JAWS for Kiosk was awarded first place for the Judge’s Choice Award at this year’s TravelAbility Summit Launchpad event held on April 1, 2021. Presented by Laura Boniello Miller, the JAWS for Kiosk screen reader solution earned high praise for criteria such as articulation of a problem and solution, enhancing the travel experience for people with disabilities, the viability of the business model, and value proposition. The day itself was a marathon of great ideas presented by both new and established organizations with one goal in mind – improving the travel experience for people with disabilities.
Travelability’s Founder and CEO, Jake Steinman, was delighted with the ideas presented. “I am especially thrilled with the quality of presenters and judges who made LaunchPad what it was. What began with 111 pre-qualified innovators researched over a two-month period, ultimately resulted in the top 15 of the best adaptive technology and assistive products that we could find that would help the travel industry reach ‘herd accessibility’.”
Event judges included:
- Charles Hammerman, CEO of the Disability Opportunity Fund
- Dan Feshbach, Founder of Blue Umbrella Ventures
- Ron Pettit, Head of Accessibility, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
- Laszlo Horvath, Producer of the annual startup competition at CES/Las Vegas
- Zach Curry, Director of Guest Experience, Marriott
- Thomas Leoutsakos, President, Mobility Transfer Systems
- Toby Willis, President of Accessibility, Expedia
- Jay Cardinali, former Head of Global Accessibility, Disney Parks and Resorts
- Srin Madipalli, former head of Accessibility for Airbnb
Matt Ater, Vice President of Business Development for Vispero, was pleased to be honored among the many great ideas presented. “The hospitality industry has had a challenging year as a result of COVID-19. As travel resumes and the industry recovers, users with disabilities must have the same access to resume travel services, amenities, and opportunities. JAWS for Kiosk and the other products demonstrated in the LaunchPad event take major steps to improve the travel experience for people with disabilities. We are proud to be recognized for our efforts and look forward to making travel industry kiosks accessible for all users.”
Below are the top finishers for both Judge’s Choice and Attendees Choice.
Judges Choice:
1. JAWS for Kiosk
2. Mobi-Mat
3. Service Animal Travel Solutions (SATS) from Open Doors NFP
Attendees Choice:
1. Revolve Wheelchair
2. Alinker
3. Omeo
For more on the State of Accessible Travel, join TravelAbility’s June 24, 2021 event. JAWS Kiosk is available from accessibility solutions provider, TPGi. For more on JAWS for Kiosk and kiosk accessibility, visit TPGi.com or contact Laura Boniello Miller: lmiller@vispero.com
About TPGi:
TPGi is an accessibility solutions provider that supports all phases of accessibility through best-in-class management software and professional services. We partner with the best-known brands in the world to achieve end-to-end accessibility for their digital assets. Our clients span a variety of industries including retail/eCommerce, software/technology, publishing, banking/finance, healthcare, government, and higher education. TPGi experts are globally recognized for their contributions to accessibility standards and guidelines.
