Travel is supposed to be exciting. For millions of people with disabilities, it starts with stress.
Before booking a trip, they must search for accessibility details that are often incomplete or missing. They call hotels to confirm room features. They check whether restaurants have ramps or restrooms they can use. They map out routes, build backup plans and sometimes start planning six months in advance. It is time-consuming, exhausting and often filled with uncertainty.
And yet, this is one of the most powerful segments in global tourism.
In 2024, the accessible travel market was valued at $76 billion and is expected to reach $135 billion by 2032. In the U.S., over 70 million adults live with a disability. When you include their families and companions (typically people with disabilities travel with 2 to 3 others), their annual travel spending exceeds $100 billion.
That disconnect between the size of the market, the effort it takes to travel and the lack of resources is what inspired Meegan Winters to act.
After helping her best friend navigate life in a wheelchair, Meegan launched AbleVu, a platform that makes accessibility information visible, reliable and easy to use.
For Meegan, this isn’t just about convenience. It’s about dignity, confidence and helping people experience the world without fear.
We spoke with Meegan about how AbleVu and how it’s changing the way we think about access.
What inspired you to start AbleVu?
This is my favorite story to tell. There were really two sparks that brought me to where I am today.
The first was my best friend, Jessica. She was a power wheelchair user with muscular dystrophy, and we lived together in college. I was her primary caregiver, and it opened my eyes to the everyday challenges of getting around with a disability. We used a lot of public transportation, but we couldn’t just show up somewhere. We had to know if she could get in the door, move around inside and use the restroom. So we ended up going to the same few places again and again. We missed out on experiences, and businesses missed out on our spending.
That’s when the idea first hit me—what if there was a way for people to have accessibility information before they visited a place? After Jessica passed away, that idea stuck with me. I kept thinking, it’s time to finally do this.
The second spark came from my time working in special education. I taught students on the autism spectrum and later became an assistant principal. I saw how many families just stayed home. Predictability is huge for many people on the spectrum, and the risk of a bad experience often wasn’t worth it. Again, people missed out, and so did businesses.
So in 2017, I left my stable job as an assistant principal and jumped into entrepreneurship. I started Able Eyes, a company that creates virtual tours for accessibility. The idea was simple—what if every business in the world had a virtual tour? People could check out the space ahead of time and decide if it worked for them. Able Eyes has been successful, but we realized it wasn’t scalable worldwide. It’s a service that needs cameras and boots on the ground.
That’s where AbleVu comes in. We pivoted to tech. I describe it as a TripAdvisor for accessibility or a Google listing focused just on accessibility. Businesses can share things like virtual tours, photos, audio tours and lists of accommodations. We’re making it easier for people to know what to expect and feel more confident about going out.
What role do virtual tours play in making travel more inclusive?
Our virtual tours are different from what you might see on Google Maps because we really expand the lens. Most virtual tours just show the front of a business or maybe the lobby or bar area. Ours starts at the accessible parking, shows the path to the front door, goes inside public spaces and even into the restrooms to show the accessible stalls.
Back when I was living with Jessica, who used a power wheelchair, that kind of information would have been a game-changer. We would have known if she could get in the door, move around and use the restroom. We would have gone more places and supported more businesses.
And it’s not just about physical accessibility. For people with invisible disabilities—like autism, anxiety, or PTSD—it’s about familiarity. Not knowing what to expect can cause a lot of anxiety. But if someone can see what a space looks like ahead of time, that predictability makes a huge difference. It helps people feel more comfortable and makes the whole experience more enjoyable.
How is AbleVu rethinking the way accessibility info is shared compared to mainstream platforms?
What sets us apart is that we focus only on accessibility. That is our entire mission. Most other platforms mainly cover physical features like whether there is an accessible entrance or an elevator. That information is important, but it is just one piece.
We go way beyond that. On AbleVu, we cover mobility, auditory, visual, sensory, dietary and medical location information. We are working to make sure people with all types of disabilities can find the details they need.
And it is not just what we include, but how we present it. Other platforms often rely on basic lists or checkboxes. We offer multiple ways to share information, including virtual tours, photos, audio tours and detailed lists of accommodations. That way, people can really get a feel for a place before they go.
Our goal is to make the experience as useful and inclusive as possible.
Who is AbleVu’s target user? Is it individuals with accessibility needs, or those supporting them?
It’s absolutely for both. Some individuals need a caregiver to help navigate a computer or plan an outing, and that’s totally fine. But we also have features built specifically for people who are blind or have low vision. For example, we offer audio tours (these are spoken descriptions of the space), and we have an alt-text generator for all photos on the site. The alt text is created with AI, but businesses can go in and edit it to make sure it’s accurate and helpful.
Our goal is to make the platform inclusive and usable for everyone. And we know it’s already being used by parents and teachers to help prepare kids for an outing, especially if predictability is important. So really, it’s for anyone, whether you’re navigating for yourself or supporting someone else.
What types of content do your users find most helpful when planning a visit?
I might be biased, but I still think virtual tours are the most effective. We cannot provide tours for every place in the world, but we celebrate anyone who creates them. It does not have to be an Able Eyes tour or even labeled as an accessibility tour. Even a basic street view showing the outside of a building helps people get a feel for the place. Just being able to see the layout or what the entrance looks like is incredibly valuable.
Next would be photos with detailed descriptions. For example, we work with a zoo that rents out wheelchairs and scooters. On the photo, it says how to reserve one in advance and provides the phone number. That kind of simple detail makes a huge difference. People may not find that information anywhere else, but now they know before they go.
“Even a basic street view showing the outside of a building helps people get a feel for the place. Just being able to see the layout or what the entrance looks like is incredibly valuable.”
Do you have a favorite story that captures what AbleVu is all about?
