TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Expert Q&A

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.

 READ MORE

 

EXPERT Q&A: The Secret to Creating a 5-Star Accessible Hotel Website on a 2-Star Budget

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Nate Lane stands in front of a skyline in afternoon sun with sunglasses on and a plaid blue collared shirt. He is smiling.

Our expert sources tell us that compliance lawsuits are not only on the rise, but they are also becoming increasingly complex. Could most of us in the travel industry create completely accessible websites on our own? Probably not. That’s why we asked expert Nate Lane, senior director of digital platforms at Travel Tripper (left)to share advice on the future of ADA compliance, building websites for hotels and being proactive about all things accessibility.

We asked:

Q: How did the idea of being more proactive about ADA compliance come about?
A: More and more of our clients started to receive ADA demand letters and lawsuits related to both technical and content related compliance. We were already helping our hotel clients by building their websites to be compliant from the start— and doing our best to maintain compliance over time. But because the websites were being edited by multiple parties it was impossible to know when an area of the site had fallen out of compliance because of a modification. We decided we needed more—a proactive compliance solution with real-time violation alerts that would fit into a hotel’s allowable budget.  Nothing we saw on the market fit all our criteria, so we built our own platform. Traveltripper accomplishes all of our goals. We used it internally for 18 months before making it broadly available to any hotel. TravelTripper is completely standalone and can monitor any website. It is completely CMS (Content Management System) and programming language agnostic. Furthermore, it runs outside of your website, meaning it doesn’t require an install and there are no implications to site speed or performance.

Q: Aside from using your system, how would you advise hotels that receive demand letters or lawsuits to respond?
A: First, be proactive about compliance instead of reactive. When lawsuits come in, despite your best efforts to achieve compliance quickly, a “who done it” timeline is put together and if you’re out of compliance, you’re much more likely to have to settle with the plaintiff. By being proactive and having records of compliance you are able to prove compliance, or a path to compliance, during a certain time period. Our platform automates this entire process for you, but if you’re not a client of ours we still recommend that you keep all of your records related to compliance on hand and ready to reference.

Second, It is absolutely essential that you demand information related to how an error occurred, including the exact assistive device that was used, and you re-create that error. More and more frequently, plaintiffs and their attorneys are becoming more and more creative and far-reaching with the contents of these lawsuits. From there you must review WCAG 2.1 AA-Level statutes to determine if the accusation is relevant for hotels in the first place. Recently we’ve helped our clients respond to lawsuits where an open-source screen reader was used, which had a public-facing “known bugs” log, which aligned perfectly with the violations the plaintiff reported. It was the tool, not the website! By investigating this and providing the information, the lawsuit was dropped. In another recent case, for the first time, we saw a plaintiff sue a hotel citing AAA-Level violations, which are typically required by the government, medical, or insurance providers—not hotels. Again, the lawsuit was dropped based on the hotel’s proactive approach and research.

Q: What’s in the future? 
A: We are beginning to roll out a third-party licensing and reseller strategy for those companies that want to partner with us. We plan to scale our platform within the hotel industry and then pursue multi-vertical opportunities.

Q: Do you have a pricing model for hotels?
A: Our pricing is aligned with hotel budgets, which typically corresponds with room count and ADR. We charge a one-time setup fee of $1,200 and an ongoing monthly fee of $200-$600 depending on the number of rooms. This covers the initial content audit and re-writes, ongoing real-time monitoring, quarterly extensive audits including manual usage of assistive devices, and the ability to export your complete compliance history that is stored within our system, which saves you and your legal team hours of time if you need to respond to a lawsuit.

 

Can You Hear Me Now? How the Travel Industry Is Answering That Call

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man standing in grand central Written by Stephen Frazier

Telecoils embedded in personal hearing aids have long been a discreet solution for people with hearing loss. They improve the quality of the sound they hear—whether it be in a noisy train station or on a city walking tour. Today many venues—from airport terminals to hotel conference rooms and theaters—offer a next-level hearing experience using a hearing loop. The loop transmits sound via an electromagnetic signal to personal hearing devices with telecoils, boosting volume and clarity. (With microphones turned off and telecoils turned on, travelers can hear public address systems, tour guides, ticket agents and others as though the person speaking was within inches of their ear.) Most background noise that can otherwise cover or interfere with understanding speech is eliminated. Sound is customized by the hearing aids to match the hearing loss pattern of each individual user, giving an extra boost to those frequencies that a person has the most difficulty hearing. Sounds great right? The only problem: Most people aren’t aware of how many places now use hearing loop technology and skip out on experiences they think they won’t enjoy, particularly when traveling abroad. Here’s what you need to know:

Where they are: In the U.S., a growing number of airports have installed the technology at departure gates and ticket counters. All New York City subway information and fair booths now feature hearing loops and new taxicabs are fitted with them. Many places of worship, museums, theaters, and other destinations now utilize this technology at ticket counters, for performances, and on walking tours. Even the 12,000 seats in the Breslin Center at Michigan State University offer hearing loop access to sporting and other events held there. All hearing loops use the same frequency in the U.S. and throughout the world. Whether you are at Domodedovo airport in Moscow, visiting Westminster Abbey in London or enjoying the Sydney Opera House in Australia, there are hearing loops.

