Special Needs Travelers Will Respond to Agents Who Seek Them Out

Twenty percent of Americans have some form of chronic disability, noted long-time travel industry expert Jim Smith, CTIE, but that doesn’t stop them from traveling–spending billions on it every year.

“It’s a market segment that is hungry for travel,” said Smith, a disabled veteran living in South Florida who has dedicated part of his life to helping educate the travel industry in how to market to and care for special needs travelers.

Recently, Smith led a webinar hosted by the National Association of Career Travel Agents, introducing agents to the market and resources like the Special Needs Group, a leading global provider of wheelchair, scooter, oxygen and other special needs equipment rentals.

He offered up four tips for travel agents exploring the special needs travel market:

1. Right size your expectations.
The disabled aren’t who you think they are. They’re mobile and they’re very interested in traveling. “Treat them like everyone else,” Smith said. “If you win their business, they tend to be a market segment that’s fiercely loyal.”

2. Understand the opportunity.
Special needs travelers have $220 billion in discretionary income and spend $13.6 billion on 32 million vacations annually. About 85% of these travelers travel with others. In fact, one in five American families have someone with a disability, and when a family member reaches 65 years of age, that percentage increases to 1 in 4.

3. Enhance your selling skills.
All great sales people ask good questions. The best sales people ask questions, sit back and listen. When you are working with this market, travel counselors need to ask more questions, like “will anyone in your group require something special?” If you’re booking a family reunion or destination wedding, elderly special needs travelers may be invited, but you won’t know unless your probe. Aunt Edna might need something like oxygen. If oxygen won’t be available at the destination, Aunt Edna doesn’t go. Then Uncle Ed doesn’t go, and their kids. You’ve lost the opportunity for a lot of business.

4. Differentiate your offering and add tangible value.
No one is really asking the right questions, and qualifying the information. It’s all in the questions you ask and how you respond to their answers. Answers might spur additional questions that are opportunities to add value. So take great notes and get to know the resources out there to offer to special needs travelers, like special beach wheelchairs. Many people are unaware that services exist to meet this market.

Over the last 4 ½ years, more than 2,800 travel agents have participated in training about serving the special needs market, and were certified by the Special Needs Group.