ADA Compliance standards are not fully defined, but ThinkReservations achieves substantial conformance with the recommended guidelines. Continuing to improve and remain accessible is important to us. The booking engine uses high-contrast colors, Alt text, and popups to help those with disabilities. Some features require the property to take action. Please read below for more!
Identifying a Room as 'ADA accessible':
To indicate that a room is ADA accessible, navigate to Settings > Rooms, and select the ADA accessible unit. If you have an ADA accessible room, you must check this box.
If a guest chooses a room that you have indicated is ADA accessible, and you have a non-ADA accessible room available, the Booking Engine will ask the guest to confirm that they are aware they have selected an accessible room.
It's also your responsibility to properly use the room description to educate your prospective guests about the ADA features the rooms have. It's also possible to use the room name, amenities, photos, and alt text to further inform.
ADA and OTAs or Other 3rd Party Booking Sites:
IMPORTANT: Please be mindful that while these changes affect your ThinkReservations account, they do not affect your settings and configurations as set on any connected online travel agencies. It's also very important that if your property can be booked using other booking engines that you meet the ADA guidelines to the best of your ability there as well.
Alt Text:
Alt text (alternative text), also known as "alt attributes," "alt descriptions," and "alt tags," are used to describe the appearance and function of an image on a page. This text is used by screen readers, which are software applications that enable people who are visually impaired, blind, or otherwise unable to read text on their own to have a comparable experience to those people with normal eyesight.
Can you share an example of effective alt text?
Yes! It's essential that your alt text allows your potential guests using screen readers to receive the same experience as those that can see the images. Think of alt text as a way to describe the details - not just a broad overview. If you can close your eyes, have someone read the alt text to you, and imagine a reasonably accurate version of the image, you're on the right track! Some quick tips:
Keep your alt text relatively short. Most popular screen readers cut off alt text at around 125 characters.
You can use alt text to add keywords, but your priority should be describing and providing context to the image. Don't use alt text as a way to simply add a list of keywords.
Don't include "image of" or "picture of" in your alt text. This is already assumed.
Let's look at some alt text examples for this image of something we can all relate to - PANCAKES!
Example 1: "Pancakes"
Sure, this is an image of pancakes, but there is so much more going on here. This is a poor use of alt text.
Example 2: "Stack of pancakes on a white plate covered with maple syrup, blueberries, and sliced strawberries."
If you were to read this text without an image, you would likely picture something similar to the photo shown here. We're also under the 125-character limit, so we don't need to worry that our description will be cut off. This is a much better use of alt text!
Creating Alt Texts in ThinkReservations
Alt text for all photos in your account is managed within the Media Library. To view/edit alt text, follow the direction below:
Click on the ThinkReservation icon in the upper left corner of your account to open the main menu. Choose "Media Library" in the list.
Find the photo you wish to view/edit Alt Text for. It may be within a folder.
Double-click on the image, or click once to select it and then click "Edit" at the top to open the edit modal.
Alt text will show in this modal and you can make changes if needed and then click Save at the bottom of the modal.