Let’s Talk Travel: My Guest Post on accessibleGO…

Guest PostYesterday, I shared my interview with Miriam Eljas from accessibleGO, the new travel service for people with disabilities! I was thrilled when accessibleGO turned the tables and asked me some questions for their awesome blog!! The questions were thought-provoking and made me reminisce about all my travel adventures over the years! Here’s an excerpt of my guest post, complete with some classic touristy photos of my family in the Big Apple…

My parents made sure that my sister and I grow up having lots of travel adventures! We traveled twice a year (in the summer and at Christmas) to visit my grandparents in Alabama. We’d drive down there any always stop at places along the way, like Nashville or the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. My parents wanted each trip to be fun and educational, and those trips are some of my favorite childhood memories. We also flew to Disney World when I was 13 for a Make-A-Wish trip, which was exciting since I’d never been there before.

It’s interesting because being on vacation with my family was one of the only times growing up when I didn’t have to think about my disability or worry about an upcoming surgery. It was a time when I could be just me and that was such a special gift my parents gave me!

You can read the full guest post here! Also, good news: accessibleGO is having a $250 travel gift card giveaway in March for people who submit a hotel accessibility review! Click here to submit your review and happy travels, friends, wherever your adventures may take you!! xoxo

How One Travel Platform Helps People With Disabilities

travel platform helps people with disabilitiesAs you all know, I’ve taken lots of vacations over the years! My childhood, especially, was filled with one road trip after another, with stops at hotels, historical sites, state parks, rest stops — every trip had the hallmarks of a classic family vacation. Still, traveling is never easy when you have a disability, as my family has learned over the years. From inaccessible buildings to rental cars that aren’t exactly wheelchair-friendly, there’s a lot to consider before you jet off for fun! That’s why I was so excited when accessibleGO contacted me a few months ago! The full-service travel platform helps people with disabilities take the stress out of vacations, and I recently got the opportunity to interview Miriam Eljas, the company’s incredible founder and CEO! Read on for tips for traveling with a disability and how accessibleGO plans to expand in the future…

So tell me about accessibleGO. How did it come about and when?
I started accessibleGO because of my mother, Emma Eljas. accessibleGO is a travel platform for people with disabilities, offering bookings, reviews and community.

My mom had multiple sclerosis and was a wheelchair user for as long as I could remember. As a kid growing up in Silicon Valley, I saw her go from using a cane to a walker to a wheelchair as the disease progressed. I have strong memories of trying to go with her to places that, as a wheelchair user, were not accessible, and frequently getting information over the phone that was completely inaccurate, though well-intentioned.

I always wanted to do something for accessibility that would make a difference and travel has this amazing ability to impact your life in more ways than just seen as a pleasant trip. Travel can lift you up, inspire you and leave lifelong impressions. Travel is also an area that needs significant change so that everyone can enjoy the same experiences no matter what personal situation they have.

My mom was also the kind of person that would never take “no” for an answer and she always found a way, no matter what. This attitude is an incredible gift she gave me and that mentality has helped shape accessibleGO.

These powerful childhood experiences inspired me to create accessibleGO along with my partner and co-founder, Jeff Schlanger.

Why is it so important to have a travel service specifically for people with disabilities?
So many hotels, attractions, landmarks and more are still not accessible and it’s amazing in this day and age, even with ADA laws, to arrive at a destination and to experience barriers.

One wheelchair user on Facebook recently told of her experience where she booked a hotel that claimed to be accessible — only to find the hotel lobby elevator banks could only be reached by stairs. So her husband had to carry her heavy power chair over the stairs every time they wanted to go in or out.

Another wheelchair user reported traveling to a resort for his honeymoon to find the accessible bathroom was not usable, so he had to “shower” with a sink for two weeks.

To pay hundreds of dollars for a hotel stay, or to fly across the country to visit a special attraction you’ve dreamed of and find this kind of surprise is unacceptable. We feel that the power of the crowd is critical and the more users we have, the more we can demonstrate strength in numbers by reviews, comments and other calls to action to affect change. These days, hotel live by their online reputations and a hotel with accessibility problems cannot ignore a powerful demographic writing negative reviews and sharing it online.

How has the company expanded since its creation?
We released the website this past July, when we launched our booking engine for hotels, along with our Trip Resources of local travel information as well as a Travel Ideas section for travel inspiration. We have chosen to focus on the top 20 most popular cities in the USA, offering content like Top 10 Accessible Things to do in Orlando or 48 Hours in Las Vegas. We also launched a community blog of popular bloggers!

Next month, we are launching the car and flights booking capabilities along with a few exciting new account offerings, as well as some new sections offering more tools for creating a community of like-minded travelers sharing information about accessibility.

We’ve also started a project of gathering accessibility data on hotels, so that when you use our booking engine, it will not just say if a hotel claims to be accessible but will also state all the data we have, like if the hotel has a step-free entrance or if they are very welcoming to service animals. Even though all of this is required by the law, it helps to know when a hotel actually promotes these accessibility features.

How do you hope to expand in the future?
Right now, we are focusing on domestic travel in the USA and will eventually expand globally.

While you can use the booking engine to book hotels around the world, all our content in the Travel Ideas section and Trip Resources is based around the top 20 USA cities. We are about to release another 10 cities on our platform, which we are very excited about, including cities in Hawaii by popular demand.