How to know if there is a loop: The presence of hearing loop technology is usually announced by the display of an international symbol (T). If it carries a “T” the venue is either looped or provides neckloops to visitors. In the U.S. it is the standard blue and white disability signage colors but abroad it can be different colors. For travelers who have cochlear implants or telecoil equipped hearing aids, experts encourage people to purchase their own personal neckloop. Virgin Atlantic provides passengers on their international flights the choice of earphones or neckloops to connect to the aircraft’s sound system to listen to music or watch TV. On other airlines, personally owned neckloops will work as well or better. They also work any place that has an earphone jack, be it an airplane or at a theatrical production.

When to ask for a personal neckloop: Whenever a receiver and earphones are offered, travelers should ask if neckloops are available. Being able to hear better can help to ensure even greater satisfaction from a planned trip to any location in the U.S. or abroad. The 2010 revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandate that any public place of assembly with a functioning public address system must also have an assistive listening system (ALS) that can wirelessly connect to the telecoils in hearing aids. This requirement applies to any new or significantly upgraded PA systems. More and more venues now feature it whether it be the neckloop option at a multiplex or the looped U.S. Supreme Court chamber.

Additional information on hearing loop/telecoil technology can be found at Hearing Loss Association of America.  To find looped venues, check www.loopfinder.com/,  www.aldlocator.com/  and  www.time2loopamerica.com/loop-locator/

Stephen O. Frazier is a hearing loss support specialist, member of the Hearing Loss Association of America’s National ‘Get in the Hearing Loop’ Steering Committee and director of Loop New Mexico. 

5 Accessibility Ideas Totally Worth Stealing

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a blind sea otter lifts his head while swimming in water at an aquariumTravelAbility Insider recently interviewed Lynn Walsh, accessibility and inclusion manager at John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  Her tips for staff training, best practices, and cross-pollinating ideas can be used for nearly any attraction or destination. Here they are:

  1. Be honest with visitors. If you’re “working on it”—whether it’s a ramp or a website change—let people know. Otherwise, the disability community is likely to assume that accessibility is not on your radar or that you are not interested in hearing their ideas. And don’t forget to let people know the resources and accommodations you do have—that accessible restroom may not be a big deal to you, but it’s huge to those who need it!
  2. Train your staff—all of your staff. From those who interact with guests on a daily basis, to those who are writing the grants or cleaning the facility—accessibility and inclusion are a part of everyone’s job. Training will provide the knowledge and confidence needed for all staff to work within their sphere of influence to create an accessible and inclusive environment for all.
  3. See your destination or attraction through someone else’s eyes. Find local User/Experts who are willing to share their feedback and ideas. Lynn has engaged numerous people from the disability community on various projects at the aquarium to learn from their expertise. Work with those who you’re creating the experience for – don’t assume to know what people with disabilities want or need.
  4. No need to reinvent the wheel. Engage with peers – share ideas and resources. Is there an Access Network in your location? Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower Chicago’s cultural spaces to become more accessible to visitors with disabilities. CCAC provides free professional development opportunities and other resources to cultural administrators in the Chicagoland area. Look for an Access Network in your area.
  5. Look for opportunities everywhere. Recently one of Shedd’s marine mammal trainers was inspired by Cruz, a totally blind sea lion that calls Shedd home. Cruz responds to audible and tactile cues, which made the trainer wonder if Cruz would respond to voices heard through an iPad. To our delight, Cruz does respond to the iPad cues – which means we can now take the sea lion experience on the road to those who can’t physically come to the aquarium due to illness or disability. And yes, that’s a photo of Cruz in the water at Shedd Aquarium.

 

OUR TAKE: Major museums and cultural institutions are substantially ahead of many other non-theme park attractions on accessibility as they have been conditioned to be responsive to the needs of their local disability communities and by doing so they are already prepared for tourists who are disabled.   Many, such as Shedd Aquarium, have “accessibility” or”diversity” directors, staff positions destined for future growth. Even tourism suppliers without a staff person dedicated to accessibility can deploy any or all of these practical and low-cost ideas on an ad hoc basis to level up their appeal to the disability their own disability community and tourists as well. 

Are There Any New Solutions to Help Travelers on the Autism Spectrum Enjoy More and Worry Less?

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children's drawing of a family in the airportThe answer is Yes! Two ideas, both developed by people who have autistic family members, are worth reviewing:

1. In Brisbane Airport, lanyards that travelers wear discreetly alert staff that they may need help during travel. Of course, behind the lanyards is a lot of staff training. The combination of understanding and ability to advocate for oneself is proving to be a success.  Read the stories of families who have tried it and the mom who created the program after a traumatic trip with her teenage daughter here.

founder Naomi speaking on a youtube video about Magnus , a cartoon who appears in the top right corner of the screen

2. A customize-able mobile app designed to prepare travelers who experience things like noise, bright lights and touch very differently. The mobile app from MagnusMode, also inspired by an autistic family member, makes new situations easier to manage The app runs a potential traveler through scenarios that could be loud, noisy or uncomfortable, for example. SFO airport will be the first U.S. airport to offer the program, which has already proven successful with attractions such as zoos and aquariums. Read more here.