We talk to Lorraine Woodward, founder of Becoming rentABLE, about how some creative thinking and simple changes can make your holiday property accessible to a greater range of people.
Thanks for joining the conversation
Thanks for sending in your questions for our AMA: “How to make your vacation rental property more accessible”
Here’s a recording of our chat with Lorraine. Or, head over to our blog to read a summary of the juiciest details. We’ve also picked out the AMA highlights and their timings below.
“When a renter comes to our property I ask them, ‘Why did you travel 2.5 days from Canada to North Carolina?’, and they say, ‘Lorraine, there’s nothing in between here and there that’s accessible.'” – Lorraine
“Part of the process is rethinking how you position accessibility in your narrative. You just have to be a little creative and think about how your space could be accessible – sit in a kitchen chair and see where that chair can go; if you have a friend who uses a wheelchair or walker, invite them over to see what access they might have” – Lorraine
“Some people may look at what the basketball brackets are because basketball is really important to their everyday life – disability is a way of life for me. So I’m in that mindset of thinking about what’s accessible, a lot of people aren’t in that mindset and don’t think about those things. That’s what we’re here to do, we want to put that information forward.” – Lorraine
“In my ignorance, I think it’s more complicated than it is, but you’ve articulated some really simple ways that you can make a property accessible” – Andy
“Our aim is to be out of business in ten or fifteen years, for this to have become a way of life, our job is done and we can move onto the next entrepreneurial activity” – Lorraine
AMA highlights:
- 00:34 – An intro to Lorraine Woodward
- 02:26 – What is Becoming rentABLE?
- 02:53 – Lorraine’s mission in her own words
- 06:15 – The impact of being able to find an accessible property
- 07:42 – The bottom line benefits of an accessible property
- 08:45 – Making your property accessible for people with autism
- 10:14 – Signalling that your property is accessible
- 11:39 – Making your property accessible for people who use wheelchairs
- 14:11 – Accessibility doesn’t mean rebuilding your property from scratch
- 16:25 – Becoming rentABLE’s resources
- 17:12 – Listing on Becoming rentABLE
- 20:49 – What makes a property accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing?
- 21:44 – Making your property accessible for people who are blind or have visual impairments
- 24:22 – Families whose lives have been changed
- 29:36 – Support for short term rental owners in the US to understand their legal responsibilities
Resources:
- The Becoming rentABLE blog – find practical guides to making your property more accessible