Hotel That Barred Service Dog From Breakfast Agrees To Settlement

STONINGTON, CT — A Quality Inn that had refused to allow a guest with disabilities to bring his service dog into a dining room has reached a settlement with the U.S. Attorney's Office. The settlement, which includes a $1,000 compensation, was concluded without litigation.

A news release announcing the settlement did not name the disabled guest, but said only that the guest's complaint alleged that the Quality Inn in Mystic-Groton, "which offers free breakfast to all of its guests, refused to permit him to enter the dining room with his service animal during breakfast service."

While Quality Inn is a private business, as a hotel, it is a "public accommodation" — meaning that its refusal to accommodate the service dog violated the guest's rights under the Americans Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.

Going forward, the settlement requires Quality Inn Mystic-Groton train its managers and employees in a "Service Animal Policy" and to post signs declaring, "Service Animals Welcome."