TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Disability Advocates

United Leads the Way with its Embrace of Braille and Other Navigational Aids

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Braille directions on the seat and row of a United Airlines plane.

For eight years running, United Airlines has been recognized as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion. No surprise then that they also play a leadership role in integrating accessibility into their product design. United is the first U.S. airline to incorporate Braille into its aircraft interiors. United has already equipped a dozen aircraft with Braille markings for individual rows and seat numbers, as well as lavatory interiors and exteriors. The airline anticipates outfitting its entire mainline fleet with Braille by the end of 2026.

The Braille initiative is just a first step. United is also collaborating with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB), and other disability advocacy groups to investigate the application of other tactile navigational aids, such as raised letters, numbers, and arrows, throughout the cabin. Read more.

Our Takeaway: United’s incorporation of Braille and other navigational aids will relieve some of the stress of flying for millions of blind and low vision travelers. These features should become the industry standard.

Hotel Accessibility Reaches the Supreme Court

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A young white woman sitting in a chair in a hotel with a service dog at her feet. (Photo credit: Disability:IN.)

The Supreme Court is preparing to weigh in on two critical issues in the case of Acheson Hotels v. Laufer. The central issue is to what extent disabled travelers can hold hotels and other public accommodations accountable for failing to meet the standards of the ADA, including failure to describe their accessibility features accurately on their website. The second issue is whether a “tester” who has never stayed at the hotel has standing to bring a suit. “Being a tester in civil rights cases is an honored and necessary role,” writes Lucy Trieshmann of the ACLU. “It has evolved over the years, from Black patrons trying to enter a ‘whites only’ waiting room, to women applying for typically male jobs, to families applying to ‘singles only’ housing. In each case, the tester has no intention of taking the job or renting the housing — but, as a member of the class of people facing discrimination, can go to court to enforce civil rights laws.”

Trieshmann of the ACLU, who describes herself as a wheelchair user with multiple disabilities, a number of examples from her own experience of how hotels fail disabled travelers: “Hotels often take a kitchen sink approach to accessibility, throwing in a visual accommodation here and a mobility accommodation there, but failing to provide full accessibility to either group. This overlooks the point of accessibility, effectively making the room useless to many disabled travelers.” Read more.

Our takeaway. The ADA is clear on the responsibility of hotels and other public accommodations to make their facilities accessible for disabled travelers AND to let visitors to their websites know that their venue is accessible. Travelers with disabilities need easy access to specific information about the hotel’s accessibility features in order to determine whether they will be able to get to and use the room.

When an Airline Can’t Accommodate a Superfan’s Wheelchair, Beyoncé’s BeyHive Springs Into Action

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Jon Hetherington,smiles as he holds up a photo of Beyonce on a horse in a western costume.. (Photo credit: Jon Hetherington.)

“So after 25 years. I’m not seeing Beyoncé tonight… ableism strikes again.” That was the statement Jon Hetherington posted to Tik Tok after His electric wheelchair was deemed too tall to fit through the door of the plane that was to fly him from Eugene, Oregon to Seattle for the Beyoncé show. 

The Alaska Airline crew tried to find Hetherington another flight on a plane that could accommodate his wheelchair; an Airbus, but the only one available would get him there 12 hours too late.

Fellow superfans in the BeyHive saw Jon’s post on Tik Tok and worked with Beyoncé’s team to fly him down to Arlington, Texas for the next show. The show was a once-in-a-lifetime event, but the travel obstacles were all too familiar. 

“We have not built our society or this country in a way that is fully inclusive,” he said. “Day to day, we’re kind of ignored and invisible,” he said, referring to people with disabilities. The airline issued a statement saying they “felt terrible about our guest’s experience.” Read more. 

Our Takeaway: Jon Hetherington’s comments and the experiences he has endured traveling to concerts are a reminder of how much work we still have to do to make travel fully accessible.

Australia’s Destination Gold Coast Launches Accessible Travel Trade Show, Conference, and Visitor’s Guide

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A man and a woman smiling while working at an exhibit booth promoting Australia's Gold Coast at the recent Summit.

The event welcomed over 120 agents, with some 20 Destination Gold Coast members— including Gold Coast-based accommodation providers, attractions and tour operators—providing an update on new developments and attractions while highlighting accessible tourism. (The article includes a download link to a 150-page guide to accessible travel options throughout the Gold Coast.) Read more. 

Our Takeaway: Nice to see our Summit concept taking hold Down Under!  Change to:  Australia had long been a leader in the accessible travel space and with the launch of this accessibility conference,  Destinations Gold Coasts is taking the lead in educating stakeholders about accessibility in their detonation.and proving them with the tools to serve travelers with disabilities. Special Bonus: There is a free download of their  Accessibility Guide for The Gold Coast which provides an easy to use summary of accommodations, attractions and public parks.

Utilizing Influencers to Market Your Destination’s Accessibility

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photo ofTravel Influencer panel at the Emerging Markets Summit Kristy Durso in a wheelchair wearign red dress adn cowboy boots, Cory Lee in his power wheelchair wearing khaki pants adn a green shirt, Chelsea Bear on her scooter wearing a floral printed shirt, Jennifer Allen sitting in a chair wearing a white sweater and floral print jumpsuit, Houston Vandergriff wearing brown pants and a white shirt

(L-R): Kristy Durso, Incredible Memories; Cory Lee, Curb Free with Cory Lee; Chelsea Bear, The Real Chelsea Bear, Jennifer Allen, Wonders within Reach; Houston Vandergriff, Downs and Towns.

