TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

John Morris

Marriott Creates First-Ever model for Hybrid Meetings featuring “Sanctuary Seating”

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Marriott International hosted a hybrid event, with both in-person and virtual attendees, to showcase the company’s reimagined process for hosting conferences during and after the pandemic.

The event showed off a number of new features and developments, including:

  • Digital registration and pre-selection of “Sanctuary Seats” with a meeting room preview
  • Individually packaged amenities for each in-person attendee, including a face shield, hand sanitizer, and color-coated bracelets to showcase each attendee’s level of comfort (i.e. red for “please keep your distance,” yellow for “respect my space” and green for “elbow bumps welcome”).
  • Real-time interactive discussion and polling questions, multiple camera views for virtual attendees, virtual games with rewards, and Q&A sessions for both virtual and in-person attendees.

It remains uncertain when business travel will resume and businesses will need innovative solutions to adapt to the new normal.

OUR TAKE: Virtual conferences have made it possible for larger numbers of people to participate in events, and it seems important to continue providing that level of access even after we are able to meet face-to-face. Marriott’s investment in hybrid events shows us what is possible now and in the future.

To read more about Marriott’s Connect with Confidence showcase, click here.

The World’s First Detachable Wheelchair Wheel Makes Transfers Easier and Safer

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Wheelchair wheel with a piece of about one-third size removed.

Trivida is a new wheel for manual wheelchairs which makes it possible to transfer to and from the chair in a barrier-free fashion. The wheel’s triatec technology makes it possible to detach a portion of the wheel to enable safe, lateral transfers between the wheelchair and an external surface, such as a bed, toilet, sofa.

OUR TAKE: Trivida’s new design will make transferring easier and could enable manual wheelchair users to remain in their chairs longer, postponing the transition to a powered mobility device. The innovative triatec technology solves a major pain point and should improve wheelers’ quality of life.

To learn more, visit the Trivida website.

After 2,460 years, the Acropolis in Greece is Now Accessible

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Acropolis hill against a blue sky.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of Greece, visited the Acropolis of Athens earlier this month to inaugurate a new lift and pathways which bring wheelchair accessibility to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Thanks to these new accessibility features, wheelchair users and others with limited mobility will be able to see the ancient buildings that sit on the top of the hill, most notably the Parthenon. The Prime Minister praised the investment in accessibility, calling it “a project for the whole world.”

OUR TAKE: Modern technology can be integrated into ancient historical sites to enable greater access for everyone. The work done at the Acropolis of Athens has received widespread support and will now make one of the most iconic world heritage sites wheelchair accessible.

To read more, click here.

Virtual Tour Startup Founded by Bilateral Amputee Comes to Life

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Virtual tour on mobile phone.

Beeyonder is a virtual travel startup on a mission to foster memorable travel experiences for people with disabilities and conditions that prevent or inhibit their ability to travel. The company, founded by a bilateral amputee, has found particular relevance during the pandemic.

“Digital tools have been the saving grace for many since the pandemic began,” said Brittany Palmer, CEO and founder of Beeyonder. “Whether it be grandparents getting to see their grandchildren on FaceTime, or colleagues collaborating via Zoom, new technology advancements have empowered people to stay connected despite social distancing mandates and stay-at-home orders. This holiday season, as the virus cancels many people’s traditional travel plans, virtual travel is now enabling friends and family to satisfy their wanderlust together and see the world within the comfort and safety of their homes.”

Beeyonder offers a number of live and pre-recorded virtual tours via its website, with featured destinations including the Acropolis of Athens, Greece; the highlights of Santa Fe, New Mexico; a live tour of Venice, Italy and more. Each tour is led by a qualified tour guide, with each experiencing allowing participants to “bring the world home.”

OUR TAKE: Virtual tourism is creating new opportunities for disabled people to explore the world, and it’s now also creating opportunity for nondisabled adventurers who are stuck inside due to the pandemic. By embracing virtual, destinations can become more inclusive and lay the foundation for attracting new visitors once travelers resume their in-person exploration.

To learn more about Beeyonder, read this press release or visit the company’s website.

TravelAbility’s 21 Accessible Travel Predictions for 2021

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Golden Gate Bridge seen through crystal ball.

Here are our intrepid predictions, drawn from insights from hundreds of blog posts, podcasts, as well as scores of conversations during 2020 with key thought leaders in the travel industry and disability community.

21 Accessible Travel Predictions for 2021

“If we’re accessible for people who are disabled today, we’ll all be accessible for the 75 million Baby Boomers who will be aging into a disability tomorrow.”

