Bou­tique Hotel Sig­nage Will Get You There

It’s the month of love, a roman­tic get­away at a bou­tique hotel, offer­ing more than the run-of-the-mill cook­ie-cut­ter expe­ri­ence may be per­fect for the curi­ous cou­ple look­ing to spice things up this holiday.

What is a Bou­tique Hotel?

A term coined in the 80s when the now-closed Mor­gan Hotel in NYC was com­pared to vis­it­ing a bou­tique retail shop, bou­tique hotels are char­ac­ter­ized by more per­son­al­ized, inti­mate ser­vice. The style, design, and per­son­al­i­ty usu­al­ly reflect the sur­round­ing com­mu­ni­ty or have a theme derived from the loca­tion or his­to­ry of the prop­er­ty. (US News & World Report)

A ​“true” bou­tique hotel has a few dis­tinct char­ac­ter­is­tics as described by Trip­Savvy — they usu­al­ly have not many more than 100 rooms, boast a quirky, mod­ern vibe and are rich in local fla­vor. Bou­tique hotels are often pet-friend­ly, pride them­selves on hos­pi­tal­i­ty and include a bar and restau­rant that draws locals and guests alike. A bou­tique hotel is that one-of-kind place to take your one-in-a-million. 

Gen­uine Bou­tique Hotels in Iowa

For the true bou­tique hotel expe­ri­ence, check out places like the Hotel Indi­go Los Ange­les (is this in LA? If so…) in down­town LA, which pays homage to the city in the 1920’S. Or two Iowa hotels with great sig­nage. First, the His­toric Park Inn, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed hotel built-in 1910 that was brought back to its orig­i­nal glo­ry in 2014 by our friends at Berg­land + Cram. This 27-room bou­tique hotel was placed on the Nation­al Reg­is­ter of His­toric Places in the 70’s. The sig­nage through­out uses all-nat­ur­al met­als and woods in its prairie-style design for the true look of the era.

How do you Ensure ADA-Com­pli­ant Bou­tique Hotel Signage?

It’s crit­i­cal­ly impor­tant for hotel own­ers to com­ply with ADA require­ments. Not only is it against the law not to, but it’s also nec­es­sary to ensure ALL guests, regard­less of visu­al impair­ment or dis­abil­i­ty, have a delight­ful stay. 

Kristin Adkins, ADA expert, com­ments that ​“being ADA com­pli­ant can be extra tricky when it’s a his­tor­i­cal ren­o­va­tion because often a his­toric build­ing was built in a way that do not meet cur­rent acces­si­bil­i­ty guide­lines.” Here’s a cou­ple of chal­lenges she runs into on his­toric renovations. 

2 ADA Com­pli­ance Chal­lenges in His­tor­i­cal Renovations 

1. Install loca­tion for ADA com­pli­ant sig­nage isn’t pos­si­ble due to the build­ing archi­tec­ture and alter­na­tives must be sought out.
2. Lack of acces­si­ble trav­el path through the build­ing requires addi­tion­al sig­nage to direct vis­i­tors to acces­si­ble entrances, then direct to acces­si­ble means to nav­i­gate with­in the build­ing itself.
   

Hotel Busi­ness out­lines a com­pre­hen­sive list of con­sid­er­a­tions when devel­op­ing ADA-com­pli­ant signage.

Penal­ties for non-com­pli­ance can amount to tens of thou­sands of dol­lars, but peo­ple who are visu­al­ly impaired or dis­abled are tru­ly the ones who are penal­ized when hotels fail to work with expe­ri­enced sig­nage com­pa­nies to meet requirements. 

As ​“pub­lic accom­mo­da­tions,” hotels top the list of busi­ness­es required to com­ply with ADA and igno­rance of the law is not a defense. It’s crit­i­cal to have a sig­nage part­ner who makes it their job to know the laws and proac­tive­ly avoid any design and install chal­lenges before they become major problems. 

Look­ing for a Roman­tic Getaway?