Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Weixuan Wang is a Ph.D. student studying leisure behavior at Indiana University. Her research focuses on senior travel and accessible tourism and how information technology can improve the travel experience, as well as the quality of life for older adults and people with disabilities.

Haoai Zhao is a Ph.D. student in leisure behavior at Indiana University Bloomington. Her research focuses on accessibility issues among senior tourist groups, especially for Asian minority people. She is also interested in the evaluation and design of travel experience scales for people with special needs.

Dr. Shu Cole is an Associate Professor at Indiana University Bloomington. Her research program focuses on inclusive travel and hospitality; specifically, to identify travel barriers for people with disabilities and aging adults; and to provide insights for the industry to improve their capacity to serve customers with special needs.

Pengcheng Xun, associate scientist in IUB-SPH, has a combined background in biostatistics, epidemiology, and medicine. He has served as a PI/Co-PI, subcontract PI, co-I, or key biostatistician on >30 funded projects. His research interests mainly focus on applied statistics, systematic review & meta-analysis, and trace mineral related research.

Abstract (150 Words)

People with disabilities is a large potential tourism market. Research shows, however, information available on lodging facility’s websites is a major barrier for people with mobility disability. Booking hotel rooms online can be a challenge because accessibility information online is not detailed and guests using wheelchairs often have to call the property for more information. To provide a more inclusive lodging environment, the study utilized a quasi-experimental design to test the effectiveness of AccInfo, a set of detailed accessibility information relevant for people with spinal cord injury. Participants’ evaluation of accessibility information, their satisfaction with the hotel's website information, and their intention to book the hotel online were measured. Results suggest that AccInfo was effective in increasing the satisfaction of guests with spinal cord injury with hotel website information and their intention to book the hotel online without having to call the property.

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Effectiveness of accessibility information on hotels’ websites: a quasi-experimental design

People with disabilities is a large potential tourism market. Research shows, however, information available on lodging facility’s websites is a major barrier for people with mobility disability. Booking hotel rooms online can be a challenge because accessibility information online is not detailed and guests using wheelchairs often have to call the property for more information. To provide a more inclusive lodging environment, the study utilized a quasi-experimental design to test the effectiveness of AccInfo, a set of detailed accessibility information relevant for people with spinal cord injury. Participants’ evaluation of accessibility information, their satisfaction with the hotel's website information, and their intention to book the hotel online were measured. Results suggest that AccInfo was effective in increasing the satisfaction of guests with spinal cord injury with hotel website information and their intention to book the hotel online without having to call the property.