TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Vision

650 Famous People with Non-Visible Disabilities. How Many Do You Recognize?

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Billie Eilish with neon green hair holding a microphone and singing

This website unearthed 650+ famous people with disabilities during our recent research on neurodiversity. What is an example of a disability? According to Disabled World it is:

“A disability is often used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types of chronic diseases. A disability can be present from birth or occur during a person’s lifetime.”

Our Takeaway: Shining the spotlight on successful people with hidden disabilities helps remove the stigma associated with hidden disabilities and reinforces the notion that a disability is not an obstacle to success. Read More.

Meet Kathy Martinez: Expedia’s New VP of Disability Inclusion was Obama’s Assistant Secretary of Labor

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Kathy Martinez come from a large family of LatinX heritage. Her parents did not have much of a formal education and their English skills were poor when she was growing up. When Kathy was eight months old, they discovered that she probably would never be able to see. This is Kathy’s story.

Our Takeaway: The advancement of people with disabilities in the travel industry management structure bodes well for the future health of the industry.

Davos: Employees with Disabilities on the Agenda

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Photo ofsmiling Caroline Casey, social entrepreneur wearing a black shirt .She has long blonde hair

Social entrepreneur Caroline Casey, who is blind, has put disability on the main stage at this elite forum where business leaders are likely masking their true selves. Only three per cent of CEOs would go public about a disability or caregiving role, according to a recent survey by The Valuable 500 collective of global firms. Ms Casey launched Valuable at the World Economic Forum in Davos four years ago to encourage businesses to tap into the skills and consumer power of 1.3 billion people living with disabilities worldwide.

“Let’s be honest, disability has never been on a platform like this ever before, You’re here to hustle, and you can pretty much hustle and meet more people than you can imagine, It’s about using the power of business to end disability exclusion.” she said.

TravelAbility Insider Insight: Not only do workers with disabilities try to hide their disability, they are also reluctant to travel due to their negative past experiences.  We believe it was Mark Twain, who said: “Once a cat sits on a hot stove he’ll never sit on a hot stove again, but he’ll never sit on a cold one either.With 35% of the employees working remotely the reluctance to travel limits the advancement  of disabled team members as they are not privy to team building off -sites, and the opportunities at industry conferences and trade shows to network and schmooze. It is up to meeting planners, conference facilities managers and the hospitality industry to help reverse this trend in this critical segment of the travel industry.

Read more.

Federal Authorities Fine Red Roof Inn for Discrimination Against Blind Employee

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The Red Roof Inn will pay to settle a discrimination lawsuit after telling a blind employee in Ohio not to apply for a promotion, according to federal authorities.

The employee wanted to attend an information session about a promotional opportunity at the Red Roof Inn contact center in Springfield, Ohio, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said. He requested an accommodation to attend the session remotely and, “expressing his interest in possibly applying,” for the position, the agency said in the complaint. “Don’t bother, it will be a complete waste of time,” responded one of his supervisors.

TravelAbility Insider Insight: Is there anything more denigrating than being told you shouldn’t even try to improve yourself because your disability disqualifies you from advancing in your career?  The hotel, in our opinion, got off easy with an obscenely low fine. Given the situation, they could have faced a civil rights violation. 

Read More.

Tours for the Blind Led by a Company with a Vision

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Seable is the only multi-award-winning tour operator to offer assisted, active and tailored holidays to the visually impaired. They strive to create accessible holidays that improve independence, inclusion, and well-being, offering individual opportunities to increase confidence, learn new skills and make lifelong friends. Clients are involved every step of the way, providing them the opportunity to take a lead in planning activities. Read more.