Home Page › Blog › Hotel Rights for Service Dogs
Legally reviewed by:
Latest Posts
How to Train Your Service Dog for Grounding Tasks
If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack or severe anxiety, you know how overwhelming the symptoms can feel — racing thoughts, pounding heart, that disconnected sensation that makes the world seem far away. Maybe you’ve tried various coping strategies: meditation apps, breathing exercises, and therapy. While these tools can be incredibly helpful, there’s another powerful […]
Read More
The Air Carrier Access Act and Service Dogs
If you rely on a service dog, you need to know about the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). The ACAA is a U.S. federal law that gives you the right to bring your service dog in the plane cabin on all flights to, from, and within the United States. The ACAA, along with HUD’s housing […]
Read More
HUD Housing Rules for Emotional Support Animals
Emotional support animals (ESAs) are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). The FHA, however, doesn’t contain any specific information on how tenants and landlords are supposed to handle ESA requests. That’s where the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) comes in. HUD publishes guidelines that address how ESAs are to be […]
Read More
Is a guest required to answer the 2 questions as to what it has been trained to do?
Hotel guests with service dogs must answer these two questions (and only if their disability is not apparent): 1. Is the dog a service dog required for a disability? and 2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
So by answering these 2 questions can the hotel staff decide whether your dog is a service dog or emotional support dog ?
Service dogs can be verified by the two questions allowed under the ADA. Emotional support animals however require an ESA letter from a licensed healthcare professional, and they do NOT have a legal right for hotel accommodation. Some hotels however will accept ESAs as a courtesy.
I 100% agree with the comment about hotels deliberately putting you in a room designated for pets BECAUSE you have a service dog. I’ve had it done to me more times than I can count. I’ve also had hotels deny me a room and to call the police is useless since discrimination is a civil matter. Also a hotel is not allowed to ask what service or task your dog performs that’s against ADA law and a violation of HIPPA. READ ABOVE IT TELLS YOU
Are ADA regulations eligible in the international scene? For example if an American guest travelers abroad with their service animal, can that hotel outside of the U.S. charge cleaning fee? Can local ordinances overrule ADA regulations abroad?
Hotels that are located in other countries are governed by the disability/service dog rules that exist for those countries. They are not obligated to follow U.S. laws.
I have worked in hotels for years & I can almost always tell a service animal from an emotional support animal by the animal’s behavior. I apologize for any who have felt harassed & I know the rules but many do not. I do wish to defend hotel employees though because it has become harder to tell with the fake vests that can now be ordered online & from multiple people abusing this system by outright lying to avoid paying pet fees. They know the 2 questions which are allowed to be asked & they know the questions are vague! Some people truly have pet allergies & cleaning a room after a pet requires more work plus a service animal will never damage a room like many claimed ESA pets will do. It’s sad that it’s so easy to fake a service animal & I wish that the guidelines were more restrictive somehow so that people could no longer do this because it causes problems for everyone especially for the disabled person whom is thee last person I ever wish to bother let alone harass!!!
Hotel workers do not have to defer to someone just because they have a service dog vest. A service dog vest should of course only be used for actual service dogs, but they do not by themselves prove that someone is actually service dog eligible.
We have made a reservation at a hotel but they are now saying won’t allow our service dog because I disclosed that he is still in training. Can they do this? I have a letter from the certified training organization.
Unfortunately service dogs in training are not recognized as fully qualified service dogs under the ADA. There are some states however (like California) that do give service dogs in training access rights.
The motel I’m staying at has a website up staying they welcome service animals, and they are exempt from all charges. I paid 70 for my service dog to stay the first week. The 2nd week I called my doctor and asked them to fax my dogs papers to the motel. Motel says we don’t take service animals but decided to let her stay with no charge. Now this is the 3rd week the motel says we honor service dogs but I still have to pay for her to stay. That’s not what the website says. Can someone tell me what to do?
Motels are not allowed to charge any fees for service dogs. In addition, you do not need paperwork from a doctor to prove to a hotel that you have a valid service dog.
When check inn the to the hotel/motel room do i have to declared that i have a Service Animal with me ? What happen if i don’t declared at the Check inn reception ?
You should inform the hotel at the time you check in. Ideally, you should give hotels a heads up after you make the reservation.
As a hotel manager with two decades in the industry, I advise you to always declare a service dog in advance of arrival. The logic here is, assuming your animal is a service animal, why would you try to hide this? Not declaring is the same as evasion from a hotel perspective. Accepting service animals always costs a hotel a not inconsiderable sum of money. A reputable hotel is happy to incur that cost in order to help someone who is disabled, but the number of people who cheat is many times greater than those who are legitimate. To help yourself and others who rely on these animals, do your best to make friends not enemies in every situation. You do that by being above board and considerate.
Most people forget that even a well taken care of service animal can have the occasional flea or tick and despite your best efforts, will leave behind hair and dander and saliva that will trigger allergies. Since a hotel caters to everyone, they are obligated to treat every room for these things to ensure guests that come after do not have issues.
Also, a service animal is not automatically entitled to have access to every amenity available for humans. We had an incident where a disabled woman demanded her dog be able to swim in the pool with her as part of her need for his services. We had to deny access to the dog because to do so would require the pool to be shut down while the dog was in the pool and for 24 hours after, to clean hair and the rest completely from the pool as required by health department codes. Because access would require significant disruption and cost to the hotel, we were not required to allow access.
You should evaluate your rules, those are frankly discriminatory, I don’t care how many years you had in the industry, myself is 21 years and I know bad GMs when I see them, hotel fees are extortion. Additionally, you only want to be told about service animals so you can change their room to assign them to the handful of dog designated rooms you have which is against ADA, you cannot treat these guests any different. If it’s abused, ask yourself why, then remember federal law grants access and you don’t get to harass people because you have 20 years. I’m surprised you haven’t been sued with your attitude towards legitimate service animals that isn’t your place to question. They don’t get put in a basement room, that’s discrimination!!
Wow! I am also a hotel manager with a decade of experience & I have to say that you’re kind of proving his point. We are darned if we do & darned if we don’t. Anytime that an animal is in a room regardless of whether it’s a service animal or not, it costs any decent hotel extra $. We clean the carpets of every pet room before it is rented again. That’s supplies & manpower hours. How can you justify, 1 person wanting to swim with their dog should mean that the rest of the guests for that day & the next won’t get to take advantage of the pool. I’m sure that hotel provided a lift to assist the person in & out of the pool. As managers we want everyone to enjoy our hotels, we want our staff & guests happy & safe. Most of us spend every day going above & beyond for our staff & guests. If you actual read the words that he said you would see that his whole point was that this situation does not always need to be confrontational. Declaring the service animal @ least @ check in should not be too much to ask & there is no evil genius waiting to change the room assignment just because you have 1. Only a manager trying to plan the next day so that they have time to clean the carpets to keep all their guests…happy & safe. I believe EVERY single guest should be able to expect those 2 things. Also, I don’t recall seeing where that manager said they put service animals in a basement room(which are illegal anyway). Seems like your making up your own version to prove some kind of point rather than caring about what is actually being said.