Triumphs of our own – How the TravelAbility Community is Leading Accessibility Innovators in Transforming Travel and Tourism Worldwide
Leveraging Influencers to Amplify Authenticity in Your Marketing
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:
TravelAbility Announces “Inches Matter: Heads In Accessible Beds” Pilot Mapping Program
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.
Accessibility: Where Should You Start?
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.
Encapsulating the Core Challenge for Each Disability in One Word
By Jake Steinman
Recently I was challenged to distill the essence of each disability into a single word, and after five years of being immersed in TravelAbility and after considerable thought, here are the words I arrived at and why, for me, they encapsulate the core challenges faced by individuals with different disabilities when they travel–and in real life.
Wheelchair Users: Stairs
Stairs represent one of the most anxiety-inducing obstacles for wheelchair users. Despite restaurants and attractions often being advertised as fully accessible, or even after confirming accessibility in advance, wheelchair users frequently encounter unexpected stairs. This not only disrupts their plans but also subjects them to the indignity of being carried up and down stairs.
Blind Travelers: Navigation
For blind travelers, navigation is the primary challenge. The world is largely built for those who can see, leaving many environments inaccessible to the blind. The barriers they face are often related to moving from point A to point B, both physically and digitally. However, technology and innovation are gradually bridging this gap. Tools like Aira, Be My Eyes which provide real-time assistance, while Apple and Google Android are providing innovative technology that makes navigation easier and more accessible.
Deafness: Communication
Communication is the central issue for the 48 million people in the United States who are deaf or hard of hearing. Astonishingly, less than 1% of this population uses American Sign Language (ASL), according to the Commission on the Deaf, and another half million (family members/teachers) know ASL. This statistic underscores the vast communication barriers that exist, as many deaf individuals rely on other forms of communication that are not always understood or accommodated by the hearing population. Again, innovations such as Sign Speak, which uses human-looking AI avatars, presented at TravelAbility’s InnovateAble Showcase, the Shark Tank for Adaptive technology, this past July.
Autism: Acceptance
For individuals on the Autism Spectrum, acceptance is crucial. With approximately 9 million families in the United States affected by autism, and an estimated 24 million people impacted when considering household members, acceptance becomes a necessity. Studies indicate that 85% of these families face significant challenges that prevent them from traveling. Education and training are key to fostering acceptance, with organizations like Kulture City, Autism Double-Checked, Able Vu, the Autism Travel Club and IBCCES, offering training and certification programs. Additionally, initiatives like the Sunflower Hidden Disability Lanyard help communicate the need for special care in public spaces.
Ultimately, the word that ties all these experiences together is independence.
Jake Steinman
For All: Independence
Ultimately, the word that ties all these experiences together is independence. Each of these challenges—whether it’s navigating stairs, communicating effectively, or gaining acceptance—boils down to the fundamental human desire for independence. Ensuring that individuals with disabilities can live independently and with dignity when they travel is the overarching goal of TravelAbility.
What one word comes to mind for you, when you think about these disabilities?
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