Accessibility

American Sign Language interpreters are available at ALTA49 upon request. Please make requests at least two weeks in advance of a given event, with a list of events you plan to attend (that is, by October 7 for the conference). To request an interpreter, contact Kelsi Vanada by email [kelsi@literarytranslators.org] or by phone at (520) 201-5329.

CART captioning is available upon request at ALTA49. Please make requests at least two weeks in advance of a given event, with a list of events you plan to attend (that is, by October 7 for the conference). To request an interpreter, contact Kelsi Vanada [kelsi@literarytranslators.org] by email or by phone at (520) 201-5329.

All plenary sessions will be equipped with a microphone and speakers. Larger conference session rooms will also have microphones and speakers to ensure that sound carries well for the audience in larger spaces.

If it would help you to sit closer to the front / to the speaker, please look for the stretchy blue seat bands with disability access symbols printed on them and take a seat in these reserved spaces. Interpreters and captioners may also use these seats, when present, along with anyone else who needs access to the front of the room.

Our program book will be available as a printed booklet, and as an accessible PDF.

Workshop leaders and panelists are asked to provide large-print versions of any printed materials they hand out during their session. Make sure to provide at least five copies in large-print format in boldface, fourteen-to-sixteen-point font size, on white paper stock for those who may be visually impaired.

The conference meeting space at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront hotel is one three levels, with accessible elevators between floors as well as an escalator. Accessible restrooms are located near the meeting space. All event rooms will include wheelchair-accessible seating distributed throughout the space. Accessible guest rooms are available and can be reserved when booking through ALTA’s reservation link when it is live on our registration page.

The Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront does not have wheelchairs to rent.

A Quiet Room will be made available to attendees during conference hours. No conversations or phone calls, please.

ALTA hosts Translation Trivia; Cold Beer, Cold Readings; and the BIPOC Literary Translators Caucus Reading in accessible venues outside the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront hotel. We make every effort to keep offsite event venues close to the conference hotel for everyone’s ease of access. Descriptions of the access features at ALTA-sponsored offsite event locations will be given in the ALTA49 program book.

Read more about transportation, including accessible options, on the Hotel & Location web page.

ALTA does not sponsor all offsite events. Offsite event organizers that have listed their event in the conference program book have certified that they verified that the venue where their event will be held is accessible according to standards of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Descriptions of the access features at offsite event locations that sent their information to ALTA will be given in the ALTA49 program book. If you have any questions or concerns about specific offsite events, please contact the organizers of the event directly (contact information will be listed in the program book for offsite events that sent their information to ALTA).

Hotel Floor Plan: View the Marriott’s floor plans here. You can take a 3D tour of some of the meeting rooms at this link.

Visual Cues: Find a document with visual cues for the Marriott here.

Accessible Hotel Features

• Property has elevators
• Service Animals are welcome without a fee or documentation
• Valet parking for vehicles outfitted for drivers in wheelchairs

Accessible Areas with Accessible Routes from Public Entrance

• Entrance to On-Site Fitness Center is Accessible
• Main Entrance is Accessible
• Meeting Spaces are Accessible
• On-Site Restaurants are Accessible
• Room and Suites Access through the Interior Corridor

Guest Room Accessibility

• Accessible Vanities
• Adjustable Height Hand-Held Shower Wand
• Bathtub Grab Rails
• Bathtub Seat
• Closed Caption TV
• Deadbolts on Guest Room and Suites Doors
• Electronic Room Key
• Flashing Door Knockers
• Guest Room and Suites Doors Self-Closing
• Guests in mobility-accessible rooms may inquire about lowering the bed height
• Hearing Accessible Rooms and/or Kits
• Lever Handles on Guest Room Doors
• Lowered Deadbolts on Guest Room Doors
• Lowered Electrical Outlets
• Lowered Viewports in Guest Room Doors
• Mobility accessible rooms
• Non-slip Grab Rails in the Bathroom
• Roll-in Shower
• Room Windows Open
• Secondary Locks on Room Windows
• TTY/TTD Compatible
• Toilet Seat at Wheelchair Height – Toilet for Disabled
• Transfer Showers in Guest Rooms
• Viewports in Guest Room and Suites Doors

For more information about the physical features of our accessible rooms, common areas or special services relating to a specific disability please call +1 503-226-7600 . Click here to see accessible rooms types at this hotel.

