VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE AGREEMENT

between

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

and

RHM-88, LLC and M&C HOTEL INTERESTS, INC.

I. APPLICATION AND PARTIES BOUND

1. The Hotel is a place of public accommodation within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7) because, among other things, it is “an inn, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging.”  42 U.S.C. § 12181(7)(A); see 28 C.F.R. § 36.104.
2. RHM-88, LLC (the “Owner”) is a public accommodation within the meaning of Title III of the ADA because it owns the Hotel, a place of public accommodation.  See 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a); 28 C.F.R. § 36.104.
3. M&C Hotel Interests, Inc. (the “Operator”) is a public accommodation within the meaning of Title III of the ADA because it operates the Hotel, a place of public accommodation.  See 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a); 28 C.F.R. § 36.104.
4. This Agreement shall be binding on the Owner and the Operator, and each of their agents and employees.  In the event the Owner or Operator seeks to transfer or assign all or part of their interest in the Hotel, and the successor or assign intends on carrying on the same or similar use of the facility, as a condition of sale the Owner or Operator shall obtain the written accession of the successor or assign to any obligations remaining under this Agreement for the remaining term of this Agreement.

II. DEFINITIONS

5. For purposes of this Agreement, the term "2010 Standards" means the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, 28 C.F.R. Part 36, subpart b and the 2004 ADAAG at 36 C.F.R. part 1191, appendices B and D.
6. For purposes of this Agreement, the term "accessible" means in compliance with the 2010 Standards.
7. For purposes of this Agreement, the term "alterations" means a change to the Hotel that affects or could affect the usability of the building or facility or any part thereof and includes, but is not limited to, remodeling, renovation, rehabilitation, historic restoration, changes or rearrangement in structural parts or elements, and changes or rearrangement in the plan configuration of walls and full height partitions.  Normal maintenance, re-roofing, painting or wallpapering, asbestos removal, or changes to mechanical or electrical systems are not alterations unless they affect the usability of the building or facility.

III. MAIN PUBLIC ENTRANCE

8. The Hotel shall ensure that its main public entrance is accessible to, and usable by, persons with disabilities, including persons using wheelchairs for mobility.  For purposes of this Agreement, the Hotel shall maintain its main entrance in compliance with Sections 206.4, 206.5, 402.2 of the 2010 Standards.

IV. REGISTRATION COUNTER and FRONT DESK TTY

9. The Hotel shall ensure that its registration counter (or any auxiliary counter) complies with Sections 227.3, 904.4 of the 2010 Standards.  For purposes of this Agreement, the Hotel shall maintain its registration counter or auxiliary registration counter in compliance with the 2010 Standards.
10. The Hotel agrees to maintain a TTY at the front desk so that Hotel personnel can communicate with persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech impairments.

V. ACCESSIBLE UNITS, SLEEPING ROOMS, and SUITES

11. To increase accessibility for individuals with disabilities, the Hotel agrees that the Hotel shall take the following steps within the time periods specified:  First, within one month after the effective date of this Agreement, the Hotel agrees to conduct, and maintain a record of, a self-evaluation of the rooms that the Hotel currently designates as its "accessible" rooms to identify any designated "accessible" room that does not comply with Section 9.2.2 of the ADA Standards for Accessible Design originally published on July 26, 1991.  Second, within one year after the effective date of the Agreement, the Hotel agrees to eliminate, to the extent readily achievable, any barriers to access identified during its self-evaluation, and shall provide 13 units, sleeping rooms, or suites in compliance with Sections 224.1, 806.2 of the Standards to the extent readily achievable; a total of 4 of these 13 units shall have accessible roll-in showers.  The Hotel shall provide at least two such units by August 31, 2012, and the remaining two units by September 30, 2012.

VI.  DISPERSAL OF ACCESSIBLE ROOMS

12. To provide persons with disabilities a range of options equivalent to the options available to other persons served by a hotel, the Standards obligate hotels to disperse their accessible rooms among the various classes of sleeping accommodations available.  2010 Standards § 224.5, 806.2.  Factors to be considered include room size, cost, amenities provided, and the number of beds provided.  Id.  The Hotel will ensure that, within one year after the effective date of this Agreement, it offers at least one accessible room in each of the following classes of sleeping accommodations: Standard, Superior, One Bedroom Suite, Two Bedroom Suite, Presidential Suite, or alternatives comparable to the choices provided to other guests.

VII. ROOMS ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS

13. To increase accessibility for individuals with hearing impairments, within one year after the effective date of the Agreement, the Hotel agrees to modify 22 rooms to make them accessible to persons with hearing impairments. 2010 Standards § 224.1, 806.3.

VIII. POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND PROCEDURES

14. The Hotel shall establish a written policy specifically addressing the provision of services to individuals with disabilities.
15. The Hotel's policy shall specify, among other things, that

(a) persons with disabilities may reserve accessible guestrooms/suites in the same way and on the same terms that other persons can reserve guestrooms/suites (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.302);

(b) all reservation staff (including staff located on-site at the Hotel and staff located off-site at a reservations center) shall have ready access to information about the lodging facility’s accessible guestrooms/suites (including specific information on room layout and types and sizes of accessible showers, bathtubs and other features, such as tub seats) for use in making reservations and answering questions (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.302);

(c) accessible guestrooms/suites shall be held for possible use by persons with disabilities until all other rooms in the same price category have been rented (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.302);

(d) the rates for accessible guestrooms/suites shall be the same as the rates for guestrooms/suites with comparable features and amenities that are not designated accessible (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.301(c));

