TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Jake Steinman

Wheelchair Accessible Travel Guide to the Nation’s Capital

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Aerial view of national mall in Washington, D.C.

TravelAbility Advisory Board member John Morris operates the web’s largest accessible travel website, Wheelchair Travel. There, he shares information and tips on traveling with a disability, as well as detailed accessible travel guides to destinations in the United States and abroad.

One of the website’s most popular travel guides helps readers navigate with a wheelchair in Washington, D.C. The capital city of the United States receives praise for its wheelchair-friendly public transportation system, which includes an underground metro, city buses and even a street car. Many of the most popular D.C. tourist attractions, including the Smithsonian Museums, are wheelchair-friendly and offer free admission!

The travel guide contains detailed information on accessible attractions, hotels and transportation services in the District of Columbia – resources disabled travelers need to confidently explore new destinations. The Washington, D.C. wheelchair travel guide is one of more than 50 accessible travel guides on the Wheelchair Travel website and can be accessed by clicking here.

Alaska Airlines Launches “Fly for All” App for Neurodivergent Passengers

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Alaska Airlines planes parked at airport gates.

In 2020, Alaska Airlines launched a free app in the Apple App Store and Google Play called Fly for All. Designed for first-time flyers and those with cognitive and developmental disabilities, including autism, the app will help ease the anxiety of air travel by walking guests through the steps they’ll follow during the air travel journey.

Screenshot of Fly For All application.

Recently, we caught up with Ray Prentice, Director of Customer Advocacy for Alaska Airlines, for the full story behind this groundbreaking app and his efforts.           

What’s your background as an advocate for accessibility in the aviation industry? 

RP: I’ve been with Alaska for over 32 years in a number of roles. As Director of Customer Advocacy here at Alaska Airlines, my primary and favorite role is helping promote and sustain accessible and inclusive products and services for our customers. I’ve been involved in this arena for over 20 years, supported and inspired by employees and customers with disabilities who want to travel independently.

Where did the idea for Fly for All come from?

RP: Pre-Covid we hosted a number of practice sessions for families and individuals who have autism: Giving the opportunity, in a supporting environment and at no cost, to come to the airport, check-in, go through security, get on a plane, and taxi around the airport. We were hosting up to six events a year and within 45 minutes many of these flight opportunities would be filled up. So we saw incredible pent-up demand for these individuals and their family members to get more comfortable with that air travel experience. That’s when we learned about a company called Infiniteach at an Open Doors conference and immediately jumped on the opportunity to work with them. We’ve received great feedback from our customers about this app and we want to continue to get the word out so everybody knows about it.  I feel like this app will benefit any customer regardless of whether they are flying on Alaska Airlines or not. And unlike our practice flights that fill up quickly – this application can be used anytime – it is free of charge.

How were you able to find funding for the project?

RP: Funny you asked.  At the time were IT resources constrained at the time, which is not unusual for any large company. So an advocate/colleague of mine in another department and I, scraped up the money from each of our budgets to get this project off the ground. We also grabbed a friend who is a voice talent for Alaska Airlines and she volunteered her time as well. So we frankly just figured a way to get it done. 😎

How does Alaska Air measure the ROI for this? P.R., Downloads, etc?

RP: This is a really good question and the best way we can ROI to date is downloads.  Just prior to Covid we had 20,000 downloads which we think is good. But again, I think we see a great opportunity to more broadly make this app available to our customers, which is why I’m so happy you reached out to me. Personally, my view is that if we have one family that downloaded the app — and found it helpful for them to make a journey with less stress and anxiety – I feel like it was a win. So we’ve had 20,000 wins thus far. Down the road we would like to add this app as a feature of our Alaska Airlines travel app, which would give it much broader visibility. 

OUR TAKE: Alaska’s innovative Fly for All app is making it easier for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities to plan and prepare for air travel. By helping to make disabled customers more comfortable, Alaska is bringing the possibility of travel to many more people and families – perhaps up to 20,000 thus far!

Following the worst year in history for the travel industry, why would anyone want to focus on accessibility?

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photo of Jake Steinman
Jake Steinman

We are profoundly aware that the industry is still suffering, however, forward thinkers always find a way to turn slumps into opportunities for future growth. As an example, TravelAbility 2019 attendee Visit Reno-Tahoe has made accessibility a part of their recovery by simply adding a landing page to their website that aggregates links to all of their accessible pages—museums, attractions, outdoor experiences—in one place. This positions Reno with content that will benefit the local community, of which 15-20 percent are disabled according to the CDC, and may not be aware of accessible features available in their own backyard. It will also appeal to Baby Boomers over the age of 65, 40% of whom self-identify as having a disability according to HealthToday. Why are they focusing on Baby Boomers? (Health Today: “40% of Seniors Report Having a Disability”)

According to the U.S. census, Boomers control 70% of all discretionary spending in the U.S. and plan travel as much as they can, while they can, and, most importantly, where they can…when it’s safe. They are the earliest to receive the Covid-19 vaccine along with people who are disabled and may be among the first to hit the road in time for summer bookings. Meanwhile, It’s not just destinations that are showcasing their accessibility.

