Dive Brief:

• Expedia Group will serve as the exclusive lodging partner of Berkeley, California-based Wheel the World, a travel booking platform for travelers with disabilities. 
• Via Expedia Group’s API technology, Wheel the World customers will have access to the online travel giant’s directly sourced hotel inventory with the ability to filter properties by accessibility needs and preferences. 
• The partnership is the next step in “creating a more accessible and inclusive future for all travelers,” Mindy Rehse, vice president of commercial partnerships at Expedia Group, said in a press release. 

Dive Insight:

Traveling with a disability is hard, and finding the right accommodation to fit a traveler’s specific needs — think doorway width or shower size — can make the experience even more difficult, said Wheel the World co-founder and CEO Alvaro Silberstein. 

To help in this search, Wheel the World collects and verifies hotels’ accessibility offerings and connects its customers with lodging options that meet their specific needs — a resource “crucial” for travelers with disabilities, Silberstein said. 

With the integration of Expedia Group’s hotel database, Silberstein said the hotel options to choose from are expanding for Wheel the World customers.

“At Wheel the World, our purpose is to make travel accessible for people with disabilities, and we know that we need to collaborate with other companies to make it happen,” said Silberstein in the press release. “Together we can complement our detailed accessibility data and customer experience to guarantee the accessible room with the extensive supply, content, and connectivity of Expedia Group.”

According to Expedia Group’s 2022 Inclusive Travel Insights Report, inclusivity is becoming a priority for travelers across the board. The study finds that 92% of consumers believe it’s important for travel providers to meet the accessibility needs of all travelers, and 70% of consumers say they would choose a travel option that was more inclusive to all types of travelers, even if it’s more expensive.

Silberstein said travel parties will often have people with varying abilities, making it imperative to draw in their business by having accommodations that meet all their needs.

For each of its hotel partners, Wheel the World creates a report based on more than 250 criteria points indicating where the property could improve accessibility. 

The company is exploring additional partnership opportunities with Expedia Group, in which it would offer its hotel partners similar reporting, Silberstein said. 

Since its founding in 2018, Wheel the World has raised $10.6 million in funding, including a $6 million round in March, according to Crunchbase data. Last year, the company was one of 12 in Expedia Group’s inaugural Open World Accelerator impact program, designed to fast-track the growth of startups and small- and medium-sized businesses.