AccessAtLast Travel Profile
British Website Lists Accessible Rentals in More than 20 Countries
Jan 7, 2009
British-based AccessAtLast.com bills itself as “the only website in the world advertising only accommodation with at least 1 room with a level access shower.”
The company’s goal is to make life accessible for mobility impaired people wishing to travel the world, regardless of one’s physical limitations.
The AccessAtLast website provides detailed information covering all aspects of accessibility for its property listings, located in 20 countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Turkey, Indonesia, and the United States.
Most properties are high end, such as a Normandy farmhouse that includes a private heated pool fitted with an Oxford Dipper Hoist (there’s one in the house, too), or the Cotswold cottage with an electric bed, shower chair, and teletext; Canary Island bungalows, Turkish hotels, Italian resorts—all can be booked through AccessAtLast.
AccessAtLast Provided Detailed Listings on Vacation Accessible Properties
Each AccessAtLast listing includes enough information for a disabled traveler to determine if the house, apartment, or villa meets their accessibility needs. Listings specify such details as:
- Width of doorways
- Bed, toilet, and clothes rack heights
- Availability of electric beds
- Level-access showers (guaranteed)
- Manual shower chairs and grabrails
- Teletext
- Pool and indoor wheelchair lifts
- Availability of accessible transportation.
Disabled travelers seeking getaway ideas can find inspiration in the site’s Accommodation of the Month. January’s is the aforementioned complex of 70 palm-shaded Canary Island bungalows located 100 yards from Matagorda beach, starting at £295 a week. Bargain hunters might search the site's "Last Minute Offers" section.
AccessAtLast’s WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliant (which supports screen readers used by the blind), also includes customer reviews, a mobility shop featuring wheelchairs and accessories, and a signup for an accessible travel newsletter. A recently added feature is an advanced-search capability for multi-room accommodations sorted by country or region.
A Brief History of AccessAtLast
Dr. Stephen Pritchard, a former IT manager and T7 paraplegic with a brachial plexus right arm, launched AccessAtLast in 2005. Pritchard’s injuries resulted from a 1992 motorcycle accident sustained while serving in the Royal Air Force.
Pritchard wanted to offer the services he’d been unable to find during his travels, and to work with providers of accessible properties and travel services to help them understand the requirements of disabled people.
Pritchard’s online exchange has proven successful. In 2006, the Travel Trade Gazette named AccessAtLast the Best Innovative Agency, the first time a disability related travel provider received mainstream recognition.
The bottom line is that disabled travelers booking with AccessAtLast will get what they pay for, with no unwelcome surprises.
