TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Accessibility

Two Companies Disrupting the Wheelchair Rental Market for Good

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woman looks at art in museum while sitting in a mobility device by Whill/ScootaroundPeople that rely on mobility devices will no longer have to stress about having to travel with a wheelchair because they will be able to rent a personal EV (through an app) at the airport and/or final destination, thanks to the merger of two cutting-edge companies. WHILL – makers of the cutting-edge Model Ci and Model A Intelligent Personal Electric Vehicles (EVs), which won the CES Innovation Award at the Computer Electronics Show in 2018, and Scootaround a leading wheelchair and scooter rentals solutions company servicing 2500 locations in North America. Together, they will be the first to provide a worldwide Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) model. “This will improve the current travel landscape for mobility device users by increasing their freedom and independence,” says Justin Gagnon, vice president of sales and marketing for WHILL/Scootaround. Gagnon offered TravelAbility Insider some interesting insights about the market:

  • Currently, the company is piloting six trials worldwide, two of which, Dallas and Winnipeg, are in North America. In Winnipeg, Delta Airline agents offer disabled passengers who are awaiting connections the opportunity to test drive a WHILL Ci so they can maneuver around the airport independently.
  • WHILL wheelchairs appeal to cruise line companies as they are smaller, sleeker and designed to maneuver around small spaces, which means they may also be used in non-ADA staterooms.

Our take: Vertical integration comes to the airport wheelchair rental market as the demand for motorized wheelchair rentals rises significantly. This disruption will not only require less staff but will also give travelers who need mobility options more independence.

photo courtesy WHILL/Scootaround

Handicap Accessible vs. Wheelchair Accessible: Do You Know the Difference?

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Entire family with Dad in front sitting in wheelchair

All accessibility is not equal, although there is some crossover, according to an informative post on thrivingwithparalysis.com. The author clarifies the differences according to her personal experience as a caregiver. This piece covers all the details from ‘the dreaded aisle seat, the perfect table for a wheelchair user and more.  

OUR TAKE: There’s no better expert than a traveler with a disability or their caregiver. This blog, with all of its details, couldn’t possibly be written with such detailed and trustworthy advice had in not been done by a caregiver whose got a lot of real-life knowledge to share. Destinations, attractions, and hotels would be wise to take caregiver through a tour of a place and do some on the spot usability testing.  It’s the little things that can make a huge difference in a traveler’s experience.

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50 “Accessible Hacks”​ to Make Travel More Enjoyable for People with a Disability

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balloons made into the numbers 5 and zero floating in the sunlight next to some orange balloons with trees in the background

TravelAbility Summit is dedicated to improving travel experiences for people with disabilities that will be held in San Francisco November 11-13, recently released the names of 50 technologies, products, and services that will help the travel industry level-up their accessibility. The 50 final products make travel easier for all and were based on the feedback of people with disabilities, technical experts and disability industry leaders. Through the process of vetting 200 products, we learned an important lesson: There is no one product that works for everyone, which at first can make choosing products for your customers overwhelming. But there is a common need for trusted advice. That’s where we knew we could help.

The number one question we get from the travel industry is, how do I get started with an accessibility plan—and how can I do it on a budget? Our advice is to start anywhere—hack the system and try whatever you think will work best for your hotel, destination, attraction or museum.

The hacks are an eclectic mix of tools and devices that range from a portable wheelchair ramp to a free app with 2 million volunteers who can become the ‘eyes’ of a traveler who is visually impaired. There are also larger, business-oriented hacks, such as TravelTripper, a platform for making a hotel’s booking and browsing experiences more accessible. The travel market is already exploding with requests for more accessible ways to book rooms, see cities and set out on adventures without barriers. When you have to get started somewhere, you get creative. The 50 Hacks is a great place to do both of those things.

For those who may be skeptical, think about this: the hotel or attraction that has thought ahead to meet the needs of a person with a disability will find the most loyal customers the travel industry could have. And we’ve hacked the process for you.

A final word about our methodology: Four members of our team examined websites and/or conducted interviews with executives over a 7-month period; conducted interviews with several special needs travel agents, media, and members of the disability and travel communities, often in-person at conferences and expo trade events. Additionally, we crowdsourced input and recommendations from the most popular disability media and blog posts using a series of Google keyword alerts. The team also had in-depth discussions with flight attendants, airport wheelchair attendants, and travelers who have disabilities who used the products themselves.

For a full list of hacks to help you get started on your accessibility journey, click here.

People With Disabilities Want to Make Over the Travel Industry

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beard welcoming a woman to a boutique hotel she is smiling.The travel industry need not be afraid of the seemingly high cost or complicated business of accessibility, according to a recent piece in Forbes. Progress with accessibility can be achieved one tiny step at a time by asking visitors with a disability what can be done to make their experience more enjoyable.  Sometimes it’s a simple, but obvious service request that costs nothing like having check-in staff come out from behind the counter to onboard someone in a wheelchair, or it might be an inexpensive product or app that can fill the gap between legal compliance and pleasurable experiences.. 

OUR TAKE: Just like everyone else, the disability community wants to be heard. Listening to their needs conveys respect and eventually can result in incremental changes. In aggregate, these small changes will, over time, position hotels and attractions as ready to welcome the estimated 30% of the population who will have a disability in their lifetime. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s the right business move to make now. 

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Will the Supreme Court Hear Accessible Website Case Over a $3 Coupon at Domino’s Pizza?   

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Domino's pizza box (closed) with a drink and sanitary wipe“Last fall, Jason McKee was bouncing around business ideas with two friends when they realized something: all three had a family member or friend with a disability, that made it difficult to access the internet,” according to a report in marketplace.org. The story goes on to say: “They soon discovered something else: people with disabilities, specifically those who are blind or visually impaired, were filing Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits against businesses over website accessibility issues. And many of them were winning. “

“We all got together and realized the size of this marketplace,” McKee said. “Basically, the entire internet has to be retrofit,” the story explains. “The Supreme Court is currently considering whether to take a web accessibility case brought by a man who is blind against the pizza chain Domino’s, for not making its website and mobile app accessible to him.”  

OUR TAKE: In most markets, you need both people focused on the little details and the people above, who can understand the bigger picture. This holds true for web accessibility. But in 2017, when the current administration abandoned its effort to evaluate whether new accessibility rules were “necessary and appropriate” it left both people with disabilities and the businesses being sued by them in a sort of no man’s land. The most positive outcome has been more companies cropping up to help businesses stay on top of their website and understand what needs to be done to help make the web accessible for all, no matter how slowly that process may go. Several of these experts will be speaking at TravelAbility Summit 2019 in November.

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