TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

John Morris

See You in Court: Hotels Targeted for Not Describing Accessibility Features

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Close-up view of bed in hotel room.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires places of lodging to “identify and describe accessible features in the hotels and guest rooms offered through its reservations service in enough detail to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets his or her accessibility needs.”

Jim Butler, a hotel attorney, recently warned hotels about a surge in lawsuits targeting hotels for violations of this provision. He says that this is a popular avenue for ADA attorneys, because “one need only visit the defendant’s website or the websites of their OTAs to quickly test for compliance.” Since attorneys need not actually visit the hotel in order to file suit for violations of the requirement to describe accessible room features, filing cases is easier and faster.

OUR TAKE: Unclear information is often one of the most significant barriers to accessibility, and it also prevents businesses and destinations from taking full advantage of the disability market. Making accessibility information clear is the most important factor to mitigate the chances of getting sued. To see a model of an accessible landing page any hotel can emulate using a template developed by TravelAbility, click here.

To read more ADA lawsuits surrounding a lack of information about accessibility, click here.

Vaccine Rollout Gives Travel Industry a Shot in the Arm (of Hope)

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Nurse administering vaccine shot into man's arm.

When Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca announced in November that their vaccines had been found to be at least 90% effective, there was a sharp increase in travel planning and booking.

Travel Weekly reported that Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean both saw an increase in cruise bookings following the news of effective Covid-19 vaccines. SkyScanner, a website for comparing and purchasing airfare, said that searches for travel to Mexico were up 10% over the prior year in the days following Pfizer’s release.

That enthusiasm has carried over into 2021. In a story that appeared on Afar, one travel agent said that she received more inquiries on the first Monday of the New Year than she had in the entire month that the pandemic took hold last year. Travel booking site Hopper reported that the largest increase in searches for 2021 travel have been for the months of July and August – the months that, according to the president, the majority of Americans should have access to the vaccine.

As more people are vaccinated and confidence grows, we inch ever closer to the recovery that the travel industry is so eagerly awaiting. It could begin as soon as this summer.

Deafinitely: A New Fund Supporting Deaf Artists and Theatre Makers During the Pandemic

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Silhouette of actors against red curtains in theatre.

Deafinitely Theatre, a deaf-led theatre company in the United Kingdom, recently established a fund to provide £1,000 bursaries to deaf and hard-of-hearing people involved in the theatre industry. The bursaries were available to writers, directors, designers, choreographers, actors, dancers, stage managers, technicians, make-up artists, community practitioners, producers – or people with any other role in the theatre industry.

Applicants were eligible to apply for one of 20 awards so long as they were at least 18 years old, self-employed and working in the United Kingdom.

Paula Garfield, Artistic Director at Deafinitely Theatre, said “The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be an incredibly difficult period for the arts and we are determined to come out of it with brilliant work for audiences across the country to return to, with deaf and disabled theatre makers front and centre.”

OUR TAKE: Support for the inclusion of disabled people in the arts is important, in both good times and bad. Deafinitely Theatre’s commitment to support 20 deaf and hard-of-hearing members of the industry during the pandemic is welcome, and we look forward to seeing what these artists develop.

To read more about Deafinitely Theatre’s program to offer financial support to artists, click here.

Sponsored by AccessiBe: We raised $28 million to help more websites be compliant. See it here.

Nike Unveils Hands-Free Shoes That Are Accessible For Disabled People

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Nike shoe.

Nike has added a new sneaker to its FlyEase adaptive shoe collection that will be the first hands-free tennis shoe in its product line.

The shoe, dubbed the Nike GO FlyEase, features a “bi-stable hinge and a tensioner — which works like a big rubber band — to allow the shoe to smoothly open and close” at ease. The innovative design makes it possible to put on and take off the shoe entirely hands-free, with no shoe laces, zippers or Velcro straps to contend with.

When the new GO FlyEase shoe hits the market later this year, it will improve the ability of many older and disabled people to manage their shoes independently, while not having to sacrifice the comfort and fit that makes sneakers so popular with the masses.

To read more about the Nike GO FlyEase shoe, click here.

Savannah Launches “Savannability” Accessibility Initiative

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Savannah, Georgia city skyline.

Van Johnson, Mayor of the City of Savannah, Georgia, recently announced the formation of the “Savannability Task Force,” which will work to make the city a more inclusive and welcoming place for disabled people.

The group’s membership is composed of disabled citizens, as well as local partners, the Metropolitan Planning Commission, and others. Together, they will examine accessibility issues in education, transportation, employment and other areas, providing recommendations on how to remove those barriers.

In speaking about the new task force, the mayor said, “We want Savannah to be welcoming, navigable, and inclusive for everyone who lives in or visits our city, so our community can benefit from their unique abilities whether they are visually, audibly, physically, or developmentally challenged, or if they are simply aging.”

OUR TAKE: The City of Savannah is taking an important step by involving people with disabilities in planning for the future. When a city commits to accessibility and inclusion, it can become a more equitable place for everyone – residents and visitors alike.

To read more about the Savannability Task Force, click here.

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