With an estimated 39% of business travelers reporting accessibility requirements that impact their travel experience, travel managers are seeking guidance on incorporating these needs into corporate travel policies, according to a 2022 Accessio study. Masu.
The GBTA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), has launched the GBTA Accessibility Toolkit to help travel managers and buyers create more accessible policies and practices in their business travel programs. .
This guide includes recommendations based on industry expertise and best practices on important considerations such as travel policies, traveler communications, supplier engagement, point of sale, and more.
This toolkit addresses key challenges in accessible business travel and how the industry can work together more effectively to provide accessibility to those who need it.
Accessio's research also found that accessibility requirements such as chronic pain, neurodiversity, and mental health may be hidden for many business travelers.
Additionally, 70% of travel managers either don't know or won't estimate how many travelers meet accessibility requirements.
Adding to the challenge is the lack of universal accessibility standards in the business travel industry, leaving many companies to address issues in an ad hoc manner.
“Addressing accessibility challenges must be a top priority for the business travel industry, as understanding the differences between business travelers and how this affects their different needs , there are still significant gaps,” said Delphine Mireau, Managing Director and Senior Vice President, GBTA Foundation. For GBTA sustainability and advocacy.
“Our GBTA Accessibility Toolkit is designed to help businesses address this issue, improving the experience for business travelers, maximizing the ROI of business travel, and supporting the delivery of travel services from across suppliers. Masu.”
David Dame, Senior Director of Product Accessibility for Windows+ Devices at Microsoft.
“The biggest challenge is inconsistency. As someone who travels for both work and pleasure, I want the opportunity to take for granted the same smooth travel experience as everyone else. Best practices are desperately needed and we are excited to see the momentum around this.”
As part of the GBTA Accessibility Toolkit, the GBTA Foundation has published five calls to action for an accessible business travel industry.
Suppliers and travel managers should conduct accessibility self-assessments that serve as benchmarks against which programs can improve. Travel managers must strengthen their systems to transparently collect and keep traveler accessibility information confidential. Travel managers must proactively and transparently support travelers who disclose their accessibility requirements. Travel managers or buyers need to send demand signals for more accessible facilities and services through their sourcing and supplier evaluation processes. The business travel industry needs to collaborate on a universal coding system that conveys the more detailed accessibility information that travelers typically need.
The GBTA Accessibility Toolkit was launched on World Accessibility Awareness Day and includes information on travel policies, traveler communications, supplier engagement and point of sale, key challenges and opportunities in accessible business travel, a glossary of terms, and travel policies. Contains seven modules on industry best practices. Industry case studies.
The Accessibility Toolkit is available now, and thanks to support from the GBTA Foundation, portions of the toolkit are available to the public.
