Making Grand Rapids more accessible for visitors has been a key focus for Experience Grand Rapids since at least 2018, when we teamed with Disability Advocates of Kent County (DAKC) to survey the accessibility features at 60 local tourism and hospitality-related businesses. Our goal was to give travelers with disabilities the means to plan a trip to Grand Rapids with confidence, knowing that they would feel welcome and accommodated here.
We continued to work with DAKC and local businesses to promote and support accessibility features in the years since. Now, we’re proud to introduce a new, more robust tool for accessible trip planning: an AI-powered accessibility agent that travelers can chat with to get answers, recommendations and insights about local hotels, restaurants, attractions and other businesses.
We continue to work with local businesses to promote and support accessibility features.
Photo by Wheel The World for Experience GR
A first-of-its-kind tool
Dubbed Will, it’s the world’s first destination-specific AI agent focused on accessibility. It resides on our website at ExperienceGR.com/Accessibility and can be activated by clicking on the green chat icon at the bottom left. Users can ask Will anything about accessible travel in Grand Rapids, and/or select from a list of popular questions.
For instance, asking “Which hotels have roll-in showers in Grand Rapids?” will return a selection of hotels that are confirmed to have that feature, along with hotel addresses and links to their websites.
By centralizing verified accessibility data in a conversational format, our AI tool makes it easier for visitors to understand exactly what accommodations are available before they arrive. This helps remove the uncertainty travelers can feel when they don’t know what to expect in a new destination. And that, says DAKC executive director Dave Bulkowski, “can be a gamechanger.”
Will was developed in collaboration with Wheel the World, a global accessible travel platform. Last year, Grand Rapids achieved “Accessibility Verified” status from Wheel the World, certifying that the 50+ local venues profiled on our Grand Rapids Wheel the World webpage have had their accessibility features independently verified.
Getting better all the time
Will draws from those Wheel the World accessibility assessments along with 300+ DAKC venue reviews and accessibility articles and influencer content from ExperienceGR.com. Significantly, the agent will incorporate user feedback and new data to improve over time.
“Early beta testers have praised Will’s screen reader compatibility, mobile friendliness, and ability to provide clear, helpful details about venues and experiences,” reports EXGR vice president of marketing Kate Lieto. “This project positions Grand Rapids as a leader in accessible travel and enhances the way visitors with disabilities plan their time in Kent County.”
We are grateful to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which awarded us an Accessible Traveler Grant to help fund our initial Wheel the World collaboration, and to the many local businesses that have devoted time and effort to support our goal of making this region more accessible. Together, we’re making Grand Rapids a more attractive destination for visitors with special mobility, auditory, visual and/or sensory needs.
Of course, local residents with disabilities can also use Will to plan accessible outings around town – one of many examples of the work we do benefiting the community in addition to the business and leisure travel customers.
