[nabs-l] Convention accomodations

Sat Jul 16 04:01:39 UTC 2011

Bridgit,
Thanks. I was not sure how NFB handled that and I'm glad they
speak with  hotel staff about this. You're right
most businesses have braille and raised print signs but older buildings do 
not because they were built before the ADA. So just because a convention of 
blind people is coming, doesn't mean they have braille signs. That's why I 
asked since its conceivable that accomodation isn't there. I've been in 
buildings without braille signage. There at George Mason university for 
instance.
Another good accomodation is to mark the flat keys to your room, because not 
everyone can see the arrow; so I'm glad they address that too.
Yes it’s a good idea to politely tell them that generally assistance isn't 
needed unless the person asks. After all, we are like other new guests and 
want to explore too.
If I attend in 2013, I'll see the hotel and staff firsthand.

Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2011 8:19 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nabs-l] Convention accomodations

Ashley,

Not sure what accomodations were provided this year since I was not able
to attend, but each year, the board sends a team prior to the convention
to speak with, and work with, hotel staff as to the best way to help any
convention guest.  They also tour the hotel to decide if any other
accomodations are necessary beyond the ones the hotel already has in
place.

Usually restaurants in the hotel are equipped with Braille and large
print menus along with providing electronic copies, and the NFB produces
these menus.  They only provide the restaurants with so many, but it
does not seem to be a huge problem.

Most places of business today already have Braille and raised print
names and numbers on doors.  I've yet to see a hotel that did not have
permanent Braille/raised print signs on all doors in the facility.

However, during convention in Dallas last year, I noticed some of the
Braille signs on the doors for the rooms where convention meetings were
held, were misspelled or missing letters or the Braille was not correct.
It wasn't so bad you couldn't figure out what it was suppose to be, but
just the same...

The NFB instructs that all convention guest registered are given room
keys with some identifying mark (usually tape) so they know which way to
hold the key to open their room door.

Elevators, like rooms, already have Braille and raised numbers.

The convention agenda also has a pretty detailed description of how that
year's hotel is layed out for better navigation.  It will explain the
location of rooms to meeting spaces as well as restaurants and other
amenities offered in the hotel complex.

There are also people who volunteer to be marshalls who help direct.  If
you get lost, or are trying to find something, hotel staff or convention
marshalls are always nearby to assist.

If you're like me, I do not learn very quickly by simply reading; I have
"do" too, to really learn, but at least the description helps me
understand where key locations are.

The staff is pretty much instructed to treat us like any other guest,
and for the most part, they do.  I had a couple of people in Dallas last
year who were a little overly helpful, but nothing major, plus, southern
hospitality and all.  *smile*

I think the general rule impressed upon staff is to leave us alone
unless we ask, or obviously if someone is in danger, but that applies to
any hotel guest.

When checking out, you can ask the desk clerk to go through your bill to
double check you will not be charged for something that shouldn't be on
there.

Last year the rooms had stocked mini bars.  When you removed something
from the fridge, it automatically was placed as a charge on your bill
from sensors that recognized a bar code on each item taken out.  We did
not realize this and removed a bunch of stuff to place some medications
in that needed to be kept cool.  The next day the cleaning staff had
removed all the items we left sitting out with the intention we would
put them back in.  We explained the situation at the front desk, where
we learned of how the mini bars worked.  We were assured the charges
wouldn't be reflected on our bill, but when checking out, they were
still on it.  We were smart enough to request the clerk go through the
bill otherwise we would have been charged a hefty sum.  They really up
the prices on mini bar products.  A 24 ounce bottle of water was $3.
That tells you how expensive this stuff was.

Anyway, necessary measures are taken to ensure convention guest have a
great experience.  I, personally, have no complaints to speak of in
terms of proper accomodations during convention.

Bridgit

Message: 9
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:21:35 -0400
From: <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Convention in Orlando for 5 Years
Message-ID: <1E3CAAACE7D941E991D236684CC6CB96 at OwnerPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="utf-8";
reply-type=response

Joseph,
Good. Are you refering to the main hotel or the overflow hotel?
Glad they had a nice balance of being helpful. That is always nice for
crowd
control and assisting people to go where they need to go efficiently.
What accomodations did they provide if any, with NFB? I know NFB doesn't

believe in making many modifications, but I figured they may do a
little.
Did they have braille numbers on doors? How about braille menus?

Ashley

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