TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Jake Steinman

John Morris Takes the Reins as Editor of TravelAbility Insider

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John Morris wearing a white shirt, blue jacket and red tie.
John Morris

We are pleased to announce that John Morris, a triple amputee whose limbs were amputated following a 2012 car accident and who, prior to COVID-19, traveled more than 300 days per year, will assume the editorial role of TravelAbility Insider beginning with this issue.

I’d like to thank Denise Brodey, with whom I first made contact 18 months ago after I read one her articles in Forbes and cajoled her to come aboard as editor of our nascent newsletter. We now have over 3,100 readers—with a 43% average open rate—due to her deft eye for editorial content. Denise will go into semi-seclusion as she embarks on a ghost-writing project in addition to her other duties.

John, a power wheelchair user and founder of WheelchairTravel.org, has been a prominent advocate for travel accessibility through his writings and his thought leadership, and we welcome him aboard.

Important Announcement: Introducing the TravelAbility Tuesday Series

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TravelAbility Summit logo

In the last issue of TravelAbility Insider, we announced that TravelAbility Summit would be held virtually for 3 hours a day during the week of November 9-13th.  Since that time, we had the experience of producing the Parakeet Pop Up, a virtual conference about virtual conferences that functioned as a practice event for TravelAbility Summit. We also held our quarterly advisory board meeting where we shared our experiences from that event.

The board overwhelmingly felt that holding the Summit every day for a week would discourage THEM from attending and probably others as well. As a result, we decided the least disruptive approach would be to spread TravelAbility out over a five-week period. Each Tuesday from November 10th to December 8th, we will present programming from 9:00-12:00 pm PDT, followed by 30-minutes of networking time. Recordings of all sessions will also be available to registrants on-demand.

Register for the TravelAbility Tuesday Series – TravelAbility Summit to be held over 5 consecutive Tuesdays beginning November 10 and ending December 8th. All sessions will be virtual from 9:00-12:00 PDT. The TravelAbility Tuesday Series will pick up again on consecutive Tuesdays from February 2-18, 2021 as three one hour “train-the-trainer” workshops. 

Early bird registration for all 8 sessions is $595. Here’s what’s included:

  • Insights from five days of content with over 60 presenters
  • Three post-event train-the-trainer workshops
  • Recordings for all sessions

Click here for speakers (to date).

Click here for the Agenda.

Click here to register.

Where Is the First Universally Design-Certified Hotel?

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entryway of a hotel with a blue ribbon and people wearing masks celebrating new hotel
Welcome to Amherst-Buffalo, New York!

The Hampton by Hilton in Amherst, New York, opened the first universal design-certified (isUD)hotel in the country recently. The hotel has large turning radiuses, wider hallways for easy passing, and illuminated room signage, according to a report in the Sled Hockey Foundation News. It’s worth noting that the Sled Hockey Foundation, which is conveniently located across from the new hotel, which is owned by Uniland, a major developer in the region.  Sled Hockey, a Paralympic event, provides the opportunity for individuals with disabilities to participate in the adaptive sport of sled hockey and, through this participation, develop the social, emotional, and physical confidence necessary to become leaders. Pretty cool. 

OUR TAKE 

At TravelAbility Week, Nov 9-13, 2020, we will be advancing accessibility one hotel at a time by featuring an interview with the GM of this marvelous 107 room property. Awareness of needs and the scope of the work it takes to design a hotel for all is growing. When’s your next renovation? You might want to spread the word and educate people now. Find out more about universal design, here.

Genius Bus App Shows Wheelchair Space Availability

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a smartphone with a pink and blue app that shows where spaces are free and how many

Advisory Board Member John Morris of Wheelchair Travel is always ahead of the news when it comes to accessible travel. His most recent find? An app that shows where wheelchair spots are available on local buses. While it’s still only in Europe, we see a groundswell of accessible technology solutions coming to the states soon. 

OUR TAKE: Advancing accessible transportation— what better way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act? Learn more, here.

Creating Events That Reduce Stigma About Cerebral Palsy Worldwide

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A young man with a baseball cap on and glasses is shown with a backdrop of a monument and the words Tuesday October 5 2020 World Cerebral Palsy Day.

When the Cerebral Palsy Foundation held a competition, a University of Virginia team crafted a solar-powered wheelchair prototype for the win. Read about it here. It is just one of the many ways that CPF builds awareness of medication, research, civil rights and opportunity during World Cerebral Palsy Day each year. There is still time to start planning an event for World CP Day in the U.S. on October 6, 2020. Learn more here.

OUR TAKE Thank you, Cerebral Palsy Foundation for continuing to support events that change the conversation around CP and disability. A whole different picture is emerging—about minds and bodies—as people with disabilities participate in hackathons, see films and participate in exercise programs, to name just a few. This year, leaning into student-driven virtual or socially distanced events in the community makes sense this fall, especially when many of American’s young leaders are sitting out the semester or sitting at home doing their work thanks to the pandemic. Learn more about World CP Day, here.