Airbnb acquires disability specialist travel site Accomable

Airbnb has announced that it has acquired UK-based Accomable, a travel site that looks to cater specifically to those with physical disabilities.

Founded in 2015 by Srin Madipalli and Martyn Sibley, who both suffer from spinal muscular atrophy, Accomable aims to improve the travel experience of the physically disabled by providing more accessible places to stay and a greater amount of reliable information.

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As a result of the acquisition, Airbnb will wind down Accomable’s website as its 1,100 listings, located in 60 different countries, are moved to Airbnb’s own platform.

Within the acquisition, Accomable’s team will join Airbnb, with Srin appointed as the leader in the company’s accessible travel initiatives, something that it is working on with a new “accessibility needs” checklist.

“The new features allow hosts to designate whether their listings have step-free entry to rooms, entryways that are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair, and more,” Airbnb said. “The features help hosts be descriptive about their home’s accessibility, and give guests the clear information they need to find the right home for them.”

Airbnb has already begun to roll the new feature out on its website, with it set to be implemented on both Android and Apple iOS in the coming months.