(e) accessible features inside and outside the Hotel shall be maintained in good working order (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.211);

(f) fire-safety information, maximum room rate information, telephone and television information cards, guest services guides, restaurant menus, room service menus, and all other printed materials provided for use by guests shall also be available in alternate formats so that blind persons and persons with low vision have access to the information (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.303(b); 36.303(c));

(g) persons with disabilities shall be permitted to use service animals, without incurring any extra charges or conditions, in guestroom/suites and all public areas of the facility (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c));

(h) televisions in guestrooms/suites shall include televisions with built-in captioning features or close-captioning decoders provided for use by persons who are deaf or hard of hearing (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.303(e));

(i) Hotel staff shall be made available to move furniture, and provide and adjust accessible features in guestrooms when features require installation or adjustment to ensure accessibility (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(a)); and

(j) Hotel staff shall be trained to offer assistance, upon request, to persons with disabilities who cannot transport their luggage to/from their guestrooms/suites and who may need assistance in locating guestrooms and Hotel amenities (see 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(a)).

IX. ALTERATIONS

16. The Owner and Operator acknowledge and agree that any alteration to the Hotel shall comply with the 2010 Standards to the maximum extent feasible.  The Owner and Operator further acknowledge and agree that if an alteration affects or could affect the usability of or access to an area of the Hotel that contains a primary function, that alteration shall be made so as to ensure that, to the maximum extent feasible, the path of travel to the altered area and the restrooms, telephones, and drinking fountain serving the altered area are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs, unless the cost and scope of such alterations is disproportionate to the cost of the overall alteration.  The Owner and Operator agree to notify the United States, in writing, of any alterations to the Hotel commenced during the term of this Agreement and shall, in that notification, specify the steps taken to ensure that the alterations comply with the 2010 Standards to the maximum extent feasible.  The United States acknowledges that the Owner has previously notified it with respect to ongoing renovations during the pendency of this Agreement, as set forth in the Manhattan Hotels Compliance Review Survey Form dated December 16, 2010.

X. MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE

17. Every year during the term of this Agreement on the anniversary date of the effective date of the Agreement, the Hotel shall provide to the United States a narrative report of the actions taken during the reporting period to remove any barriers to access and otherwise enhance accessibility for individuals with disabilities at the Hotel and any plans for action concerning ADA compliance in the coming year.  The report shall include as an exhibit copies of any complaint, whether formal or informal, received the during the reporting period alleging that the Hotel was not being operated in compliance with the ADA or otherwise discriminated against any person on account of disability.
18. The Owner and Operator of the Hotel shall cooperate in good faith with any and all reasonable requests by the United States for access to the Hotel and for information and documents concerning the Hotel's compliance with this Agreement and the ADA. 
19. The United States shall have the right to verify compliance with this Agreement and the ADA, both as set forth in this Agreement and through any means available to the general public, including visits to the public areas of the Hotel and communications with Hotel staff upon reasonable notice.  The United States shall have the right to inspect the facility at any time upon reasonable notice.

XI.  ENFORCEMENT

20. If the United States believes that this Agreement or any of its requirements has been violated, it will notify the Owner and Operator of the Hotel in writing and attempt to resolve the issue or issues in good faith.  If the United States and the Owner and Operator of the Hotel are unable to reach a satisfactory resolution of the issue or issues, the United States may commence a civil action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to enforce the terms of this Agreement and/or the ADA.

XII.  GENERAL PROVISIONS

21. The United States reserves the right to investigate any complaint it receives concerning the Hotel, to initiate future compliance reviews concerning the Hotel with respect to any aspect of the Hotel or its operation not expressly addressed in Parts III through VIII of this Agreement, and to investigate and commence a civil action with respect to any violation of the ADA.  In the event the United States receives and investigates an ADA complaint concerning the Hotel, or commences any future compliance review concerning the Hotel, nothing in this Agreement shall limit the scope of any investigation or compliance review of the Hotel or preclude the United States from seeking relief beyond that required under this Agreement.
22. A copy of this Agreement shall be made available to any person upon request.
23. The effective date of this Agreement is the date of the last signature on the Agreement.  The term of this Agreement is three years from the effective date.  Unless otherwise stated herein, all modifications or requirements under this Agreement shall be completed within three years.
24. This Agreement memorializes the commitments made by the Owner and Operator of the Hotel to increase accessibility of the Hotel and the terms under which the United States has agreed to conclude this particular Investigation without further review or enforcement action.  This Agreement is not intended to certify or signify, however, that the Hotel is now (or, with the actions taken pursuant to this Agreement, will be) in full compliance with the ADA, or constitute a finding by the United States of such compliance, and it may not be used in any proceeding to signify such compliance.  This Agreement does not affect the Hotel's continuing responsibility and obligation to comply with all aspects of the ADA.  This Agreement is not intended to reflect any legal interpretation of any provisions of the ADA by the United States, and it may not be used in any proceeding to demonstrate such legal interpretations. 
25. This Agreement does not constitute an admission by the Hotel of non-compliance with any provision of the ADA.
26. The individuals signing this Agreement represent that they are authorized to bind the parties to this Agreement.
27. Failure by the United States to enforce the entire Agreement with regard to any deadline or any other provision of the Agreement, shall not be construed as a waiver of its right to enforce other deadlines or provisions of the Agreement.
28. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties relating to the complaint, and no other statement, promise, or agreement, either written or oral, made by either party or agents of either party, that is not contained in this Agreement, shall be enforceable.

July 11, 2011