A crowd sourced website for travelers with mobility challenges plans to launch a dedicated booking engine offering disabled accessible accommodations nationwide.
Brettapproved.com offers a review and rating system for venues, hotels and restaurants, and will roll out online booking for accessible hotels and resorts in the fall.
More than 1,000 disabled travelers said 80% of the time they didn’t receive the type of accommodation requested once they arrived at their hotel, according to research carried out by Brettapproved.
The company also surveyed more than 100 hotel owners and managers.
"Not one hotel manager I spoke with knew the number or type of accessible rooms they had on property, said Brettapproved COO Gillian Muessig.
"Once I revealed the number and market increase trends of travelers in this segment over the next five years, every manager was eager to learn more."
Muessig said it has partnered with hoteliers to market to a segment which generally outspends ordinary travelers, particularly in F&B revenue to limited mobility.
"The end result is properties that are willing to pass unique rates codes and guarantee pre-defined room types will increase occupancy rates."
"There are 39 million Americans with a permanent physical disability that includes a mobility challenge in the US today But, being able bodied is actually a temporary situation," said Brettapproved CEO Brett Heising, of the aging Baby Boomer generation.
"This huge, financially qualified traveling population is passing age 65 and more than half of them have already experienced a significant mobility challenge. A huge accessibility problem already exists in travel and hospitality and will rise exponentially in the coming years."
