Travel

Anna Miller, a Washington, D.C.-based teenager who uses a wheelchair, was recently selected by Airbnb to travel with her family as part of Airbnb’s “Live Anywhere with Airbnb” program.

As the family travels across the United States, they hope to highlight the barriers to accessible travel, while also broadcasting the opportunities afforded to people with disabilities.

In an interview with the website Well + Good, Anna said that “It’s an amazing opportunity to show other people that just because you’re in a wheelchair, you can still have this really cool life.” She continued. “I think a lot of people tend to forget that, especially since we don’t really see a lot of people in wheelchairs leading cool lives in movies or books or TV or anything like that.” Her mission is to change people’s perspectives on the capability of disabled people, and to show members of the disability community what’s possible.

Airbnb also hopes to gain something from her experiences, as it learns more about what constitutes accessibility in the homes that are available through its platform.

To read more about Anna’s plans and her unique opportunity, read the full article from Well + Good.

The Accessible Travel Club, a private Facebook group with 12,000+ members, has evolved into a community from over 130 countries where questions are asked and answered about literally thousands of destinations. The club was founded as a passion project by former Airbnb Accessible product manager and TravelAbility Advisory Board member, Srin Madipalli, who presented virtually from London about the five key things he’s learned from hundreds of thousands posts and comments since the group was formed in 2016.

1. Reliability. There’s a huge need for reliable information across the globe. Crowd sourced review sites do not have the critical mass of participants to cover the destinations people are interested in visiting.
2. Authenticity. This community is a source of helpful and authentic advice provided by disabled travelers who have first-hand experience with the destinations, hotels, or attractions that are being asked about.
3. Community. The community nature of the group means that conversations can develop where detailed and tailored answers can be shared. It’s not unusual for a thread to have as many as 100 comments that offer insights through comments that often become respectful debates.
4. Crowdsourcing answers. The lack of global accessible standards makes international travel difficult to plan, which is why crowdsourcing in a Q&A format is so useful as the community understands the need for specificity.
5. What is the most Accessible Hotel Chain in the U.S. for people with disabilities? The 94 comments in which actual hotel brands were named are summarized here.
   1. 34% cited brands owned by Hilton
   2. 19% cited brands owned by Marriott
   3. 12% cited brands owned by Choice Hotels
   4. 5% cited brands owned by Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG)

The popular women’s travel blog, She’s Wanderful, recently published a list of 23 female accessible travel influencers to follow right now, and it includes some of our favorites from all around the world!

First on the list is Stacey Marlene, the founder of Deafinitely Wanderlust, a blog that will challenge your perspective about Deaf travelers. Stacey has traveled the world, inspiring others with hearing loss to follow in her footsteps.

Emma Muldoon, founder of the UK’s leading accessible travel and lifestyle blog, Simply Emma, makes an appearance on the list as well. Emma has Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, and shows her readers how to manage traveling (and attending music concerts) with a disability.

Accessible travel influencers like Stacey and Emma can play an important role in helping your destination or business reach new customers with disabilities – people who are interested in and ready to travel!

To read more about the top female accessible travel influencers, check out the full list at She’s Wanderful.

With America’s vaccination rates increasing, many disabled people are beginning to plan summer travel.

WheelchairTravel.org founder and TravelAbility Advisory Board member John Morris recently wrote an article highlighting 10 U.S. cities that are worth visiting once you’ve been vaccinated. Among the cities featured in his list are Nashville and Salt Lake City.

To see where John recommends you travel this summer, read the article on the Wheelchair Travel website.