A viral video posted on TikTok shows a Sleep Inn refusing to check in deaf guests. They claim to be deaf as a reason for this.

 

@beccabee123...4/TikTok

How could this be?'

This TikTok shows a group of deaf people trying to check into an Omaha, Nebraska, hotel but being denied entry because of their hearing impairments.

How do you know what is going on? a woman who is deaf sent a text message to the front desk manager of a Sleep Inn & Suites asking for help communicating with him. We already reserved, so why not give us the key?" "Do I have the right to speak to a manager?"

Almost 500,000 people have seen the video since it was posted to TikTok.

The person who posted the TikTok, @beccabee123...4, said in the video's overlay text that the people depicted in the video also submitted their IDs to check in for their reservation. @beccabee123...4 claims that the deaf guests were "sent out" and that Sleep Inn & Suites phoned the police after they complained. According to a popular TikTok video, they were on their way to a wedding.

Byrdman2018, a TikTok user, comments that the acts of Sleep Inn and Suites personnel are a "obvious violation" of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As @byrdman2018 correctly points out: Hotels and other "places of public accommodation" are prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act National Network from discriminating against individuals with disabilities or denying them access to the full range of products and services they provide.

Seconded by another poster, @kattcrane, who identified themselves as an attorney. "File a complaint with the DOJ at [ADA.gov]," they advised.

Some users, on the other hand, thought the video lacked sufficient context for them to form an opinion.

I think he blocked them service for some other reason based on how aggressively she is hammering that computer," said @creeperpeeper0.

According to @ thatssokatie, "there's simply not enough background here to know what is truly going on tbh.".