TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Hotels

Is this Place Really Accessible? Airbnb Improves Verification for 25,000 Properties

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Airbnb logo

In a post on its blog, Airbnb announced a new initiative aimed at improving the quality of accessibility information provided on its property listings.

Since 2019, hosts have been required to upload photos to support claims of accessibility, but Airbnb has now assembled a specialized team to review those photographs to determine if they meet the standards for accessibility required by disabled guests.

According to The Verge, Airbnb’s head of hosting accessibility standards, Suzanne Edwards, said that “Airbnb agents are trained based on a rigorous set of accessibility photo standards.” The company has already reviewed 100,000 accessibility features in 25,000 properties.

To learn more about Airbnb’s new investments in accessibility, read the full article from The Verge.

Research: Hotels to Reach 2019 Levels in 2024

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Two twin beds in a hotel room.

The COVID-19 Delta variant’s emergence and spread has hampered plans for group and business travel this fall and winter, spurring CBRE Hotels Research to temper its expectations in September for Q4 2021 U.S. lodging performance on a national basis. CBRE’s tempered outlook extends into 2022, given the likelihood that corporate travel budgets will remain constrained next year.

Earlier this year, the lodging outlook had been brighter due to strong leisure demand boosting summer occupancy levels beyond expectations at U.S. hotels. But the emergence of the Delta variant sapped momentum from more lucrative business travel, giving rise to a concerning “second-derivative” market condition in which the recovery continues, but at a slowing pace.

To read more, see the full report in Hotel Business.

AARP Experts Provide Advice about How to Find the Best Hotels for Wheelchair Users

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Modern hotel room.

Barbara and Jim Twardowski recently penned an article for AARP which lays out steps for finding a hotel that will meet the guest’s accessibility needs.

Their top recommendation: Reach out to the hotel to inquire about accessibility well in advance of your stay. Because the number of ADA accessible rooms are limited, it’s important to plan and book early – but first, be sure to contact the hotel directly to verify that it will meet your needs. Asking about things like bed height, the availability of swimming pool lifts and the design of roll-in showers are all important pieces of information to consider before your trip.

To read more of their tips for securing accessible hotel accommodation, read the full article on the AARP website.

The World’s Only All-Accessible-Room Hotel to be Featured at TravelAbility Tampa

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Rendering of a hotel exterior.

TravelAbility Tampa is honored to announce that the Disability Opportunity Fund and its latest development, The Schoolhouse Hotel, have become platinum partners for our 2021 events.

The Schoolhouse Hotel, which plans to open 1Q of 2022, was conceived and developed by Charlie Hammerman and the Disability Opportunity Fund. In keeping with their focus on the disability market, the hotel is committed to making this the first hotel in the country where every room and amenity is adapted for use by disabled people. The hotel’s development is an integral part of the revitalization of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

“They chose White Sulphur Springs for The Schoolhouse Hotel project because the town suffered a devastating flood five years ago and they found the resiliency and courage of their residents inspiring,” commented Jake Steinman, founder of TravelAbility. “And we’re delighted to be able to help connect them to our network of travel industry professionals as well as special needs travel agents and  influencers who need to experience this incredible property first hand.”

The Schoolhouse Hotel is taking one of the town’s most precious, historical buildings—its schoolhouse—and transforming its 109-year history into a hotel unlike any other in America. All 30 of its rooms, as well as all of the amenities such as the bar, restaurant, rooftop bar, and ballroom, will be fully accessible to people with a range of disabilities.

The Schoolhouse Hotel is focused on accessibility for everyone from the moment a guest books a room through its website, all the way through check-out.

“We have spent a great deal of time listening to people with various disabilities to understand what they look for with regard to a comfortable, welcoming hotel stay,” says Hammerman, “and will be incorporating these initiatives into the design of not only our rooms, but also our public spaces, guest rooms, food and beverage operations and event space.”

“We’re looking forward to having Charles and his team presenting The Schoolhouse Hotel and Disability Opportunity Fund at TravelAbility Tampa this August 30-31,” stated Steinman. “Over 25 presenters with a variety of lived experiences and disabilities will have an opportunity to meet with him directly and learn more.”

Introducing: The Ad Hoc Accessibility Shopping List for Hotels

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Modern hotel room.

According to Laurent Roffe, CEO of Tapooz Travel, a disability travel company that conducts bespoke tours for groups to both domestic and international destinations, hotels often lack the accessible features that his clients need. Roffe provides his hotel partners with a list of affordable accessibility products and equipment that can improve the experiences of disabled guests.

“Following our conversation about making hotel rooms more comfortable for guests with disabilities using simple, off-the-shelf (meaning mostly Amazon) pieces of equipment, here are the basic 13 items any hotel manager should have available.” Roffe told us. “Hotels often keep them in storage until they are put in the rooms before the guests check in. And the best part is that most items can be purchased from Amazon for under $50 and the entire kit will run $1,194.62.”

They are the very same items that his trip leaders carry with them when they take groups on road trips. All these are easily and cheaply purchased from Amazon.

For a surprisingly small investment any hotel can make a huge difference in comfort and satisfaction for the guests.

Our take: Travel companies have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients and are often the first to identify niggling annoyances that may or may not fall under ADA compliance, but make the experience profoundly unpleasant for people with disabilities.  TravelAbility would like to thank Laurent, who is also a member of our advisory board, for sharing this information.

13 Items Than Can Make Any Hotel Room Accessible

(Shared by Tapooz Travel)

ProductPriceImage
Bathtub Transfer Chair$204
Shower Chair$41.09
Raised Toilet Seat$39.77
Foldable lightweight ramps 
(4′ & 6′ Suitcase style)		$109.00
Adjustable Step-Up (4/6/8”)$33.99
Door Threshold Ramp (2) and/or step over$99
Curtain Pull Rods (with round grab)$29.90
Stand alone Mirror (with and without light)$17.99
Hand-held shower head (to replace regular shower head)$26.99
Quick adapt shower head (goes straight on the spout)$9.99
Bed transfer slide board$37.99
Movable grab bars with lockable suction cups. (short, medium and long)$27.99
Heavy duty plastic mats (36″x48″ / set of 6) For high-pile carpeting to create a solid path-of-travel for manual chair users$59.95

OUR TAKE: Because travel companies like Tapooz have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients, they are often the first to identify nuances in accessible sleeping rooms and bathrooms—i.e. showers and curtain cords that may be out of reach—that make travel annoyingly unpleasant for people with disabilities. All or some of these products can be used as an interim solution by hotels between renovations. TravelAbility would like to thank Laurent, a member of our advisory board, for sharing this information.