[Nfbc-info] Marriott reservation may be challenging to use with Safari, IOS and VoiceOver

[Brian Buhrow]

	hello fellow Federationists.  I just finished booking my hotel stay
for this year's state convention.  I was able to use Safari with VoiceOver
to get the job done, but it was a bit challenging.  The site continually
updates the time it's taking you to fill in the reservation form and
VoiceOver keeps shifting focus to the updating clock.  One trick I found
most helpful is to flick fast to the field I want to edit, and then double
tap until I'm told "is editing".   or "insertion point at end".  then,
enter my data into that field, despite the fact that VoiceOver is
continually reading irrelevant text.  If you enter a credit card number,
the expiration fields for the card are not intuitive.  Flick right until you
hear the numbers representing the months of the year, then click the one you
need as if it were a link, rather than a picker menu.  Repeat the process
for the year of the card's expiration.  
To select your home state, flick to the state field, which says required,
and that it is a text field.  Double tap on it.  Instead of opening a edit
box, you'll be put into a picker menu, but VoiceOver won't tell you that.
Instead, put your finger above the home button, or where the home button
would be if you have an iOS device without one, and flick up as if you were
in a picker menu.  You should hear the various states as you flick.  Select
your state and flick left.  You'll be presented with the usual done button.
	Some buttons won't activate the first time you hit them.  Sometimes,
you need to flick back and forth over them a few times before VoiceOver can
activate them.
	If you're not up for a bit of trial and error in this process, I
suggest phoning Marriott directly or using a different browser/OS
combination.  I'm guessing they'll work too, but with their own caveats.
	Finally, if you need to book extra nights from Thursday to Sunday
and you want the convention rate for all nights, you have to call the
hotel.  I don't know if they'll honor our rates for Wednesday or Sunday
nights, for example, since I opted to stay elsewhere for the extra nights I
need, but the web site won't even let you select additional nights with the
rate code we have.
	All in all, I'm disappointed in this process, especially since
Marriott has been a very positive force for blindness accessibility in the
past.  Sad how  quickly folks forget to be inclusive.

	Hope these notes are helpful.  See you all at convention!

-Brian