real-estate firm Cassidy Turley, is excited about the lifts. He knew hotels were due to install them but did not know when.

“The change ... is going to benefit a lot of people,’’ he said.

 
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