MSW Interactive Designs to brief Columbia tourism partners on ADA and CIPA website risk

MSW Interactive Designs founder Sandy Wardenburg Waggett will lead a free Aug. 20 session in Columbia, Missouri, for hotel and tourism partners of the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau. The 45-minute program will cover website accessibility, ADA compliance and CIPA-related tracking risks that can affect businesses far beyond California.

Why it matters: - Website accessibility and privacy compliance have become business risks for hotels and tourism operators that rely on their websites to attract customers and take bookings. - The Columbia session aims to give local industry partners practical guidance before an accessibility or tracking issue turns into a lawsuit or operational problem. - MSW Interactive Designs will provide the session at no cost to the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau’s hotel and tourism partners.

What happened: - Sandy Wardenburg Waggett, founder of MSW Interactive Designs LLC, will present a 45-minute educational session on Thursday, Aug. 20, in Columbia, Missouri. - The session is for hotel and tourism partners of the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau. - The program is scheduled for about 4 p.m. at the Columbia Sports Fieldhouse, 4251 Philips Farm Rd., following the bureau’s hotel sales meeting. - The presentation will focus on ADA website compliance and California Invasion of Privacy Act website-tracking risk.

The details: - The session will address website accessibility, common online barriers and privacy questions tied to data-collection technologies used on modern websites. - Waggett’s invitation followed her June presentation at the Missouri Society of Association Executives Coffee & Conversation meeting in Jefferson City. - Terra Nuzum, senior tourism sales specialist for the City of Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, attended that June session and invited Waggett to present a focused version for Columbia’s hotel and tourism community. - Nuzum said the bureau believes the session will be highly beneficial for hotels and other industry partners. - Website accessibility remains a current business issue across Missouri. - More than 100 Missouri businesses had been targets of website accessibility lawsuits, according to 2025 reporting cited by the Missouri Independent. - Seyfarth Shaw’s 2026 review identified 121 website-accessibility suits filed in Missouri during 2024 and 2025. - The session will emphasize the value of a structured website accessibility audit. - Waggett will also cover CIPA-related website-tracking exposure. - California’s Invasion of Privacy Act was enacted in 1967, before the commercial internet. - Current claims have alleged that pixels, analytics platforms, session-replay tools, chat widgets and similar technology can capture or transmit information from website visitors without adequate consent. - Courts have reached differing conclusions based on the technology, data involved, consent flow and venue. - The presentation will explain why businesses outside California can face CIPA-related claims when websites collect or share information from California visitors. - The program will emphasize that legal requirements depend on an organization’s specific technology, user base and facts.

Between the lines: - The session reflects how website compliance has shifted from a technical task to a legal and revenue issue for destination marketing and hospitality businesses. - Missouri businesses are facing rising exposure from both ADA accessibility litigation and privacy claims tied to everyday website tools. - Waggett framed the issue as an operations problem first, saying organizations should inventory their website, visitor experience and tracking tools before talking with legal counsel. - The educational format signals a preventive approach, not a legal-defense workshop.

What's next: - Columbia hotel and tourism partners will hear the briefing on Aug. 20 and can use it to review their own websites and tracking tools. - MSW Interactive Designs is positioning accessibility audits and implementation planning as next-step services for organizations that identify gaps. - Businesses with California website visitors may need to reassess consent flows, tracking technology and accessibility practices as litigation risk continues.

The bottom line: - For Columbia’s tourism sector, website accessibility and privacy compliance are no longer niche IT issues. They are operational risks with legal and business consequences.