I wish I had full data on entire trips, but what I do have are individual stories that mean a lot. Teachers have told us that using AbleVu ahead of a field trip made a huge difference in how well their students adapted. A parent also shared that they had a great experience at a zoo because they were able to plan ahead using our site.
In that case, the parent had a child on the autism spectrum and used one of our virtual tours to preview the space. It became like a real-life social story. They could see exactly what the place looked like, including the front door, which helped prepare their child and made the visit smoother.
One piece of feedback from that experience was about sound. For kids with sensory sensitivities, things like birds chirping in certain areas could be important to know. That is something we are exploring for the future. But what stuck with me most was what the parent said: “Thank you for everything that you do and for making this possible for our family.”
You mentioned a contributor program as a solution to a problem you encountered. Can you elaborate?
When we launched our first version, we learned that a lot of businesses just did not know what to include in a profile. Even though the annual price is intentionally affordable at $299, whether you are an ice cream shop or a hotel, some business owners felt intimidated. They were not sure what counted as an accommodation or worried that they might not look good enough.
That is what led to the contributor program. It allows people from the disabled community, disability advocates, college students, or really anyone who wants to earn extra money, to go out into their community, take photos, create a profile for a location and send it to us. Then we reach out to the business and say, “One of our amazing contributors created this profile. Would you like to unlock it?” If the business says yes, the contributor earns $99 out of the $299 subscription. It makes it easier for businesses to get a profile, and it puts money in the hands of people doing the work.
I am really excited about it. It is a paid opportunity for a population that is often underrepresented. It is very flexible, like an Uber-style model. Contributors can work as much or as little as they want, which is helpful for people with medical needs or appointments who might not be able to do a traditional 9-to-5 job.
But it is also about something deeper.
A lot of times, people without disabilities try to decide what people with disabilities need. I do not have a disability myself, so it is important for me to listen and surround myself with people who do. They are the ones who know what should be on these profiles. I would much rather have them create the content. It keeps things authentic. And it creates this full-circle moment, where someone earns money while also helping others in the community.
What is the Accessible Cities program? How does it help make travel easier for people with disabilities?
This idea actually came to me during a hot yoga class. It just popped into my head—one of those moments where everything clicks. We’ve since shifted the name to “Accessibility Transparent Cities” because some businesses felt nervous about being judged or thought it had something to do with compliance, which it doesn’t. We’re not about compliance—we’re just about providing information.
Accessibility Transparent Cities are places that have at least 15 business profiles on AbleVu. The idea is that when someone is planning a trip, they’re more likely to go somewhere that gives them the information they need to feel confident and included. This program started under Able Eyes and transitioned to AbleVu as we evolved.
At first, we required five hotels, five restaurants and five attractions, but that was too rigid, especially for smaller towns. Now it’s just 15 businesses total. When a city hits that threshold, it gets its own map and list of profiles on AbleVu, marked with an Accessibility Transparent Cities icon. It’s our way of celebrating cities that are making accessibility a priority by simply making their information public.
Tracking exact conversions, like who actually walks through the door after looking at a profile, is tough. But with our new 2.0 platform, launched just a few months ago, we can now give businesses more data. They can see how many views their profiles are getting, and users can recommend places, ask questions and leave reviews. The reviews go to the business first, so nothing is published without their approval, but it creates a two-way connection between users and businesses.
“The businesses that share accessibility information are the ones people will trust and choose to visit.”
What are the key lessons for DMO leaders?
Working in this space has taught me a lot about what actually helps people feel confident when they go out into their communities.
First, it is all about information. Even if a place is not fully wheelchair accessible, that is okay. Just let people know. Information helps people make decisions and avoid frustrating situations. If someone shows up at a location and finds out they cannot get up the stairs, that is when they feel upset. If they know in advance, they can plan around it.
Second, businesses and destinations need to have accessibility information on their website. Whether that is a dedicated accessibility page or a profile on AbleVu, it needs to be easy to find. The businesses that share this kind of information are the ones people will trust and choose to visit.
And third, planning accessible travel takes a lot of time. I talked with Jessica’s brother, Joe, while he was planning a trip across the country. He said he had already spent 80 hours figuring everything out. He needed a Hoyer lift, which requires a specific bed setup and a roll-in shower. He had to call every hotel and double-check everything. If you can save someone even half of that time, they will be incredibly grateful. And this is not just a niche audience. People with disabilities in the U.S. have $175 billion in annual discretionary spending power.
What’s next for AbleVu?
We definitely have an ever-evolving roadmap. Right now, AbleVu is a web app that works on both desktop and mobile, and you can access it at ablevu.com.
One of our next updates will likely include an AI-powered chatbot to make searching faster and easier. So if someone is looking for a hotel with a roll-in shower in Mesa, Arizona, the chatbot could pull all the relevant options quickly by scanning the data on our platform. We have great momentum around using AI, and it is a key part of our growth strategy.
The travel industry is just our starting point. Once we are well established there, we plan to expand into other industries like medical and dental offices, blood draw labs, grocery and retail stores, parks and beaches. Really, any place that you can roll into or walk into. The potential is huge. If every business paid $299 a year to attract the 27 percent of adults who have some form of disability, it would be a game-changer.
Our primary focus is on users. The contributor program helps us grow our content, which brings in more users. We are also set up for international growth. We already have a few locations outside the U.S., but we want to grow globally in a smart and strategic way. First travel, then other industries, and then international expansion.
About Meegan Winters
Meegan Winters is the CEO/Founder of AbleVu. Her experience as a special education teacher teaching students with autism, paired with having a best friend who was a wheelchair user, sparked the idea to start AbleVu. Meegan has worked with individuals with special needs and autism for over 20 years. Her passion and goodwill to make the world accessible for all is the force that drives us toward success.
