Tourism

By Jake Steinman, CEO and founder, TravelAbility

The numbers are striking: In less than two years Ocean Holidays of the UK has landed more than $11 million in bookings for its new Accessible Florida promotion. We recently sat down with Anna-Maria Janssen, the product director at Ocean Holidays, for an exclusive interview about the groundbreaking program she spearheaded: The  goal of the  initiative is to ensure that every traveler, regardless of their abilities, can experience the magic of the Sunshine State without any barriers.

Q: Where did the idea for the program come from?

A: We’ve always had clients traveling with us who had special assistance requirements. However, about two years ago, we realized that we weren’t doing justice to these clients. Our business philosophy centers around doing the right thing, and it was time to take action. So we set out to create a program that would cater comprehensively to travelers with special needs. 

Q: What sort of research did you do?

A: We spent over a year researching special assistance travel. We spoke to clients who had faced challenges while traveling. What were their concerns? What obstacles did they encounter? Armed with this knowledge, we delved into finding the right partners—accommodations, activities, and transportation—within Florida. 

Our biggest challenge was the lack of information online, which meant we had to contact each individual supplier to make sure they had the right features and services to accommodate each client.  Most challenging of all, were identifying transportation options for wheelchair users, especially airport transfers.

Q:  Were most of your bookings for clients in wheelchairs or were there other special needs they requested?

A: Most clients request assistance for their actual travel journey (i.e at the airport special pre-booked seats, pre-booked airport support.)

Second to that are preferences for the hotel rooms ( i.e rooms on a specific floor, in a specific location.) They would also like us to inform relevant staff members so that people are more patient and kinder … we also have a fair amount of requests for local equipment rentals and information when it comes to accessibility for local attractions.

Q: Were there any surprises about the types of disabilities your clients had?   

A: I was surprised about the volume of clients with unique and individual requirements including cognitive challenges, but I am afraid we do not store any data about the specific disability. 

Q: It sounds like you are meticulous when it comes to the details.

A:  When you book with us, you can rest assured that your special assistance needs are taken care of as we have a coordinator who triple checks that all the suppliers—including transportation, accommodations, and attractions—have all been confirmed well in advance of the booking and are suitable for the clients’ individual requirements.  Then two weeks prior to departure we review the entire itinerary with the clients so there are no surprises.

Truth be told, when launching a new program not everything is perfect from Day 1. We also had a handful of hiccups after launch but we very quickly took any client feedback on board and adapted the program to get us to where we are today. It’s working relationships and getting feedback, listening, and adapting.

The Launch and Impact

In August 2022, Accessible Florida officially launched. Since then, the program has exceeded expectations:

• £8.7 million GBP  ($11,021,000)  in holidays to Florida have been booked through the program.
• 4000 passengers have been booked so far.
• Over 1000 bookings have been made.

In January 2024, Ocean Holidays was recognized for its efforts in making travel more inclusive by being awarded with the inaugural “Travel for All Award” at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards in London. 

Investing in Excellence

Anna-Maria concludes: “It’s crucial for travel agents and travel providers to not be fearful of accessible bookings. It’s one of the reasons we invested in training our accessibility champions, to ensure they have the skills necessary and confidence to give all customers the best experience possible. We’re thrilled with the success of this program so far,  and will continue to learn and develop the initiative as we help more and more customers book their dream Florida holiday. We are also looking to expand our program into other destinations in the future.”

The Accessible Florida isn’t just a program—it’s a promise. A promise that every traveler, regardless of their abilities, can explore Florida’s beaches, theme parks, and vibrant culture with ease.