Requests onsite are best directed to the Registration table during conference hours. No one is required to disclose a disability, but we can better meet specfic needs if we know well ahead of the conference that a reasonable disability-related accommodation will be needed. We will do our best to meet accessibility needs that come up during the conference.

At ALTA, community is our priority, and our goal is to create a safe and positive conference by reducing health risks and acting out of concern for ourselves and others. We encourage all participants to join us in taking steps to show our care for our colleagues who are over 50 years of age, those who are immunocompromised, those who live with disabilities, and those who are pregnant. 

Our conference is typically held at the start of cold and flu season. We can all benefit from taking extra precautions—and in addition to making the conference more accessible to participants who are more vulnerable to contagious diseases, it helps keep all of us safer and healthier!

We ask that you join us by upholding the guidelines below, which were endorsed by ALTA’s Board of Directors on March 11, 2026.

Masks: We highly encourage attendees to wear a medical-grade surgical, KN95, or N95 mask when you are in the audience during conference events. (We understand that some participants cannot wear a mask due to sensory or medical issues.) Protecting the more vulnerable among us is important to us at ALTA, so we are providing all attendees with masks and a special case to hold them. Please also consider putting on a mask if you are approached by someone wearing a mask. Thank you for wearing your mask to make the conference more accessible to everyone in our community!

Air Purification: ALTA will rent a PAS-2000 air scrubber for the plenary session room at the hotel. The PAS-2000 (with HEPA filter) has about 2100cfm, so it will scrub up to 63,000 cubic feet every hour with two air changes. The plenary session room is 64,896 cubic feet and will be the location for the keynote address, Awards Ceremony, and possibly the Opening and Closing Receptions.

Social Times: ALTA will endeavor to designate spaces for those who prefer to mask during indoor social times (such as receptions and coffee breaks) in the conference hotel. When possible, ALTA will utilize outdoor spaces.

Travel: We ask that everyone do what they can to keep our community safe by testing for illnesses like influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) before traveling to the conference location, if you are able. We recommend masking (with a medical-grade surgical, KN95, or N95 mask) as much as possible in indoor areas and enclosed spaces while in transit.

Self-Wellness Assessment: All attendees are asked to self-assess for symptoms of illness before attending ALTA events and, if possible, to self-test for respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19. Attendees should stay home or stay in their hotel room if they have tested positive for an illness, have symptoms of illness, or if they have had close contact with a person who has tested positive for a respiratory illness. If you aren’t feeling well or aren’t sure, please stay home or in your room.

Vaccination: ALTA strongly recommends all attendees be vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 and boosted as recommended. 

Acknowledgment of Risk: By registering for and/or attending any portion of the ALTA conference, attendees acknowledge all of the risks posed by contagious illnesses, and accept sole responsibility for any expense, liability, illness, injury, harm, or loss related to contracting illnesses while traveling to/from and attending ALTA events. Attendees agree to release, covenant not to sue, discharge, and hold harmless ALTA’s staff, Board, volunteers, contractors, partners, participants, and representatives from all claims of any kind arising out of illness.

Partner Venues: Please note that any events or programming taking place in venues outside the conference hotel is beyond the scope of ALTA’s health and safety policy.

All moderators, panelists, workshop leaders, readers, and participants are asked to help make our programming accessible by following these guidelines for giving accessible presentations.

If your session or reading will be ASL interpreted, you must agree to provide copies of your notes or translations to the interpreter in advance, so that they may have adequate time to prepare.