Managing Mobility Needs Beyond Your Meeting

Within a hotel or convention center, attendees’ special requirements — whether that means a scooter, a wheelchair, or a braille menu — can be more easily managed than during excursions to local attractions. Each location has different rules and capabilities, so it’s essential to plan in advance so that every attendee can participate.

When it comes to mobility devices, availability can vary widely. “That won't work for a corporate group with a large number of people who need them,” said Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D, who became an accessibility consultant and advocate for disability inclusion and universal design after a bike accident left her paralyzed.

Start by including a mandatory question about mobility needs on the registration form. That will inform you if you need a vehicle with a ramp or lift or, for multiple wheelchairs, a separate vehicle for transportation to the attraction.

Plan Ahead

Most venues post accessibility information right on their web sites, and some have dedicated accessibility coordinators. However, many popular attractions for groups, such as Dollywood, don’t allow individuals to reserve mobility devices in advance. Or they might only have a few scooters, such as Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Rossetti’s home city of Columbus. 

It’s essential to contact the attraction in advance, and to allow enough time to source what’s needed. For the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly, held in June at the Baltimore Convention Center, attendees requested a whopping 40 scooters during registration (paying for them in advance at $275 for the duration of the event).

“They didn’t have enough available in Baltimore so they needed to go to Washington, D.C. to find them,” Rossetti said.

The local CVB is a good place to start, and there are also national companies, such as Scootaround, that deliver to hotels and event venues across North America.

At major attractions, such as theme parks, long queue lines can be an issue. The Disney theme parks’ Disability Access Service program allows some pass-holders with disabilities such as mobility issues to use an expedited line. Universal Studios requires that guests obtain an IBCCES Individual Accessibility Card by registering within 30 days of their visit to the park and again 48 hours before their visit. 

“Blind Spots”

But even with a wheelchair or scooter, “accessible” attractions can sometimes present issues. During a recent site inspection of another botanical garden, Rossetti was provided with a scooter — but it was too big to get into the rest room.

“I had to go to the bathroom in my regular wheelchair that I brought, then transfer to the scooter,” she said. “Then when I had to go to the bathroom again, I had to bring the scooter back to get my wheelchair. It was ridiculous.”

At an outdoor setting like a park or zoo, there are sometimes paved paths that suddenly turn into woodchip. Or even worse, hills. A lightweight folding mobility scooter typically has a maximum slope rating of 6-8 degrees, so even gentle hills can become an issue.

“So a park is supposedly accessible and then you see all these hills,” Rossetti said. “And all I can think of is, ‘Why didn't they put a sign at the beginning of the trail?’

“Things are getting better, but there are definitely still some blind spots,” she said.