Before I became a travel agent, I had a travel agent.
And when my body changed in 2020 and I needed a wheelchair full time, my requirements for my agent changed, too. I went from saying “maybe no stairs” to “absolutely no stairs.” I needed a room with a roll-in shower and a van that could accommodate my wheelchair. And honestly? I am not alone.
For a long time, I was the traveler talking to an advisor, and I know what it feels like when questions are answered vaguely, when different people give you different answers to the same question or when a reply is wrapped in language that quietly suggests you’re asking for too much.
Now, as the founder of Joyward Travel, a Fora advisor and Fora Accessibility Program Lead, I’m on the other side of those calls. I book trips for clients who use a wheelchair, who travel with food allergies and who navigate chronic illness or vision or hearing differences. And I help thousands of other Fora advisors do the same.
Here’s what I wish more advisors knew before taking on a client like me — or before they decide not to.
Accessibility Is About Personalization
Accessibility is more than a set of trip requirements. It’s about personalization. And customizing accessible trips is getting more common, not less.
The key to accessible travel that many advisors miss is that every client’s accessibility needs are different. Some clients with mobility needs want to know room measurements. Others have preferences around proximity to an elevator, having a low floor, having visual alarms or staying at a property that has a pool with a lift.
But most intake forms ask if a client has “accessibility needs” and stop there. The answer to that question usually tells me almost nothing about what the client needs or wants to feel comfortable. Advisors must go beyond the input questions to ensure they know exactly what their client needs.
But more than anything, a client with accessibility concerns wants to feel like someone is on their side, making sure their needs are understood and met, to the best of their ability.
The reality is that more people with accessibility needs are traveling and asking for help. As Fora advisors book bucket-list multigenerational trips, for example, we often see multiple accommodation requests within a single booking. On one Italian vacation for 10 people, there might be a person who is a slower walker, another adult with dairy and gluten allergies and a child on the Autism spectrum — and off to Europe they go.
What does this group booking require? An advisor must get curious about each traveler. The slow walker may need a wheelchair, a roll-in shower or a Sprinter van. The traveler with food allergies might need to avoid consuming allergens, but do they also need to ensure allergens aren’t in the air or cross-contaminated in the kitchen? Can the child with Autism go on tours? Will they need more downtime or separate activities? Will the child and their caretaker need to be able to step out of a venue or excursion for a break?
Understanding all of the above requires nothing more than curiosity. Advisors need only say, “I’ve got you. Start talking, and tell me everything.”
And then, you must truly listen.
Morales is continuously traveling all around the world.
Credit: 2026 Karen Morales/ForaRelationships Are Everything
Suppliers will tell an advisor more than their company’s website will — but only if there’s a relationship behind the call.
Hotel websites are unreliable when it comes to accessibility. Photos are staged. A room that is labeled “accessible” is not guaranteed to be right for your client. And many other client accommodation requests, from catering to food allergies and chronic conditions to traveling with a service animal, can’t be addressed via a booking engine.
What works far better is picking up the phone and leveraging your relationships. This is where advisors have real value. I’ve had managers at five-star resorts try to remove bedframes. I’ve had rental companies replace grill grates, and I’ve requested furniture be removed from a room to make it safer for a child. It’s advisor-supplier relationships that open these doors, and that is invaluable for the client. And when I haven’t personally vetted a property, there’s almost always another Fora advisor who has, and I can ask what the room really looked like and proceed from there.
Even as the Accessibility Program Lead for a big agency, I’ve had regional sales teams tell me I can’t do something, only to push back and hear from a manager that the “inaccessible” transfer is actually a brand-new van with a ramp they just purchased for this exact use case.
Making an Effort Counts for a Lot
The real risk is assuming someone can’t go on a trip — or not passing that client to someone who will welcome the booking.
Advisors hesitate to take on accessible bookings because they don’t want to get it wrong. But advisors have also seen the data. The world is aging and the future of travel will be driven by Boomers and multigenerational groups, meaning demand for accessible travel cannot be ignored.
Having been a traveler with accessible needs myself, I can tell when the advisor on the other end of the phone is uncertain. But it’s never the not-knowing that’s the issue, it’s how the advisor reassures the client. Even if an advisor has no idea whether or not a traveler can wear leg braces in a temple in Thailand (a real question), the client needs to hear that their advisor is ready to figure it out.
When the hotel or agent is actively trying to deflect, it hurts the client, and it can feel personal.
There’s a real difference between an avoidant, “I don’t think that resort works for you,” and an, “Oh my gosh, Karen, I know that resort looks amazing, but what is not pictured is the 47 stairs to the pool, the tiny bathrooms and a beach with soft sand that’s hard to walk on. But you know what? The Ritz-Carlton Turtle Bay, Sensei Lanai or Atelier Playa Mujeres are a great fit, and here’s why.”
Accessible travelers want to feel seen and valued. They don’t want to feel like a burden for wanting to experience the world. And they remember the advisor who “got it right” — which is often the advisor who tried their best.
I was that traveler before I was that advisor.
I’m still both.
