CWT launches Special Assistance service for business travellers with disabilities

CWT, the global business travel, and meetings solutions provider, has launched a Special Assistance service to ensure an accessible and equal experience for travellers with visible and non-visible disabilities. This includes arranging airport and airline services such as TSA Cares, service animal reservations, multi-sensory rooms, and fast-track immigration; train and station special service requests such as wheelchair assistance; and suitable hotel accommodation like rooms with reduced mobility facilities. Travellers using this service have access to a dedicated email and phone number that directs them to a team of specially trained travel counsellors who have been handpicked based on experience, personal skills, and aptitude to pre-empt and mitigate needs that may occur on a trip. One of the main hurdles to delivering a seamless booking experience for travellers who require special assistance is the lack of consistency, with suppliers and stakeholders across the travel industry using widely varying terminologies and processes. CWT claims this proprietary and innovative tool has significantly enhanced productivity and smoothed the booking process for travellers. The Special Assistance service is currently offered in 20 countries, with plans for a global rollout by year-end. Stephanie Lewis, director of service design at CWT said: “We believe that all business travellers should have a seamless and comfortable experience, regardless of their individual needs…With this new service, we are highly equipped to provide access to specialised support to travellers with visible and non-visible disabilities, empowering them to travel for work with confidence. Developing accessible travel solutions is a collective industry-wide responsibility, and consistency is crucial in getting this right, so we are committed to working closely with our partners to drive meaningful change.”