ACCESSIBILITY

Working to create an accessible experience for all

POLICY OVERVIEW

The staff wants to make TGIF/F a safe, accessible place for anyone and everyone who wants to attend. We recognize that a wide variety of needs, illnesses, and disabilities, both visible and invisible, exist. We are dedicated to continually improving our efforts to ensure accessibility and we encourage feedback and suggestions in order to improve your experience.

We are not always able to anticipate the varied needs of our members, so we ask that any attendees with additional accessibility concerns please contact us before the con. Additional services such as ASL interpreters can and will be provided if needed. While we cannot guarantee that we will be fiscally or logistically able to meet any and every request, we will absolutely do what we can to make the con as accessible as possible to every attendee. Your con experience is incredibly important to us.

If for any reason a member can’t contact the staff beforehand or finds there are unexpected difficulties at the con, the staff will try and address issues as they arise at the con itself as quickly as possible.

If you wish to remain anonymous when discussing any of your accessibility concerns, please feel free to create an anonymous email account to write to the staff. You do not need to identify yourself, just say that you are an attending member and explain your needs. If a member does share their identity, it will be kept confidential outside those staff members who are working on any accommodations.

ACCOMMODATIONS

The following accommodations will be in place for TGIF/F:

Logistical/Mobility:

  • Ramped walkways into and out of all con spaces, where needed

  • Priority seating for any attendees in need

  • Clear signage indicating con programming and locations

  • Maps of the con spaces printed in the program

  • Early access to catered buffet lines for those requiring more time or with mobility issues

Sensory:

  • Quiet Room outside the main con space

  • Foam earplugs available at Club Femslash

  • Large print programs available (by advance request)

Mental Health:

  • Gender-neutral bathrooms in our two primary con spaces

  • Badge ribbons to indicate pronouns

  • Content warnings posted in advance for all vidshows

  • Yellow “trigger warning” cards to silently indicate triggering content is being discussed in panels

  • Designated “Sober” Party Room

  • Security guards posted at the front and rear entrance of the main con spaces

Dietary/Medical:

  • All catered foods marked with information for allergies and dietary restrictions

  • Fully stocked first-aid kit in Con Suite for attendee use

  • Hospitality cart in Con Suite stocked with free supplies, including toiletries and basic medications, for attendee use

If you have additional accommodations to request, either for yourself or others, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

HOTEL INFORMATION

We want to make sure you feel confident and safe navigating our venue and convention spaces. We have thoroughly explored the hotel spaces and can report the following:

LOBBY, ELEVATOR & SLEEPING ROOMS

The hotel lobby does not adjoin to our main con space; some brief outdoor travel is required to get from one building to the other. We noted that none of the doors from the outside to the hotel interior have an automatic-open feature; they will have to be manually held open.

The hotel’s single elevator is located in the lobby; we confirmed it has recently been outfitted with new parts. It is smaller than most elevators; it can hold 3-4 people, or a luggage cart and one person. If you have COVID concerns, consider traveling in the elevator alone.

We will still have complete control over room placement for anyone who books on our block. This time, you will be able to specify your preference in terms of proximity to the elevator versus the stairs, your distance from the party rooms, or if you would like a ground floor room. We will own the entire party room floor, as well as the sleeping rooms immediately above and below the party rooms, for noise control.

MAIN CON SPACE (CON SUITE & PANEL ROOMS)

Our main con space is in its own building on the hotel property. Enter the door to the right of The Crystal Ballroom. (We are not in the Crystal, but our building isn’t clearly labeled with its own name.) There are a few steps down as well as a ramp so you can get into the building.

Continue down the hallway toward our three spaces: the Restaurant, the Sails (Con Suite), and the Marina Ballroom (main space). From the front door to the main con space is about an 80 feet walk.

There are no steps into any of the con spaces in this building. You can enter both the Marina Ballroom (main space, pictured left) and the Sails (Con Suite, pictured right) directly from the main hallway.

However, if you go out the Marina Ballroom the back way (by the marina windows), there are two steps down, past the bathrooms, and then two steps back up into the main hallway. It is entirely optional to go this route; you can go the whole weekend using the front door to the Marina Ballroom that has no stairs.

QUIET ROOM

In addition to our main con space, we have one of the hotel’s breakout spaces, the “Garden Room” (pictured right) which is our Quiet Room. It is a long walk from the primary con space, relatively speaking, as it is located behind the lobby on the other side of the property. It is an estimated distance of 500 feet from the main con space.

To access this space from the main con area, travel back down the hall and north toward the lobby. Walk to the right through the alley before you reach the building with the lobby in it. The Garden Room is ahead on the left.

To access the Garden Room from the lobby, walk past the pool and it will be just ahead on the right.

PET POLICY

The Golden Sails does allow pets, as per their pet policy. Pets must be registered with the front desk and are subject to a nightly fee. Pets are not allowed in the meeting spaces, which means they cannot attend TGIF/F programming.

Service animals, wearing a service vest, are permitted in the meeting spaces and at TGIF/F programming. There is no fee for service animals. If you are bringing a service animal to TGIF/F, please let us know.

If you still have questions or concerns regarding the space, we encourage you to reach out to us at tgifemslash@gmail.com.