TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Accessibility

Meet the new A.I. “Virtual” Volunteer for the Blind

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photo of 3 smart phone screens showing the Virtual Volunteers screen of BE My Eyes app

Be My Eyes’ mission is to make the world more accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Since their founding in 2015, Be My Eyes has worked to connect their 6.3 million volunteers to users to assist them with everyday tasks. Their new Virtual Volunteer tool, currently in beta testing, will push them further toward achieving their goal to improve accessibility, usability, and access to information globally, and aligns them with OpenAI’s stated principles of developing safe and responsible AI.

This technology will be transformative in providing people who are blind or have low vision with powerful new physical resources to better navigate physical environments, address everyday needs, and gain more independence.

Our Takeaway: Be My Eyes has built a huge volunteer force that helps blind and visually impaired people negotiate everyday challenges via smart phone cameras that can help them read a milk label or distinguish between shampoo and conditioner in a hotel room.  OpenAI technology will allow users to take greater control of their decision making and free up volunteer time for more nuanced requests . Read More.

650 Famous People with Non-Visible Disabilities. How Many Do You Recognize?

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Billie Eilish with neon green hair holding a microphone and singing

This website unearthed 650+ famous people with disabilities during our recent research on neurodiversity. What is an example of a disability? According to Disabled World it is:

“A disability is often used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types of chronic diseases. A disability can be present from birth or occur during a person’s lifetime.”

Our Takeaway: Shining the spotlight on successful people with hidden disabilities helps remove the stigma associated with hidden disabilities and reinforces the notion that a disability is not an obstacle to success. Read More.

Global Entry vs TSA PreCheck for Disability Families

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view of the Empire State building at sunset as seen from an airplane window

As with anything in life, airport security works a little differently for families with disabilities. Eventually, most frequent travelers end up looking at the benefits of Global Entry vs. TSA PreCheck. Jennifer Allen shares her family’s experiences of traveling with a wheelchair and medical needs.

Our takeaway: For frequent travelers within the US, TSA pre-check is a useful service that’s worth every penny, even when traveling with or as someone with a disability.  Global Entry is for those who travel internationally to avoid onerous passport checkpoints upon returning to the U.S.  BTW:  TSA Cares is a helpline that theoretically provides travelers with disabilities additional assistance during the security screening process, (Call 72 hours prior at (855) 787-2227) but in practice few TSA airport managers have the time to train their agents on this service. Read More.

QVC Rolls Out “Accessible and Adaptive” Lifestyle Collection

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Selma Blair in a pink suit sits on a teal velvet couch holding a cane. There is a large golden dog sitting next to her and leaning its head on her knee

Live video commerce giant QVC is expanding its commitment to adaptive clothing and accessible products and named actor, author, and disability advocate Selma Blair as its brand ambassador for accessibility.

In a statement, QVC said it was looking to grow its accessible and adaptive offering by streamlining how customers find and explore them and enhancing the accessibility of its end-to-end shopping experience.

The move will target those with disabilities, illnesses, injuries, recovering from surgery, or aging, by offering hundreds of products spanning fashion, home, electronics and beauty with a dedicated ‘Accessible and Adaptive’ category.

Our Takeaway: This means that QVC is one of the first US retailers to offer a full lifestyle of accessible products into a single multicategory medium that will be an enormous convenience for the disability community. Read More.

Travel Agent Survey: 61% Already Working with People with Disabilities

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B&W photo closely cropped of a wheelchair and steps

The world is not built for people with disabilities. As a full-time wheelchair user, Kristy Durso knows this well. What some simply see as an inconvenience — a heavy door, a tight airplane lavatory, or even the awkward placement of shower controls in a hotel bathroom — could pose a safety risk for her and other individuals with limited mobility. 

In fact, when Durso, the owner of Incredible Memories Travel, is on the road, she’s always scanning her surroundings, taking note of any obstacles that may ruin a future trip for a client with accessibility needs.

“Imagine if you got to a hotel room, and you are not able to get into the bed because it’s at chin height,” she said. “High beds are very fashionable, but a super-high bed means we can’t get in it. Or imagine that your shower had a lock on it, and the only way to get into that shower is if you call down to the staff and ask them to bring you the key. That’s the kind of thing that happens to us.”

Our Takeaway: That 61% of travel agents surveyed are already selling to clients and up to 80% want to learn more about accessibility is indicative of their client base aging into the next chapter of their lives in which disability, or caring for a spouse with a disability, is becoming a reality. Read More.

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