  1. The Crystal Ball: Domestic travel trips resume at 60% of 2019 levels by Q3 of this year. Domestic travel for people with disabilities, who are immunocompromised, will resume in Q4 2021 and 2022.
  2. Staycations and Glamping. Staycations will be a popular choice for many who are looking to get away but remain close to home and within familiar surroundings. Home rentals  such as Airbnb and VRBO  will be great options for travelers who want to minimize contact with others, giving them space and peace of mind that they are safe within their ‘bubble’. Accessible glamping tents/pods and other similar outdoor-based travel could be another trend for 2021. Again, it allows families to social distance from others, enjoy being in nature while still being able to safely exercise. There are also more people interested in eco-friendly travel which glamping can provide. (Simply Emma)
  3. Vaccines rollout uncertainty may dampen travel plans for the disabled. While there are currently four vaccines that have been proved effective in clinical trials, questions about the duration of immunity and its effectiveness against variants persist and will delay overseas travel by another year, at least. Over time, people will be forced to accept vaccines as schools, offices, airlines and most retails stores will require proof of vaccination in order to enter.
  4. Know before you go. Tour operators will use virtual reality tours to replace travel until it becomes safe to go overseas again. Beeyonder, a company founded by a bi-lateral amputee, offers well priced tours around the world with expert tour guides and AbleEyes uses “video modeling” to acquaint autistic families with what they’ll find.
  5. Rental Car companies will increase the availability of accessible vehicles. A new rule proposed by the National Highway Safety Administration, will allow rental agencies to install hand controls and rear mounted transports for wheelchairs and scooters. See this article.
  6. Airlines will offer a QR Code on their app that will be used to make contact tracing more effective. Even with a fully vaccinated population, they need to prepare for any new virus that may explode into a pandemic.
  7. Expect travel insurance companies to roll out more Covid-19 insurance options. In an effort to give cruise passengers more assurance about future bookings, Celestyal MRC is offering Covid-19 insurance through Allianz for only 18 euros/person, about the cost of two martinis.
  8. Increasingly, expect hotels to become repurposed.  Hotel investors that own properties that cannot withstand the decline in the travel economy, will be forced to repurpose their properties as residential affordable housing or co-living spaces such as Star City.
  9. Reserved seats at conferences. Accessible conferences and meetings will offer attendees the option to pre-book actual seats based on a location within the ballroom they feel is most safe. Check out the “Sanctuary Seat” initiative pioneered by Marriott.
  10. Set Your Alarm an Hour Early. There will not only be TSA security checks at airports but also health checks that will require proof of test results or vaccination. Lines will be manageable until full-scale travel resumes in the next two-three years.
  11.  Emotional Support Animals will be replaced by In-Flight Meditation Apps. Those who suffer from flight anxiety may want to select from a host of meditation app available now as part of in-flight entertainment options from a growing array of airlines: American, Delta, Virgin Atlantic, Jet Blue, British Airways—just to name a few. Meanwhile, as new rules that only documented service animals will be allowed to accompany passengers, expect lawsuits from miniature support horse owners as they try to prove that their animals have better peripheral vision and are therefore more effective than guide dogs
  12. Domestic outdoor destinations will continue to grow in popularity. Outdoor and nature-oriented accessibility will continue to grow as travel continues to be centered around destinations closer to home and outdoor recreation is deemed as safe. 
  13. Diversity, Inclusion and (in 2021) Accessibility.” Look for more travel and tourism organizations to include Accessibility as part of their Diversity, Inclusion and Equity initiatives. After all, accessibility is also a component of the Civil Rights Act and they surely don’t want to exclude 25% of the population (according to the CDC).
  14. Increased visibility for people with disabilities featured in advertisements. The advertising industry is finally beginning to realize that consumers react positively to people like themselves in ads.  Zeebedee, a disability modeling agency recently expanded to representing disabled influencers for travel ads and Visit Florida released this video.
  15. Google’s New “Accessible Directions” will become a Game Changer in major cities. In New York, Boston, Tokyo, London, Mexico City and Sydney – users can search for directions from point A to B and select from the route options menu where they can choose car, bike, walk, and Google has added “Wheelchair Accessible” to the mix, where only routes with accessible stations and modes of transit will be included.   
  16. More attractions will offer services for families with children on the autism spectrum. For example, Ringling Museum has created a “sensory map” with color code areas that guide visitors to areas that will least impact their experience.
  17. More Airports Get Looped.  More airports from 2021 to 2024 will install hearing loops systems, which optimize the sound for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. This is part of the trend for airports to position themselves for the coming generation of baby boomers who will be aging into a multitude of disabilities.
  18. A surge of Innovations in wheelchair design will promote independence. A host of new developments in wheelchair technology, innovations and contraptions, will continue to influence new designs that range from electric all terrain bikes such as ‘The Rig” to fold-up portable wheelchairs such as Fold and Go.
  19. Special seating for those on the Spectrum. In an effort to revive restaurants who need to recover from the pandemic, restaurants will designate special sections, reservation times, or private rooms for guests on the autism spectrum.  
  20. See you in Court! While it may sound counter-intuitive, plaintiff attorneys are blanketing the hotel and travel industry with nuisance demand letters even more aggressively in hopes of recovering easy settlements to replace revenue lost during Covid.
  21. Travel Agents bone up on Domestic Travel Option. Travel Agents will shift their focus, at least for 2021, from cruise lines and international travel to domestic travel where they’ll be called upon to suggest and book more outdoor nature and beach destinations, including the National Parks for their senior clientele, of which 40% over the age of 65 self identify as having a disability.