[NAGDU] Guide dogs in hotel rooms

[Andrew Webb]

Hello,

 

I have another question, regarding staying at hotels with my guide dog. I
realize that federal and state laws require that hotels accommodate me with
my dog as they are places of public accommodation. My question is whether a
hotel can legally require me to notify them in advance of my arrival that I
will be bringing a guide dog. I note an advisory on the website of a hotel
where I have booked an upcoming stay, stating that "We do not allow pets in
the hotel, with the exception of certified service animals. We require
advance notice from guests that they will be staying with service animals."

 

Can the hotel legally require me to give advance notice of my guide dog? As
a general rule I avoid announcing my dog to any public facility in advance
of arriving there, as experience teaches me that this sometimes gives
proprietors the opportunity to find pretexts on which to deny me service or
entry on account of my dog. For that reason my instinct is to disregard the
notice of the hotel's website, and just show up with my dog without advising
the hotel beforehand. However, I could see the argument that the hotel needs
advance notice, as they need to keep certain rooms animal-free on account of
allergies, etc., and thus need to ensure in advance that they have other
rooms available in which they accommodate service animals. I could possibly
see the argument that this is a reasonable accommodation, even though my dog
would not have access to all rooms of the hotel.

 

Can anyone comment? Ought I inform the hotel or not?

 

Thanks,

Andrew