TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

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The Baby Steps Plan to Accessibility

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Think small. Aim high.

In order to achieve your goal of getting beyond compliance to creating a more accessible and disability-friendly destination, we’ve outlined the baby steps you and your colleagues can take to get started. And surprise! Many are free or will have a minimal impact on your budget.

Step 1: Convince the Unconvinced: How to Make The Case for Accessibility

  1. Join the mainstream. Making the world accessible for people with disabilities is gradually becoming a mainstream trend.  To bolster this argument consider forwarding “10 Signs Accessibility Is Going Mainstream” and “20 Accessibility Travel Predictions for 2020” to your management, board members and your industry.
  2. Look to Baby Boomers who have 70% of the disposable income in the U.S.  (Average household net worth: $1.2 million) and will inherit $14 trillion globally in the years ahead that can be used for travel.
  3. Learn from your peers. Share presentations from TravelAbility Summit 2019. Each issue of the Insider newsletter offers a link to a different presentation from the 2019 event, which can be used to help educate your industry. See Baby Boomer Travel research from AARP  here. 
  4. Roll a mile in my chair. Watch this superb video and distribute it to hotel GM’s. It’s called the “Hotel Manager in Wheelchair” video and was created by Sylvia Longmire. 

Step 2: Research & Development

  1. Research accessibility assets beginning with museums and attractions. Work with the ADA coordinator in the City Manager’s office to find the latest accessibility information about beaches, parks and outdoor hiking trails. Example: Here’s NYC & Co’s Accessibility page.
  2. Research hotels that will be undergoing a renovation in the next three years. Make a list of local experts and disability organizations who might attend a meeting and share knowledge with hotels while they’re in the renovation planning stage.
  3. Convene a meeting comprised of local people who can speak to travel issues around autism, mobility, and vision at your destination. Research shows these are top concerns for Americans

Step 3: Take Action

  1. Check if your website is accessible. Enter your website’s URL into www.wave.com to assess its accessibility. If it’s not, check out www.accessibe.com, which uses AI to convert websites to compliance standards for as little as $495/year.
  2. Introduce an accessibility/inclusion “Pledge” (TAS can provide you with one) that can be signed by industry partners, presented to local elected officials and shared with your community to underline your commitment to making your destination accessible.
  3. Include a panel about accessibility and travel at your next industry event
  4. Meet with your City Manager’s ADA Coordinator to learn about outdoor and nature accessible assets for future possible collaboration.  
  5. Use the Fabulous 50 list on the TAS website to Introduce your industry partners to apps and products, everything from BeMyEyes to portable ramps, that ease the transition to greater accessibility.
  6.  Keep asking—and answering questions. Work with forward-thinking hoteliers to develop an Accessibility FAQ page with images of the bathroom, entryway, and sleeping rooms. 
  7. Offer awareness training: Create a “Welcome to Accessibility 101” Seminar for your local industry partners.
  8. Add your Accessibility page to your website. Organize the research into an easily updatable product page similar to what Valley Forge did after TravelAbility Summit.

Final Note: To find trustworthy resources. Browse by topic on the TravelAbilityInsider.com website. (Topics include Autism, Hotels, Expert Opinions and more.) Sign up for our newsletter here to keep up to date with resources, new ideas and find personal stories

The Latest in Mobility For Zoomers (you know, Boomers who will. not. stop.)

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The iLivingV8 is a blue scooter that has pedals and looks like a scooter
Looks like a kids scooter, rides like a Zoomer’s dream. photo: iliving

I’ve been going to CES for many years and based on my experience, here is the evolution of the accessibility section. About 10 years ago the health arena began to appear featuring exercise machines that became smarter with technology.  The next phase was focused on the concept of healing and how technology was being useful in measuring the process of pain elimination and healing.  The next development was IoT, the Internet of Things, where everything in daily life became connected through an ever-faster 4G and now 5G network.  A couple of years ago AI was introduced, basically, the age of machine learning and 2020 CES was the year that AI became mainstream. This means there are now customized solutions because machines are smarter and can be personalized to the needs of the user. —Laszlo Horvath CEO, Active Media.