(U.S. News and World Report: Baby Boomer Report; Bloomberg Business: “Boomers Are Going to Drive a Silver Surge”)

The Holiday Inn in Santa Maria, California, part of the Point Hospitality Group, another TravelAbility 2019 attendee, developed what may be the most user-friendly accessible landing page that other hotels, attractions, or even museums can emulate. The CEO told me, the first thing they saw when someone with a disability checked in was a lawsuit waiting to happen. While they were motivated to reduce the likelihood of litigation, they also want to reduce guest disappointment by providing an “Accessibility FAQ” page. Using a template developed by TravelAbility they provided answers and images of accessible rooms taken by a sales manager with their iPhone. The goal was to allow potential guests with a wide spectrum of disabilities to know immediately whether the hotel was the right fit for them. Assembling the information and photography took all of 3 ½ hours of staff time. (See the Holiday Inn Santa Maria Accessibility Landing page prototype here.)

The Future of Small Group Travel? Bankrolled by Grandparents.

En route to Palm Springs in October, I decided to overnight at the hotel on the central coast of California to experience the accessibility myself. Since it was a weekend, the hotel was nearly fully booked and all the accessible rooms were occupied. While having coffee in the lobby, I struck up a conversation with a guest whose wife used a wheelchair. He seemed to be in his seventies and told me they were traveling with his daughter and her three children and complained that he had to pay for three rooms. I realized that I had happened onto what may be the future of small group travel: a multi-generational family where travel arrangements were planned by the parent, financed by the retired grandparent with a disability who required two additional standard rooms to accommodate adult children and grandchildren. While having coffee my new friend began musing about international travel once vaccines were available.

I often wonder what they are doing now. They represent the cohort of baby boom travelers who are eagerly awaiting the vaccine so they can begin traveling again. New data out of the UK indicates that one-fifth of Baby Boomers have a net worth of over $1.3 million. In the U.S. the average net worth of Baby Boomers is $1.07 million (U.S. 2017 census). They have been the least affected financially by the pandemic and, according to the latest AARP Travel Trends study, have been saving funds they had allocated for travel for future trips, while Gen X’ers and Millennials have re-purposed 2020 travel funds for other uses.

Have Antibodies, Will Travel!

They represent an ideal group to target as they will have been vaccinated (hopefully) by the end of March and will be among the first to take luxury vacations reachable by car in the summer and luxury and travel by air in the mid-to-late fall. They represent an ideal group to target as they will have been vaccinated (hopefully) by the end of March and will be among the first to take luxury vacations reachable by car in the summer and luxury and travel by air in the mid-to-late fall.

So why focus on accessible travel? Investing in accessibility is a way to hasten the recovery in the short term as high-spending 65+ travelers loaded with antibodies are readily targetable and raring to go. Meanwhile, you’ll be set for the day in the future when 30 million baby boomers who have been conditioned to view travel as the toy department of life, will have aged into a disability.

Ten days after this article was first posted, this appeared in the New York Times.

Jake Steinman is the founder of TravelAbility, the conference and online ecosystem for accessible travel. The TravelAbility website is a hub of information and resources that help travel companies become more accessible. He can be reached at Jake@travelabilitysummit.com

This story sponsored by Expedia:  Get your copy of the “Breaking Down Barriers to Travel Report” here.

New Travel Guide Shows Wheelchair Users How to Explore Salt Lake City

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Salt Lake City skyline.

TravelAbility Advisory Board member John Morris recently traveled to Utah and published a free wheelchair accessible travel guide to Salt Lake City on his website, Wheelchair Travel.

The travel guide contains detailed information on accessible attractions, hotels and transportation services in Salt Lake City – resources disabled travelers need to confidently explore new destinations. In rating the key areas of access for disabled tourists, Morris gave Salt Lake City high marks for the accessibility of its tourist attractions and public transportation system.

The Salt Lake City wheelchair travel guide is one of more than 50 accessible travel guides on the Wheelchair Travel website and can be accessed by clicking here.

Disabled People Speak Out About Accessible Travel — Here’s What They Said (and what they’re looking for)

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Wheelchair user at the beach.

John Morris, founder of Wheelchair Travel and a member of the TravelAbility Advisory Board, recently published the results of a wide-ranging survey he conducted on accessible travel. Referenced by Expedia’s “Breaking Down Barriers to Travel Report,” Wheelchair Travel’s 2020 Accessible Travel Study included more than 700 participants, 90% of whom have a disability of their own.

The survey sought to better understand the travel patterns of disabled people, and to identify ways that travel providers could better serve those who have accessibility needs.

An important finding that destinations should pay particular attention to found that 81% of disabled travelers said that accessibility was an important factor in selecting a vacation destination. 50% said it was the “most important” consideration.

The report referenced TravelAbility’s campaign to promote the development of Accessible Travel Landing Pages on CVB and DMO websites. When asked to identify which types of information should appear on those pages, 84% said accessible lodging, 74% said accessible restaurants and 73% said accessible museums and attractions.

OUR TAKE: As the study reveals, there is tremendous opportunity for destinations to attract disabled visitors – 87% of whom travel with at least one other person. With the pent-up demand for travel, extending a welcome mat to disabled people can be an important revenue-driver in the post-pandemic recovery.

To read the full study, click here.

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