By Jennifer Allen

Disability travel influencers are changing the face of inclusion in travel. They offer destinations a unique opportunity to simultaneously promote and improve inclusion. Four influencers of diverse backgrounds came together at the 2023 Travelability Summit to share insights on how a DMO can partner with influencers for growth and change.

Jennifer Allen, of Wonders Within Reach shared “First, it’s a celebration of an accessible destination. I love to share places that families like mine can do with minimal obstacles. That’s worth sharing. Second, I create content for better representation and inclusion. We’re naturally drawn to places that reflect who we are – and a place that showcases wheelchair users shows me that it’s a place I can visit! So we create media for the destination’s content as well as for our own page. Third, we love to help improve inclusion as we go. A lot of destinations aren’t sure how accessible they are or are not, so we give feedback as we go, so that the destination can improve. We use a combination of things from video to photos to blog posts and articles.”

These strategies were consistent across panelists, showing the trifecta of change initiated by partnering with disability travel influencers – in addition to creating DMO marketing materials, they bring their own audience to the mix and offer constructive feedback to improve the visitor experience for all.

Cory Lee Woodard – Founder of Curb Free Cory Lee – Wheelchair Travel

Since starting his disability travel blog ten years ago, Cory Lee has visited every continent and built an impressive platform of information for wheelchair travelers. He is often the go-to for wheelchair travel information, because of his vast experiences. Facebook is his most engaged platform, with 65k followers. He has similarly high numbers on Instagram.

His favorite DMO partnerships are when he’s offered unique experiences, like adaptive skiing and rock wall climbing. It’s great to be able to experience, and showcase, a world of travel that goes beyond the standard museums and tourist attractions.

Cory has an organized pricing structure, starting at $1,000 a day, that makes it easy for DMOs to assemble a partnership.

Chelsea Bear – Content Creator behind Real Chelsea Bear – Scooter Travel

While Chelsea may seem newer to the scene of content creation,she grew her social media from 1K to 315K+ followers organically in just two years Chelsea. She has built a large following through sharing life through the lens of Cerebral Palsy, and she recently hit 100k subscribers on YouTube. More recently, she has begun utilizing that platform to share accessible travel adventures. She brings that same perspective to the travel industry, highlighting accessibility and improving inclusion through representation.

What she appreciates most from DMO’s is when they’re open to feedback when it comes to accessibility. “I never expect anywhere to be fully 100% accessible, but the most important thing to me is when the people are willing to listen and make changes. For example, I went to a restaurant once that didn’t have a ramp at the front so instead I had to go into the building through a backdoor that was completely out of the way. The owner took my feedback and worked with the city to get approval to add a ramp along the curb to create an easier access point for people who use wheelchairs. I think it makes such a difference!”

Her travel content follows the theme of her lifestyle content – sharing genuine and authentic content that creates a comfortable space for productive conversations.

Chelsea’s costs vary, since she works with each destination to create a customized approach based on the DMOs current marketing needs. She’s typically willing to work with different DMO’s and squeeze in as much as she can for their allotted budget, but it really depends overall.

Houston Vandergriff – Founder of Downs and Towns – Intellectual Disabilities Travel

Houston’s specialty is top notch photography. He’s traveled to 29 countries, 49 states, and all 95 Tennessee counties. His biggest platform is TikTok, with over 417k followers, and more than 7 million likes. He travels with his mom, Katie, and they’ve had front row seats to the changing attitudes of disability inclusion in the travel world. 

They’re favorite part of working with DMOs is contributing to the growing awareness for people with disabilities. They spoke about the importance of awareness in changing attitudes. Katie expressed that, “Showing a diverse range of travelers lets everyone be able to imagine themselves able to do the same thing. It’s empowering on an entirely different level.”  

When asked about their price scale, Houston’s mom, Katie, responded, “We’ll travel for food, and our bags are always packed!” They’re an incredible team, always up for an adventure.

Jennifer Allen – Founder of Wonders Within Reach – Caregiver and Family Travel

When Jennifer received the diagnosis that her son would never walk, she envisioned herself spending the rest of his life trapped in their playroom. She had no idea that they could live life to the fullest with a wheelchair, because she had never seen someone else doing it. As she began to rediscover the world with a wheelchair user, she began to share the experience so that other parents wouldn’t have to learn the hard way. She built her audience through connecting with other parents who are trying to figure out how to get back to exploring and has an audience of 20k between Instagram and returning blog readers. 

Jennifer enjoys featuring the family fun side of accessible destinations, from trails and outdoor activities, to children’s museums and theme parks.

Jennifer’s prices are as diverse as her packages, since she does a combination of photography, video, UGC, content creation, and writing. Single posts for attractions start at $175.

An influencer campaign is a great marketing opportunity, since they offer a package deal of model/photographer/videographer, and sometimes writer, for one price. Influencers also  automatically extend the reach of a destination’s audience through their own connections within the disability community. All four influencers agreed that their favorite partnerships were with DMOs who showed a genuine interest in inclusion. Cory Lee even had an experience when he was asked to present his findings to the destinations leaders after his trip. They would all love to see this become a normal part of collaborations, because that’s where change comes from.

The Problem: Reaching the disability community with marketing efforts and representing diversity.

The Solution: Working with disability influencers to improve accessibility and spread the word.

Cory Lee:

Chelsea Bear:

Houston Vandergriff:

Jennifer Allen

  • Family travel (caregiver)
  • Over 12k IG followers and wide blog readership
  • Varied pricing by package, starting in low $100’s
  • jennifer@wonderswithinreach.com 

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