Europe’s Airbnb, Accomable, Coming to U.S. To Accommodate Travelers with Disabilities

Thousands of travelers with disabilities have found themselves in situations where finding accessible places to stay can be a challenge. To address this issue, Accomable works to connect users with disabilities with accessible travel accommodations. Accomable, the brain-child of Srin Madlipalli, came to him from his own need to find accessible accommodations while traveling as a man with spinal muscular atrophy. As CEO and its co-founder, Madlipalli works to see that the diverse needs of all travelers are met. Speaking of his own experiences traveling, he said, “I was constantly turning up to hotels and finding out they weren’t accessible, even if they had said they were. Accomable employs a similar model to Airbnb, and all potential hosts must provide thorough documentation of all accessibility features in their homes and surroundings. 

 

Within Europe, the majority of Accomable’s listings are homes, though they also boast a network of about 300 hotels. With their current planned expansion to the U.S., travelers with disabilities will soon be able to experience the commitment of Accomable to have their unique needs in consideration. Companies in the U.S. that provide millions of people services daily like Uber and Lyft have made recent gains in accessibility and inclusion. Rather than wait for negative feedback from guests with disabilities staying at inaccessible homes, AirBnB hopes to proactively identify issues and work to provide accommodations and a safe place to stay for all. Airbnb’s recent initiatives to promote accessibility for all guests and greater transparency for example, has included providing educational materials to interested hosts and customer service training on disability topics. 

 

Accomable joins a growing list of services that work to provide travelers with disabilities safe and accessible housing.