Confronting the challenges of accessible travel

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A former colleague reached out to me recently to ask about the Lonz Mansion, the historic home on Ohio’s Middle Bass Island, recently restored by the state as a small museum and overnight inn.

Are the overnight rooms accessible? he asked. He had a friend, recently paralyzed in an accident, whom he occasionally travels with and wanted to know if there was an elevator to the second floor.

I was embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t noticed.

I’ve been writing about travel, on and off, for more than two decades. And I hadn’t noticed.

Periodically, I’m asked by readers to include information in my stories about whether a destination is accessible. But I was never sure exactly what that meant. Accessible to whom? So I didn’t even try.

I’m hoping to try to do better in 2025. But I need your help. What would you like to know, accessibility-wise, about the places I write about?

Local writer and frequent traveler Annie Zaleski acknowledged that there is no one-size-fits-all answer about what makes a place accessible.

“What makes travel accessibility so challenging is that everyone has different needs,” said Zaleski, 45, who has cerebral palsy and can’t walk long distances.

She sometimes uses a wheelchair when she travels and has experienced a wide variety of accessibility challenges.

At a recent hotel stay in Las Vegas, for example, she booked an accessible room. Among its problems: There were no grab bars in the shower. Though she made do, she said, “It was a little bit precarious.”

Despite occasional problems, Zaleski said the travel industry has gotten better in recent decades at accommodating people with mobility and other challenges.

The landmark American with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, forced much of the change in the United States.

So have demographics and economics, said Jani Nayar, executive director of Society for the Accessible Travel and Hospitality.

As baby boomers have gotten older, Nayar said, the industry has realized there’s lots of money to be made by appealing to travelers with a variety of accessibility needs. “They have money and they spend money,” said Nayar. “The whole travel industry is taking note of that.”

Though conditions have improved for disabled travelers, there’s still plenty of room for improvement, said frequent traveler Vanessa Pesec, a member of the Cuyahoga County Advisory Committee on Persons with Disabilities. Paralyzed from the chest down, Pesec has used a wheelchair since 1994.

On a recent trip to Boston, she said her reserved accessible room was rented to someone else. On another occasion, she was told the only accessible room that was available was a suite, at a higher cost.

“Just because I’m in a wheelchair doesn’t mean I should be penalized and have to pay more,” she said.

Nayar’s organization, a nonprofit, works to raise awareness within the industry to remove both physical and attitudinal barriers for travelers with disabilities.

Nayar defines accessible travel this way: “A person who has a disability can travel by themselves or with very little help. They don’t have to rely on others.”

In recent years, even places like Machu Picchu in Peru and the Egyptian pyramids have become more accessible to people in wheelchairs, she said. In addition, more accommodations are being made for travelers who are sight or hearing impaired, have autism and other disorders.

Still, she said, more needs to be done.

Attitudinal barriers, she said, are sometimes a bigger problem than physical ones. “People need to realize this is a viable business. This is not charity,” she said. “They don’t need your pity, they need your service.”

Even places that may comply with legal standards sometimes fall short from a practical standpoint.

She cited as an example an accessible room on a cruise ship that required a wheelchair user to maneuver out into the corridor to access the bathroom.

“If you say an accessible room, what does that mean?” asked Zaleski. “Does it mean that the doorway is larger? Does it mean that the sink is lower? Are there grab bars in the shower? Do the lights flash if the phone rings?”

She added, “Every hotel views it differently.”

Both Zaleski and Nayar said travelers who require specific accommodations have to become adept at researching destinations.

Some hotels, for example, will list bed measurements on their websites. “The height of the bed is a very important factor for someone in a wheelchair,” said Nayar.

If the website doesn’t have the information, she said, call the property. “And if the front desk doesn’t know, ask to speak to housekeeping,” she said.

“Once you get the hang of it, it becomes easier.”

Zaleski, meanwhile, likes to look at individual traveler reviews before she books a hotel. She studies photos on Airbnb listings, which may not be required to follow federal law regarding accessibility. “You’re a little bit more on your own,” she said.

Above all, she said, successful accessible travel involves a ton of planning.

On a recent trip to London, for example, she arranged to have a wheelchair delivered and picked up at Heathrow Airport. A trip to see U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas last year also went off without a hitch.

“Planning ahead – that’s the biggest thing,” she said. “I make sure that everything we’re doing is a little more regimented.”

Zaleski noted that it’s not just disabled travelers who benefit from the extra help.

“When you’re traveling, anyone can break a leg,” she said. And new parents pushing strollers appreciate ramps, she said. “It’s not just people living with a disability. Accessibility is good for everyone.”

Meanwhile, I reached out to the state this week about the Lonz Mansion, which is on the grounds of Middle Bass Island State Park. No, there isn’t an elevator to the second-floor bedrooms, I was told.

An elevator was not part of the original house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

“We looked into the possibility of an elevator but unfortunately, we could not find an ideal location while maintaining the historical integrity of the house,” according to a spokeswoman. “However, we were able to ensure that the first floor is accessible with an ADA entrance and accessible bathrooms in the carriage house behind the mansion.”

So my former colleague will have to find another place for his annual outing.

Do you have suggestions on how travel editor Susan Glaser could include accessibility information in her future reporting? Reach out to her at [email protected].

10 most accessible cities in the world

Amsterdam

Las Vegas

London

New York City

Orlando

Paris

Shanghai

Singapore

Sydney

Tokyo

Source: Survey of 3,500 disabled travelers, conducted by the Valuable 500, a partnership of businesses working to end disability exclusion.