Bookingbility Offers Travel Options for Special Needs

In order to make travel a little more relaxing, Annalisa Riggio, founder of Bookingbility.com has created a business which helps travellers find comfortable accommodations for their different types of needs.

Bookingbility, who is part of our Travel Massive Sicily chapter, is a start-up for people with special needs, disabilities and also caters to seniors and helpers. It is a booking platform, which these groups have the opportunity to use free of charge.

The same service is available for tour operators, associations, and schools that want book holidays for people with special needs. So we asked Annalisa a few questions about how she managed to build this inspiring startup. Here’s what she had to say:

What inspired you to create this startup? 

I realized this business model was not common right about the time when I was looking for an hotel for myself and a friend with special needs. We faced so many difficulties to find the right accommodation, and it such wasn’t easy to verify the accessibility of a room.

I started to think about a possible solution. Since the owner of the accommodation did not understand what it meant to have “accessibility options” it was important to ensure that not only the owner, but all other travel operators understand what it means to be an accessible business.

How did you build your startup?

I participated in a “Startup Weekend Tourism Edition” in my hometown, Palermo and ended up winning it. Afterwards, two people joined me on this adventure, becoming my partners: Aurelio Buglino and Giuseppe Sciascia.

Within a couple of months and hard work, we were selected by “Tim Working Capital 2015 – Wcap”, a corporate accelerator that selects, finances and accelerates the best digital startups in Italy.

Today with the help of “Wcap” and the University of Palermo Consortium “Arca”, our platform in almost ready.

Travel Massive is about empowering change in travel. How is your startup changing the future of the industry or helping to make travel better?

With Bookingbility, the owners of holiday accommodations can add their accessible structures for free. Individuals with disabilities or special needs will have access to booking the appropriate and accessibly certified rooms without the help of a mediator.

We decided to focus on accessible tourism because travel should be accessible for everyone. We want everyone to enjoy a carefree holiday. Accessibility should not be an entitlement for some, but for all. It is important that we recognize the need to provide access for the disabled and aging visitors.

Do you have any tips for new entrepreneurs who want to create a successful startup?

Trust your project and keep focused on your goals. The struggles and the temptation to give up are common, failure isn’t something many of us can handle gracefully. However, new entrepreneurs who have big dreams, must stay strong and keep believing in themselves.

As a startup, what benefits have you seen from being a part of Travel Massive meetups?

Travel Massive is a great community dedicated to tourism, allowing fellow tourism professionals to network and meet. Bookingbility is looking for great tips and different points of view, so it is a pleasure to be part of such a huge society.

Travel Start-Up is a monthly series that profiles unique online travel start-ups in the Travel Massive community around the world. Connect with Annalisa Riggio and Bookingbility.com on Travel Massive, Facebook and Twitter.