In their latest iteration, Visit Charlottesville Albemarle County may have created the most comprehensive accessible landing page anywhere and a model for all to follow.  Not only is it useful to potential visitors, but residents will find it of value as well.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) is excited to announce a new accessibility landing page and grant-funded efforts aimed at improving accessibility infrastructure for visitors and residents. As part of its comprehensive American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville provided funds to the CACVB to build the tourism industry back stronger following the severe impacts of COVID-19. A portion of this funding supported more than 60 accessibility assessments for local tourism-related businesses and attractions through a strategic partnership with Wheel the World.

These efforts led to Charlottesville and Albemarle County being designated as Destination Verified by Wheel the World. This distinction sets the community apart from other destinations due to its wealth of accessible locations and experiences. The new CACVB landing page highlights these accessible experiences and provides important information about businesses with step-free and/or accessible entrances, transportation and parking, and accessible accommodation details like bed height, toilet height, and space available under bathroom sinks.

“This accessibility information is not only available to visitors looking for things to do, but also our residents,” said Courtney Cacatian, Executive Director of the CACVB. “With our recently passed strategic plan, we will continue building out these accessible experiences allowing us to foster a welcoming community for all visitors.”

In spring 2023, the CACVB secured a $20,000 DRIVE Outdoor grant through the Virginia Tourism Corporation to imagine the future of outdoor recreation in the area. The CACVB convened a stakeholder group consisting of City and County Parks and Recreation departments, the Shenandoah National Park, outdoor recreation outfitters, and environmental groups. This stakeholder group determined that the grant funds should be used to invest in accessible river equipment and training, which could be used by residents and visitors alike.

This funding was provided to the Rivanna River Company (RRC) to purchase three special adaptive kayaks. Additionally, RRC has created four accessible parking spots made from stone dust, giving visitors with mobility issues access to the site. RRC also used compacted stone dust to make the entrance area and a path to the accessible portable toilet more navigable. The adaptive kayak program will launch in spring 2025. Photos of the adaptive kayaks can be found here.

This winter, the CACVB will embark on another stakeholder engagement exercise to identify and promote accessible experiences for history lovers. Following stakeholder engagement meetings, the CACVB will apply for a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation to build an itinerary to promote and amplify these efforts. Influencers with accessibility needs will be invited to explore local sites and attractions that offer welcoming experiences.

For more detailed information on how the CACVB went through its extensive accessibility work, please listen to the Destinations International Architects of Destination Advocacy podcast.

Check out their current accessibility landing page, here.

Triumphs of our own – How the TravelAbility Community is Leading Accessibility Innovators in Transforming Travel and Tourism Worldwide

Take it from us – disability travel influences share best practices for partnering for inclusion.

Last year’s summit included a panel of disability travel influencers sharing how they work with destinations to both celebrate and improve accessibility and inclusion. Representation matters in any corner of marketing, but how much more so amongst the group that needs to see if a destination can work for them before visiting. These videos and destination reviews have matchless value in showing travelers what’s possible in your destination.

This year we have 10 disabled travel influencers attending the Summit where we will be inaugurating our Speed Dating with an Influencer sessions to make it easy for destinations to connect with leading influencers in the accessible travel space.

Here’s what the influencer panel had to say last year:

Part one.

Part two.

Survey of 25 Hotels Reveals that ADA Room Bed Height and Toilet Seat Height can vary by as much as 14 inches.

TravelAbility has announced the launch of a pioneering initiative to map hotel bed heights, addressing the primary concern for wheelchair travelers: the unpredictability of bed heights in hotel accommodations.  

For individuals who use wheelchairs, traveling can often feel like a gamble due to the lack of standardized information on hotel accessibility. While their homes are tailored to their needs, and they are familiar with accessible local businesses, the same cannot be said for hotels they may visit. Images of hotel amenities abound, yet details on ADA-compliant rooms are scarce, leaving wheelchair users without the necessary information to plan their travels. 

The Challenge: The ADA, which was passed in 1990, took over a year to write after back-and-forth from advocates, architects, business leaders, disability groups, and, of course, lawyers.  The result was that it was written for the median which means it works for half the people and doesn’t work for the other half.  For wheelchair users, since there’s no clear ADA for information, its like “accessibility roulette: they don’t know which half they’re in until they arrive. 

 The Pilot Program: In collaboration with four members of TravelAbility’s Destination A11Y Club, TravelAbility developed a pilot program in which essential data on the accessibility of hotel sleeping rooms and bathrooms.  You’ll find the variations for bed height, distance between bed and floor and toilet seat height for hotels in four destinations. Below you’ll find the results just for bed and toilet seat height. 

Destination Ally Club members	# Participating Hotels	Bed Height-Hi-low-Range	Variance	Toilet Seat Height	Variance
Alexandria VA	8	24”-38”	14”	15.5”-17.5	2”
Tampa FL	7	18’-30”	12”	17”-30”	13”
Lexington, KY	7	24”-29”	4”	17”-18.5”	1.5”

Imagine, if you will, three different wheelchairs users researching a hotel in Alexandria, VA.   As you can see from the table below, there was 14-inch variation in bed height from just eight properties.