What is your #1 travel tip for people with disabilities?
Planning ahead, combined with being flexible, is the single most important travel tip we can offer. The secret to a successful trip is doing everything you can to ensure a smooth experience, as planning is critical for traveling with a disability, but accepting the fact that things may not go as you plan and to know this too is part of the journey.

travel platform helps people with disabilitiesThank you, Miriam!! Be sure to follow accessibleGO on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date on all the fun adventures!! Happy travels!! xoxo

An Exercise in Inclusion: How NYC’s Blink Fitness Became Disability-Friendly

Blink FitnessThe news has been pretty negative this year, and if you’re like me, you look for the positive stories and hold them close to your heart. So when Blink Fitness reached out last month to tell me about their exciting achievement, I just knew I had to interview them for So About What I Said. The NYC-based gym recently received the Title III ADA Sapolin Accommodation Award from NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities for being Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant. Read on for my interview with David Collignon, Blink Fitness’ Vice President of Operations, and consider it your inspiring news nugget of the week!! xoxo

So tell me a bit about Blink Fitness
Blink Fitness is a premium quality, value-based gym that strives to be a place where gym goers of all shapes and sizes feel welcome. Since we launched our original “Every Body Happy” platform, Blink has challenged industry norms by celebrating how exercise makes you feel, not just how it makes you look. We currently have about 80 locations open and in development throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California.

When did Blink first begin working to make its gym ADA compliant? Why did the gym decide to undergo the project? Was there a specific incident or event that got the idea rolling?
The core of Blink’s brand is rooted in the concept that fitness is for everybody, so being true to this in design and equipment selection satisfied the needs of people of all abilities.

What sort of work needed to be done to bring the gym up to ADA standards? How long did the whole project take?
Our first gym opened in 2011 and met all ADA requirements. We continue to work with the NY Commissioner of People with Disabilities to further enhance our gyms and equipment to be inclusive and easy to navigate for people of all abilities. Additionally, we are attentive to our members’ feedback and continue to make updates on an ongoing basis to meet each member’s needs.

Why is it so important for Blink to become disability-friendly?
At Blink, we focus on making fitness accessible for everybody—we want all our gym-goers to leave the gym feeling happier than when they arrived. As Blink continues to be a place where gym-goers of all shapes and sizes feel welcome, it is incredibly important for our gyms to be disability-friendly.

How did it feel to receive the award from the mayor?
It was humbling and an honor to be recognized for Blink’s efforts, and to be able to serve so many communities in NY.

How has the project been received by members of the gym?
The response has been very positive. We’ve had members reach out to let us know they appreciate our inclusive experience, whether they connect with us through social media or share their thoughts through member surveys. Our open communication with members and responsiveness to feedback has truly grown the Blink community, making our gyms a place not only to work out, but to also feel good.

What advice do you have for businesses looking to become ADA compliant?
Maintaining an ADA-compliant business is simply the right thing to do. Furthermore, it will create an inclusive and welcoming environment for the larger community and will help foster close relationships with the local population.

P.S. More Disabilities In The Media…

Disability T-shirts: The Future IS Accessible

The Future IS AccessibleHow cool are these disability t-shirts? It really is true…the future is accessible!! And I am grateful for this every single day. Sadly, though, society wasn’t always as accepting of the disability community…

It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when those with disabilities were considered “less than” and an after thought. We weren’t thought to be productive members of society or that we could even take care of ourselves. But thanks to the historic passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990, some of those stigmas and misconceptions are finally starting to disappear!

I’ll always fight for disability rights. Because they’re fundamental, human rights and it’s time society see that — it’s time society see us, you know? See us for who we are and all that we can (and do!) contribute to the world. As I wrote in Pantsuit Nation, I’m a person! Now that’s something I should get printed on a t-shirt, don’t you think? I’ll never not be a person. A person who is worthy and capable and deserving. #DisabilityRights forever… xoxo

ADA Final Thoughts: My Journey As a Woman With a Disability

I’ve been thinking for a few days about how I’d like to wrap up our celebration of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The matter feels sort of weight-y, to be honest. I don’t want to just gloss over everything and tie it all up with a pretty pink bow. I don’t want to approach disabilities with a “one-size-fits-all” mentality. And I certainly don’t want to discount all the progress and strides that we’ve all made — and will no doubt continue to make in the future.

It all means more than that. At least, it does to me. In interviewing all these incredible women, I’ve come to see just how powerful of a force we can be. We’re a fierce set of fighters who refuse to back down, especially when the going gets tough and all the odds seem to be stacked against us. Sure, we may have had some curve balls thrown our way, but we never let that stop us.

And still, I’m aware of the possible slippery slope of this “Be All” mentality. It doesn’t help anyone — disabled or not — to place people on such high pedestals, to hold them up as representatives of everyone else. That’s a lot of pressure to live up to, isn’t it? I began to believe I was alone in my thinking, and honestly, I even felt a bit guilty for feeling the way I did (but, as always, in the name of complete honesty…) — almost like I didn’t have a right to feel like that. Then, I read this little gem from Anna Scanlon in one of our email exchanges…

“People with illnesses/disabilities are tasked with being both brave and inspiring. People seem to always want to hear about you being upbeat despite your setback, never that you’re sometimes super pissed off that you have to live with this. I would feel patronized if someone referred my inability to live a normal life as “unique” or called me “differently abled” instead of disabled.”

That’s sort of a light bulb realization, isn’t it? I read that and immediately thought, “YES!! Finally, someone who gets it.” We shouldn’t be afraid to be honest and admit that sometimes, we struggle and get frustrated and feel discouraged.

Really, I’ve always felt as though our stories and our lives weren’t that different. My story could very well be your story and vice versa. I don’t have all the answers; I’m just trying to figure it out like everyone else. I’ve often talked about how this is the story of a woman with a disability looking for love, but maybe that’s not the whole story. Maybe it’s not really about me finding my soulmate or the man of my dreams. Maybe it’s about me finding the inner love I have for myself and coming to terms with my disability.

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that everyone’s story is different and everyone’s story is worth telling. And those, my friends, are the stories we should tell. And keep telling — to everyone who will listen. xoxo

[Photos via That Kind of Woman]