Omni Hotels class action alleges website inaccessible to blind, visually impaired consumers

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Omni Hotels website accessibility class action overview:

• Who: Daniel Rodriguez filed a class action complaint against Omni Hotels Management Corporation.
• Why: Rodriguez alleges that Omni Hotels’ website is not accessible to the visually impaired and blind.
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of New York, Eastern District

Omni Hotels’ website is not compatible with screen-reading software that audibly reads websites’ content, a new class action lawsuit claims. 

Plaintiff Danie Rodriguez sued Omni Hotels on claims the company violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Blind and visually impaired people rely on technology just like the rest of society, using screen-reading software to independently navigate the internet, the Omni Hotels’ class action states. 

However, for the screen-reading software to work, the website’s content must be capable of being rendered into text, according to the Omni Hotels website class action. Multiple website standards organizations, as well as the federal government, have published website accessibility guidelines that are “universally followed by most large business entities,” the lawsuit states. 

Alt text, form submission functionality among website issues, Omni Hotels class action states

On multiple occasions, Rodriguez says he tried to use ominhotels.com to learn more about the defendant’s hotel and reserve a room but could not do so. He claims that several of the website’s features lack “alt text,” which is code embedded beneath an image to describe it in words.

The Omni Hotels website class action also alleges that interactive elements on the site are not compatible with keyboards and that submission forms do not include label elements. 

It also claims Omni Hotels does not have any centralized accessibility policies or a plan to implement them.

Rodriguez seeks injunctive relief and compensatory damages, as well as civil penalties and fines.

Omni Hotels is not the only company facing legal challenges over website accessibility. Consumers sued many others, including Goop, over accessibility for the blind and visually impaired.

Have you encountered access barriers on the Omni Hotels website? Let us know in the comments!

Rodriguez is represented by Mark Rozenberg of Stein Saks, PLLC. 

The Omni Hotels website accessibility class action is Daniel Rodriguez, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, v. Omni Hotels Management Corporation, Case No. 1:23-cv-5, in the U.S. District Court of New York, Eastern District.

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