How Accessibility Creates Better Hospitality for Everyone | Jenna Udenberg on Inclusive Travel, Hotel Design & the Business Case for Accessibility
What if accessibility isn’t a compliance requirement, but one of hospitality’s greatest untapped opportunities?
In this episode of The Social Hotelier Show, host Sam-Erik Ruttmann sits down with accessibility educator, disability advocate, and nonprofit leader Jenna Udenberg to explore why hotels, resorts, destinations, and tourism businesses are still missing a massive opportunity to better serve travelers with disabilities. Jenna shares her personal journey as a wheelchair user, educator, and advocate, while challenging hospitality leaders to rethink accessibility, guest experience, and inclusion from the ground up.
From inaccessible hotel rooms and misleading website information to the lack of disabled voices in design and development, this conversation shows why accessibility should never be an afterthought. Jenna explains how disability affects travel planning, why accessible design benefits everyone, and how inclusive hospitality can build stronger guest loyalty, improve brand reputation, and create significant new revenue opportunities.
Whether you’re a hotel owner, hospitality executive, architect, developer, destination marketer, tourism professional, or simply passionate about creating more welcoming experiences, this episode offers valuable insights into the future of inclusive travel.
In this episode:
✅ Why accessibility is a business opportunity, not just a legal obligation
✅ The hidden barriers wheelchair users face when booking and staying at hotels
✅ How accessible hospitality increases guest loyalty and lifetime value
✅ Why hotel websites often fail travelers with disabilities
✅ Universal design and accessible hotel room planning
✅ The importance of involving disabled communities in hotel development projects
✅ Accessibility, aging populations, and the future of travel
✅ How inclusive design creates better experiences for all guests
✅ What global hotel brands can do to improve accessibility today
Jenna’s message is simple yet powerful: when hospitality becomes more accessible, everyone benefits. Accessibility is not about serving a niche audience. It’s about creating experiences that allow more people to participate fully, travel confidently, and feel genuinely welcomed.
Guest:
Jenna Udenberg
Accessibility Educator | Disability Advocate | Founder of Above & Beyond With U
Connect with Jenna:
🌐 Above & Beyond With U: AboveAndBeyondWithU.org
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