Able2Global™ and WelcoMe Partner to Close the $100 Billion U.S. Hospitality Accessibility Gap

UK-based WelcoMe expands into the U.S., delivered through Able2Global's proprietary Inclusioneer™ Framework for hospitality brands

RICHMOND, VA, UNITED STATES, May 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Most U.S. hospitality brands want to serve guests with disabilities well. Few have the systems to do it consistently. Able2Global, founded by hospitality advisor and wheelchair user Mike Clapper, and WelcoMe, the UK-based operating system for inclusive service design, today announced a strategic partnership to change that. WelcoMe’s proven platform, already trusted by more than 160 venues across the UK, enters the U.S. market for the first time, delivered through Able2Global’s proprietary Inclusioneer Framework. Together, they give hospitality brands something that has not existed in the U.S. market until now: a complete, end-to-end system for genuine accessibility.

At the center of the partnership is Able2Global’s proprietary Inclusioneer Framework — a three-pillar methodology built specifically for the hospitality industry. Design That Includes addresses the physical and experiential environment. Hospitality That Elevates focuses on the human side: how staff engage, respond, and make every guest feel genuinely welcomed. Systems That Scale ensures that what works in one property, one shift, or one season works consistently across the operation. WelcoMe’s SaaS platform powers all three pillars, giving operators the tools to audit their gaps, train their teams, and prepare for every guest with accessibility needs before they arrive.

U.S. travelers with disabilities represent one of hospitality’s most underserved and fastest-growing segments. Accessible travel spend has tripled in four years. Travelers with disabilities rarely travel alone. Accounting for companions, the accessible travel market exceeds $100 billion annually in the United States alone.

These guests stay longer, travel in larger groups, and demonstrate stronger brand loyalty when their needs are genuinely met. Yet most hospitality brands lack the systems and staff preparation to serve them with consistency. The Able2Global-WelcoMe partnership is designed to close that gap and both are grounded in the same belief. Barriers, not people, are the problem. And removing them is simply good hospitality.

For hotel owners, general managers, and cruise line operators, the partnership delivers three capabilities — available together in the U.S. hospitality market for the first time — with the hospitality-specific strategy to make them stick:

1. Audit: Able2Global and WelcoMe work together to identify exactly where a property is failing guests with disabilities, across physical design, communication, and service delivery, before a guest has to be the one to say something.

2. Train: Builds staff competence on two levels. Ongoing development through spaced repetition, and just-in-time training triggered the moment a guest books, so the right team member has the right information before every visit.

3. Prepare: Know exactly who is arriving and what they need before they walk through the door. Through the WelcoMe Key, guests record their accessibility requirements once and venues receive a complete breakdown ahead of every visit, with the ability to communicate directly before arrival. No scrambling. No improvisation. Just a prepared team ready to deliver from the first moment.

The Inclusioneer Framework ties all three together into a structured engagement that maps to how hospitality businesses actually operate. WelcoMe provides the technology backbone trusted by Battersea Power Station, City of Westminster, and NorthLink Ferries, among venues across the UK.

"I built Able2Global after one too many moments of arriving at a property that simply wasn't ready for me. The Inclusioneer Framework is the system that changes that. What we're bringing to the U.S. market is not a checklist or a training video. It's a complete methodology backed by proven technology." — Mike Clapper, Founder & CEO, Able2Global

"Technology alone doesn't change a culture. WelcoMe provides the platform and Able2Global brings the hospitality expertise to make that change real. The U.S. accessible travel market is one of the largest underserved opportunities in hospitality. With Able2Global as our strategic partner, we're ready to meet it." — Gavin Neate, Founder & CEO, WelcoMe

To learn more about Able2Global and the Inclusioneer Framework, visit able2global.com. To explore the WelcoMe platform, visit wel-co.me.

ABOUT ABLE2GLOBAL
Able2Global is a hospitality advisory firm helping hotels, resorts, and cruise lines turn overlooked guest experiences into measurable competitive advantage. Founded by Mike Clapper, a hospitality advisor, speaker, and podcaster who has been featured in Luxury Travel Magazine, CEO World Magazine, and Apple News, among other publications, Able2Global operates through its proprietary three-pillar Inclusioneer Framework, built specifically for the hospitality industry. Able2Global works with hospitality brands that understand accessibility is not a compliance exercise. It is a standard of service, and a source of lasting revenue and loyalty.
www.able2global.com | linkedin.com/company/able2global

ABOUT WELCOME
WelcoMe is a SaaS platform and operating system for inclusive service design. Built on the social model of disability — the principle that barriers, not people, are the problem — WelcoMe connects barrier audits, visit preparation, and staff training into a single integrated platform. Its three core products (Accessibility Audits, WelcoMe Key, and Adaptive Training) help venues identify the barriers their disabled customers face, prepare staff with actionable Visitor Briefings before each visit, and build lasting team competence through spaced-repetition training. WelcoMe is trusted by venues across the UK including Battersea Power Station, City of Westminster Council, The Scottish Parliament and NorthLink Ferries. The WelcoMe Key allows disabled guests to share their access preferences once and be known by every venue they visit.
www.wel-co.me

Michael Clapper
Able2Global
+1 804-295-7676
mike@able2global.com

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