Here, the three products you’ll see soon on the streets—and why:

  1. Zooming into the future…that’s how you feel when you test the new Segway S-Pod, a self-balancing wheelchair (also referred to by the company as a scooter or “an egg-shaped wheelchair”). Ok, so the design is a little wonky but it’s a hell of a ride, say people who tried it at 2020 CES.
  2. It’s a GPS. It’s a guide. It’s an alert system. It’s the… SEED Cane, a smart cane designed for blind people that gives the user and a guardian the location and any obstacles in their way as they walk. The cane, which was an honoree at the 2020 CES Innovation Awards, is independently powered, uses infrared signals and vibrations and syncs with smartphones.  
  3. We predict the iLiving V8 will soon achieve icon status among the senior set. The foldable mobility scooter was an honoree at 2020 CES in the accessibility category. The scooter’s sticker price is $4K and its target market is on-the-go seniors who can stash the compact design in the car. It’s lightweight and there are no tools needed so you won’t be needing to send mom and pops links to YouTube for instructions.

What Exactly is Audio Description—and Does It Really Make a Difference?

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girl with headphones on smiling
Audio description is narration that benefits blind and visually impaired audiences.

Audio description is a form of narration used to provide information about key visual elements in media work for the benefit of blind and visually impaired consumers.  While expensive, audio description is becoming more mainstream as it is now becoming common to find many Broadway theatre productions as well as Hollywood feature films offering it.  Museums are also beginning to use AD as they install and promote new artist exhibitions. To see the difference for yourself, here is the regular 45-second TravelAbility Summit video and (close your eyes) here it is with audio description.  

Our take: One museum complained that they installed audio description for three exhibits and no one used the service in the first three months.  Any newly accessible feature will require promotion to the audience that will benefit. In this case, they should consider promoting it through local blind advocacy groups as word will spread from there virally through the “blind vine.” The cost? We used Video Caption Corporation, which exhibited at one of the Abilities Expo events and fee was $225, which was their minimum.

WTF? ‘Influencer’ Fakes Injury for Airline Upgrade

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young man waves and takes. selfie from biz class seat
Outrageous! What a bottom-feeding…..!

Social media “influencer” Jamie Zhu recently faked an injury to score a business class upgrade on a long-haul flight with Cathay Pacific. To add insult to injury, he documented the whole scheme on YouTube, according to wheelchairtravel.org.
OUR TAKE: Are we surprised? NO. It’s been an astonishing year already for fake news hatchers. The problem is that antics and influencers looking for likes only undermine the drive for airlines to look seriously at how many true influencers are out there reporting about how to make travel accessible. As the article says, the doubt these imposters create for those with legitimate medical and accessibility issues is criminal.

 FYI: You can now follow us on Twitter @TravelAbilityS—sharing legit news and views!

“What Happened When I Crashed the ADA Coordinator Summit”

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Founder Jake Steinman with blue glasses and blue striped shirt

I attended the Great Plains ADA Coordinator’s conference in Phoenix last month and it was a real eye-opener.  My purpose was to identify prospective trainers that could be part of a nationwide network of accessibility user experience trainers that we would refer and feature as a resource on our website.

The Crowd

The event attendees included ADA coordinators who are mandated by law to ensure their city’s public space and buildings are accessible; professional consultants who conduct ADA audits and provide training; professionally certified trainers who work with city departments (police, fire, etc.) about accessibility and a smattering of advocacy groups. 

Sometimes I Just Can’t Help Myself

I was excoriated during one session. As I listened to several advocates espouse the maxim that everything should be completely accessible to everyone, I commented that, in my limited experience, advocacy is very important to changing laws and I appreciated the passion they exhibited. But, I said, it frightens businesses to the point of paralysis as they realize they can’t possibly be accessible to everyone so it’s just easier to do nothing and roll the dice that they won’t get sued.  

The Blowback

This provoked a lively 20-minute discussion after several people derided me for being critical of advocacy groups. I responded that I was simply relaying an insight based on my personal experience. Finally, someone in the back of the room came to my defense saying she has had a similar experience with what she said was the condescension of ‘insular advocacy groups’. She too was hesitant to work with them.  

The Take-Home Lessons

I’m happy to report I found several excellent accessibility trainers and learned how important the right words are when responding to ADA complaints and applying for budgets. Convincing city managers to include accessibility improvements even when there’s no budget priority for it is tough. Here, you’ll find my Top 13 Takeaways.

–Jake Steinman, Founder, TravelAbility Summit

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