Hey all! 

Like everyone else on this board, my group didn't fare well with the lottery this year.  We are in search of a double at the Embassy downtown.  My friend is blind and the Embassy gives him access to the food court easily and it's close to the ICC.  If anyone has an extra room or is looking to unload a room, it would be greatly appreciated.

Still hoping and looking...

I see a lot of people talking about needing specific hotels or downtown rooms for disability reasons.

But saying you need a downtown hotel because your friend is blind is probably the one I thought I'd never hear.

How does he get to the ICC? How can he navigate the swarms of people and how does he play most if not all of the tabletop games?
How does he go into the exhibit hall or do registered events?

He is only blind in one eye and his other eye works but needs to use large dice to game.  In games where there are proprietary dice, he has to ask for help or has to lift them up to his face to see.  He uses the camera on his phone a lot to zoom in and see details.  He can walk the sidewalks with very few issues.  The hamster tubes are safer for him but not totally necessary.  We usually walk around alot the first day to help acclimate him to the area.  In games that use character sheets, he has converted them digitally so they can be used on his tablet.  Last year, we had a table at Paizo that we contacted the GM ahead of time and he had prepped the character sheets ahead of time to be 11 x 17.  He is a very capable gamer and really enjoys himself every year.  I am hoping that we can luck into a room.

If you have hilton honors, you may be able to get a room at the Embassy out of block, but you need to sign in first.  You could also try calling the Hilton Honors number and explain your situation - sometimes that works.  Keep trying, especially around June when things seem to open up more.  

Best.
 

I have been watching the forums here, checking the housing block and the travel sites daily.  I am continuing to be diligent.

There is a longtime D&D gm who is blind and uses a seeing eye dog. He has attended for years. Jamie, I believe his name is. Seems to me Hyatt would be a better choice than Embassy however. Embassy generally has all kinds of various issues for hamster tubing for someone visually impaired--you have to cut through that dome with all the chairs scattered, for one thing.

Unforuntately it's going to be hard to find someone to give up their room even for a disabled person. 
You should talk to gen con before hand, I believe they do something for legally handicapped individuals. 
 

I actually called and talked to them and they said I was on my own.  They don't do waitlist or anything else like that.