As I roll up to the train station, the familiar hum of activity surrounds me. Travelers bustle past, dragging suitcases and clutching coffee cups, while the sun casts a golden hue over the tracks. Today, I’m headed to a conference on accessible air travel.
Boarding the train, I’m greeted by a staff member with a warm smile and a helping hand. It’s a small gesture, but it sets the tone for what I hope will be a journey of ease and dignity. The train car is designed to accommodate my wheelchair without fuss. The aisles are wide enough for me to maneuver, and the space is thoughtfully arranged. I wheel to my seat, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. This is how travel should be—intuitive and accessible.
The future of travel is one in which accessibility is not an afterthought but an intrinsic part of every experience. As the founder and CEO of AccessNow, I’ve dedicated my career to promoting this vision. AccessNow is a platform that provides detailed, descriptive accessibility information about locations worldwide, empowering travelers to make informed decisions. You can find more details about our work and join our community at AccessNow.com. In advancing our mission, my travels, both personal and professional, have underscored the critical need for greater awareness and education.
Understanding disability and accessibility
One important lesson that needs sharing is the distinction between disability and accessibility. Disability can be understood as part of our language of identity, encompassing the rich diversity and intersectionality of our lived experiences. It can be permanent, temporary, or situational; it can be diagnosed at birth or acquired through life’s journey. Disability can change with time and is hyper-personal. Once you’ve met one person with a disability, you’ve met one person with a disability. We are not a homogenized group.
Accessibility, on the other hand, pertains to the external world: the spaces we design and the experiences we curate. When implemented properly, accessibility is co-created with and informed by the needs and lived experiences of disabled people. Yet its benefits extend far beyond supporting this demographic. Accessibility is a design language, a set of principles, and a philosophy.
While disability might fit within a DEI portfolio, accessibility deserves its own dedicated “A”: a department integrated across an entire organization, from hiring practices to physical design, procurement, technology, customer service, marketing, and more. Despite these distinctions, I’ve observed how confusion can lead to inadequate solutions and misunderstandings about how to approach meaningful access and inclusion.
Once you’ve met one person with a disability, you’ve met one person with a disability.
Descriptive vs. prescriptive accessibility
For example, I notice the tendency to box disabled people into categories based on disability identities, such as “wheelchair accessible” or “autism-friendly.” But what do these labels really mean? While well-intentioned, a blanket statement such as “wheelchair accessible” barely scratches the surface and often leads to more questions than answers.
For example, my needs as a power wheelchair user can be different from another’s. While I may not need bed clearance for a hoist, I often require more than one sleeping arrangement in my hotel room. While I definitely prefer to stay in my wheelchair in transit or during a theater performance, someone else might prefer to transfer to another seat. As our identities are unique and intersecting, so are our access needs.
So how can the travel industry better support this large, diverse, and underserved audience? I’d love to see a deeper focus on addressing the accessibility-information gap by providing descriptive accessibility features that detail such specifics as the height of a hotel bed or the noise and lighting levels within a space. Which hotel rooms have which accessibility features? Which theaters have audio guides, and where are the accessible seating areas? What are the adaptive options on a cruise journey?
Ziv, seen here in Florida’s Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, has traveled all over the world.
Courtesy of Maayan Ziv
By offering comprehensive information, we respect and affirm disabled autonomy and our right to explore the world on our own terms, regardless of how we identify. Providing detailed descriptions and trustworthy information about all access features (both present and not) empowers disabled people, and many others, to choose locations and activities that meet diverse needs without the need for labels. This sense of agency is crucial.
A recent incident involving the Department of Justice and Marriott International Inc. highlights the shift we are seeing in market expectations. After the DOJ received complaints from customers about the reservation process at Marriott-branded hotels, the U.S. Attorney’s Office led an investigation and determined that, among other deficiencies, Marriott’s reservation system did not provide readily available information about accessible rooms, making it difficult for travelers with disabilities to make informed choices.
Marriott denied the allegations but nevertheless came to a settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to implement changes. New actions include ensuring that accessible rooms are available via OTAs; improving staff training for handling accessible-room reservations; increasing inventory of accessible rooms on Marriott’s Bonvoy reward-points system; offering better booking methods, and more.
In a statement emailed to Afar, a Marriott spokesperson said, “We have cooperated with the Department of Justice to reach a settlement agreement and are committed to taking steps to improve reservation accessibility across the Marriott system through enhanced training, new processes, increased monitoring, and collaboration with our distribution partners.”
A blanket statement such as “wheelchair accessible” just barely scratches the surface and often leads to more questions than answers.
This settlement underscores the legislated need for transparency and accountability in offering comprehensive accessibility services. Accessibility is not about accommodating special requests as if someone is asking for extra towels. Meaningful accessibility is achieved when thoughtful design and intuitive solutions are sewn into the very fabric of an experience.
The ADA generation and market demand
Ziv recently spoke to Canada’s House of Commons about the shortcomings of air travel for disabled people.
Courtesy of Maayan Ziv
The journey toward accessibility has been a continuum of understanding, marked by significant shifts in demands. The ADA generation (those who grew up with the protections and rights established by the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990) has developed a firm expectation of inclusion. Thanks to the ADA, the importance of disabled rights was acknowledged, setting a foundation for future generations. Thirty years later, this generation expects more from businesses and governments.
On social media, a new wave of writers, bloggers, and travel enthusiasts—such as Curb Free with Cory Lee, Kelcie Miller-Anderson (@thechronic_explorer), and John Morris of Wheelchair Travel—are showcasing their accessible travel journeys. They highlight both the successes and the shortcomings in accessibility, creating a powerful narrative. Smart companies like Google, Microsoft, and Disney are tuning into this narrative, recognizing that the combination of the young ADA generation and aging baby boomers creates a substantial demand for meaningful, integrated accessibility (e.g., Disney has rides that allow wheelchair users to stay in their mobility devices; Google Maps offers accessible route options). This demographic shift represents a significant market force, one that businesses and destinations can no longer afford to ignore if they wish to remain competitive.
In the travel industry, this means recognizing that accessibility is core to exceptional customer service. It’s a significant competitive advantage. Businesses and destinations that invest in accessibility open their doors to a broader customer base, including the $58 billion market of travelers with disabilities (a number determined in a 2020 market study by the Open Doors Organization).
A Future of Inclusive Travel
At AccessNow, we champion this understanding. We work with tourism destinations, governments, retailers, parks and trail operators, and many others to ensure that trustworthy accessibility insights are an integral part of the travel experience. Our platform offers detailed, descriptive accessibility information via our Verified Program, paired with reviews generated by disabled travelers, empowering our community to make informed decisions based on authentic, transparent information. We know that disabled people are not just consumers of services and care; our insights and experiences can lead to more inclusive, imaginative travel solutions.
The future of accessible travel lies in moving beyond siloing disabled people into specific buckets or segregated experiences. Focusing on descriptive elements and increased disability representation helps create a travel language that helps everyone to know before they go, regardless of their identity. By embracing this approach, we can foster a travel industry that truly welcomes everyone.
