The Wheelie Good Travel Company on being an accessible travel disrupter

07 Mar 2022by Abra Dunsby

Agency owner Jon Fletcher hopes to change attitudes towards accessible travel through his new venture, the Wheelie Good Travel Company. He talks to Abra Dunsby about his vision for the brand

Abra Dunsby

Former TTG Features Editor

Abra Dunsby

Former TTG Features Editor

The Wheelie Good Travel Company founder Jon Fletcher with his partner David and their dogs

Jon Fletcher, who set up cruise specialist agency Cruise Holidays UK 10 years ago, launched new venture The Wheelie Good Travel Company last year, after he and some of his friends began discussing their experiences of booking accessible trips online or through an agent.

He explains: “During lockdown, I was chatting to my disabled friends, who were saying they couldn’t wait to travel again. We were also chatting about the experience of booking holidays. It overwhelmingly came over from them that they’re not really being catered for, even by accessible travel companies.”

Fletcher, who is a wheelchair user himself, says he and his partner, who is blind, have also come across difficulties when visiting agencies to book travel together. “I [came] into an agency in a wheelchair with my partner and a guide dog. I could see the horror on their faces. All barriers were put in our way. They forgot to ask the most important question first off: ‘Where do you want to go on holiday?’ Instead, we were asked: ‘Who are your carers’?”

He says the approach made him realise that “something needed to change” within the travel industry and describes The Wheelie Good Travel Company as an accessible travel industry disrupter. “We want to take a different approach – to make accessible travel fun and to give [potential customers] the confidence to travel.”

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Fletcher used Facebook groups to connect with potential customers, and to ask them how they like to travel.

“I asked members who they’d want to take with them on a trip. None of them wanted us to provide them with a carer; they wanted more independence. It’s important that a disabled [client] travels with who they want to,” he says.

Fletcher uses Facebook and the The Wheelie Good Travel Company website, which includes a blog, to “provide inspiration”, offer personal experience of travelling, and answer clients’ questions. “We’re reaching out to clients and adding product based on members’ needs,’’ he adds, with most clients opting for tailor-made trips.

He says product is wide-ranging. “We offer all sorts of holidays, from beach to more adventurous trips, such as Rocky Mountaineer with an Alaskan cruise.” Cruise and coach trips are also popular, as are domestic breaks and experiences. Closer-to-home options include a street photography workshop tour of Manchester, run by Fletcher.

Fletcher says cruise ships are very well designed for disabled travellers

INSPIRE ADVENTURE

The sense of fun that The Wheelie Good Travel Company embodies comes from Fletcher’s own approach to, and passion for travel. He explains. “I’m never happier than when I’m on a plane, cruise or coach. I love to travel,” he says, adding that he is a huge fan of fam trips.

“I won a fam trip to Iceland in winter. I have memories of being lifted up by a big hunky Icelandic guy in a wheelchair with huge tyres,” he laughs.

He wants to inspire that same sense of adventure in others. “We ask customers: ‘What is your travel dream, and how do I make that accessible to you?’ We had one client who wanted to do Machu Picchu, so we found a tour operator who could do it. We try our best to find a way for the client, and if we can’t, we’ll be honest,” he says.

All bookings for The Wheelie Good Travel Company are made via Cruise Holidays UK, which is Abta- and Atol-protected. While The Wheelie Good Travel Company is currently B2C, Fletcher is keen to make connections with suppliers to offer more product to clients.

He encourages more operators to sell accessible trips and is feeling optimistic about the future. “It’s an exciting time for accessible travel. Companies are starting to realise they are missing out on 20% of the population [that has a disability in the UK] and can improve their business by selling accessible trips.”

JON’S TOP TIPS

Jon Fletcher, who has visited more than 100 countries, reveals some of his top travel experiences as a wheelchair user

A cruise is always a good option. Most modern cruise ships are very well designed for disabled travellers. On Norwegian Epic, there’s a section of the bar at wheelchair level, for example.

Miami is amazing for disabled travellers. I tend to stay in Fort Lauderdale; downtown Miami is only 45 minutes away on a wheelchair-accessible public bus. On Sunny Isles Beach there’s a beach wheelchair you can wheel into the sea.

New York is also fab, while Barcelona is the most wheelchair-accessible city in Europe. In Amsterdam, you can use the cycle lanes with a power chair.

Hotel Brooklyn is a great accessible hotel in Manchester. It has lots of accessible rooms, some of which have hoists, but nothing is clinical-looking; it’s all very stylish. The chief executive of Bespoke Hotels, [which Hotel Brooklyn is part of,] is a wheelchair user himself.