Hotel	Bed Height	Space under Bed	Toilet Height
Hotel Indigo	24.5 in.	4 in.	16 in
Westin Alexandra	28 in.	7 in.	17 ¾ in
Hotel Heron	26 in.	4.5 in.	17 in
Hyatt Centric	25 in.	0*	17.5 in
Hotel AKA Alexandria	24 in.	0*	18 in
Sheraton Suites	28 in.	11.5 in	17 in
Hilton Alexandria	26 in.	0*	17.5 in
Hilton Garden Inn	38 in.	7 in	15.5 in
*Platform beds

The following are three wheelchair users who are prominent members of the disability community. If there were accessibility pages on the websites of each of the hotels, 

Cory Lee, founder of  Curb Free with Cory Lee,  is a power chair user who may find the Westin, Sheraton, or Hilton Garden Inn most suitable as the they have the most space under the bed for a Hoyer lift.

Kristy Durso, 2023 Miss Wheelchair Texas and owner of Incredible Memories Travel, uses a manual chair, and the Indigo or AKA hotels may work best for her as their beds are lower and easier to transfer into.

Chelsea Bear, a content creator with nearly 800k followers is a member of the Travelability Advisory Board. She has Cerebral Palsy and although she uses a scooter name Scootz, she can walk short distances but may have difficulty transitioning from sitting to standing. The Westin Alexandria highest toilet seat would be a good selection.

This information will be made available on the dedicated accessibility page on each DMO’s website, ensuring that wheelchair users—as well as locals hosting visitors with mobility challenges—have access to the information they need to make informed travel decisions. But hotels should include an accessibility page on their website that also includes photos of accessible rooms as well as descriptions. Every image and data point sends a welcoming message to travelers with disabilities.

We’d like to thank the accessibility leaders of the four destinations for being part of this groundbreaking pilot program.  Claire Mouledoux, Visit Alexandria (VA), Patrick Harrison, Visit Tampa Bay(FL),  Arin Arnold, Visit Lexington (KY).

About TravelAbility: TravelAbility is committed to making travel more accessible for everyone. By providing crucial information and resources, TravelAbility empowers individuals with mobility challenges to explore the world with confidence.

For 29 low cost/no cost accessibility fixes for hotels, click here.

By Jake Steinman

A 2017 poll at a travel trade show revealed that 75% of industry professionals associate accessibility primarily with wheelchairs. However, accessibility is far more complex—it’s like a race without a finish line, yet one with many starting lines.

Starting Points

The following are the starting points leaders in inclusion in the travel industry have chosen. What will your starting point be?

Sensory/Autism Tourism
Acceptance is the primary challenge for autistic families. A 2022 IBCCES survey found that 87% of these families avoid travel due to embarrassment, yet 93% would travel if hotels and travel suppliers were more welcoming. Training consumer-facing staff to foster awareness and acceptance is crucial.

• Julie Pingston, CEO of Choose Lansing, made a local theater sensory-friendly for families with autistic children, leading to broader training initiatives across attractions and hotels.
• Visit Mesa became the first autism certified city where IBCCES, a credentialing agency that provides autism certification training, was able to train over 60 percent of not only travel partners, but city government, first responders, and the police and police departments. 

Blind and Low Vision Tourism
Navigation poses significant challenges for individuals with visual impairments, ranging from complete blindness to low vision issues.

• Richard Gray, Sr. Vice President of Inclusion and Accessibility at Visit Lauderdale, created a promotional video featuring “Blind Bill,” a local resident navigating the waterfront.
• Visit Seattle launched a campaign to counter negative publicity by offering Enchroma color-blind sunglasses for loan at the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Tourism
Communication is the main challenge for the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Innovative technologies, such as hearing loops and apps for on-demand sign language interpreters, are emerging. At TravelAbility, we will showcase assistive devices, including avatar-based interpreters and remote interpreting via mobile apps. 

• Visit Lauderdale successfully hosted the Deaf Seniors Annual Convention, generating over 2,000 room nights and positive endorsements for future disability conventions.
• Travel Oregon has installed hearing loops—which amplify sound for the partially deaf or hard of hearing through hearing aids and cochlear implants.

75% of industry professionals associate accessibility primarily with wheelchairs. However, accessibility is far more complex

Jake Steinman

Mobility Tourism
Mobility challenges vary widely, from individuals temporarily disabled after surgery to those in power wheelchairs needing assistance. While many locations comply with the ADA, the law was designed for the median user, leaving some travelers uncertain about accessibility until they arrive.

• Visit Charlottesville and Albemarle County initiated an accessibility audit funded by a $30,000 grant, allowing Wheel the World, an accessible travel booking engine, to audit accessibility features across nearly 100 hotels, attractions, and restaurants.