The next TravelAbility Summit virtual event is coming June 24th, and the action-packed schedule is filled with presenters you won’t want to miss!
AGENDA
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
(i)=INVITED BUT NOT CONFIRMED
JUNE 24, 2021
8:00-8:15 am — OPENING REMARKS
8:15-8:35 am — UPDATE: GOOGLE MAPS: ADDING AN “ACCESSIBLE ROUTE” TO GOOGLE MAPS IN SIX CITIES COULD BE A GAME CHANGER.
Could this be the breakthrough disabled travelers and city dwellers have been pining for?
Presenter: Laura Allan, Head of Strategy for Accessibility and Inclusion, Google (i)
8:35-8:45 am — UPDATE: CRUISING FOR A BRUISING: WHEN WILL CRUISE LINES’ PAIN WANE AND WHAT WILL THE RECOVERY LOOK LIKE ?
Cruise lines have been the hardest hit of all travel segments during Covid.
- What new post-vaccination protocols are planned
- What will it mean for domestic cruise ports that depend on shore excursions
- How are they planning to bring back customers
- What are they hearing from their agents? How are they communicating progress to their disability specialist travel agents.
Presenter: Ron Pettit, Director Disability and Inclusion, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
8:45-9:05 am — UPDATE: AIRLINES. BACK TO THE FUTURE?
- When does the industry foresee travel returning to pre-Covid levels?
- What progress has been made on a Common Pass among the vaccinated?
- From LaunchPad: SATS: Centralized register for Verified Service Animals
9:05-9:20am — UPDATE; AIRPORTS
- How are airports reacting to the aging population?
- Partnering with destinations to promote accessibility.
- From LaunchPad: JAWS by Vispero, making airport/airline kiosks accessible to blind and visually impaired
Moderator: Eric Lipp, CEO, Open Doors Organization; Panelists: Dana Folsom, Manager, Disability Progams, Delta Air Lines (i); Tim Joniec, Director, Customer Relations, Houston Airport System
9:30-9:50 am — UPDATE: HOTELS. WILL MARRIOTT’S “ROOM FOR ALL” PROGRAM INFLUENCE THE FUTURE OF ROOM DESIGN?
How they plan to upgrade bed height in accessible rooms of their 5500 U.S. hotels.
From LaunchPad: Travegali: Hotel booking engine with images of accessible sleeping rooms and bathrooms of 4000 hotels.
Presenter: Zach Curry, V.P. Rooms and Guest Services, Marriott (i)
9:50-10:05 am — UPDATE: ATTRACTIONS. HOW WALT DISNEY WORLD’S FOCUSED ON CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR ALL (VERSUS COMPLIANCE)… to make the Happiest Place on Earth the most inclusive as well.
Presenter: Mark Jones, Manager, Accessibility and Services for Guests with Disabilities, Walt Disney World
10:05-10:25 am — BREAK
10:25-11:00 am — UPDATE: TRAVEL AGENTS & BLOGGERS. HOW THREE DISABILITY SPECIALISTS OUTLIVED COVID.
In what will go down in history as the worst year ever for travel agents—especially those serving people with disabilities—leading travel agents and bloggers discuss their coping strategies.
Panelists: Debra Kerper, Owner, Easy Access Travel; John Sage, President, Wheelchair Travel Solutions; John Morris, WheelchairTravel.org; Nicole Thibault, Magical Story Book Travels (i)
11:00-11:30 am — HOW WE MEASURE ROI FOR ACCESSIBILITY. A panel of European travel companies and tourism boards reveal the metrics that matter to them and their stakeholders.
Panelists: Ivor Ambrose, Managing Director, European Network for Accessible Travel; Olaf Schleiper, Innovations Manager, German National Tourism Board (i).
11:30-11:50 AM — ADDING ACCESSIBILITY INTO YOUR EDI PROGRAM.
Where does accessibility fit into your existing EDI program?
- Why should you add accessibility to your EDI strategy.
- What are benefits and measurable outcomes of adding accessibility to your EDI strategy.
- Recognizing where accessibility and diversity intersect from a customer service training perspective, and the ways in which to incorporate accessibility into your marketing campaign
Presenters: Nicole King Smith, Lee County CVB
11:50-12:10 PM — NO COST/LOW COST BABY STEPS THAT YOU CAN TAKE TO ACCESSIBILITY
Getting started with accessibility shouldn’t be an expensive or daunting task.
- Getting started: three things you need to know
- Baby steps you can take that can save you time and money
Presenters: Josh Loebner, Director of Strategy, DesignSensory; Toby Willis, Technical Manager and head of accessibility, Expedia Group.
12:10-12:30 — TRAVELABILITY BUILDS A BUSINESS CASE TO SWAY A HOTEL CFO TO BUDGET FOR ACCESSIBILITY. WILL IT WORK?
TravelAbility will present a slide deck, stitched together from key stats drawn from the four most prominent research reports released in the past six months, to a Chief Financial Officer. Will she buy it?
- Open Doors Organization/Harris Poll 2020 Market Study: Adults with Disabilities: Travel and Hospitality
- Expedia/Leonard Cheshire Report: Breaking Down Barriers for Travel
- AARP: 2021 Travel Trends
- Stylus Media Group: Tourism’s Accessible Future
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