TRAVEL
Accessibility barriers are putting travel plans on hold.
When we asked members of the disability community what it was like to book travel online, they shared many of the same sentiments — and negative experiences.
Forget about shopping around for the best deal on flights or hotels; even using the date picker to enter travel dates can be inaccessible.
When people with disabilities encounter accessibility barriers on travel sites, they’re quick to visit another site.
Given that feedback, it wasn’t surprising that our automated scan and expert audits revealed that travel sites have some of the highest accessibility failure rates of any industry.
“One time I knew my destination, I knew my dates. I was just going to get the ticket ... and I got stuck. It was a bad experience for me as a customer, because I had to switch platforms when I was almost done.”
Charles Hiser | AudioEye A11iance Advocate
EXPERT AUDITS
Breaking down the most significant barriers on top travel sites.
After reviewing the top travel sites, our expert testers found a number of issues that made it hard for people with disabilities to book travel, such as hotel photos that were missing alternative descriptions for non-sighted users and pop-up windows (for selecting rooms and dates) that could not be closed by keyboard-only users.
On average, our testers found another 15 accessibility barriers across the pages tested, which included account pages and flight/room pickers — including four consistent barriers that impacted their ability to book rooms and flights.
1. Pop-up windows contained no information for non-sighted users.
Our experts noted multiple pop-up windows that could trap keyboard-only users, with no audible explanation of what the window was for and no way for the user to close it. This forced testers to leave the site — and abandon any progress they’d made.
WCAG Criteria: 1.3.1: Info and RelationshipsOpens in a new tab
Disabilities Affected: Visual, Cognitive
2. Alt text failed to paint a compelling picture for non-sighted users.
Our experts found that many images of hotel rooms and amenities were simply labeled “lobby” or “room” — instead of providing more descriptive alt text that would help non-sighted users better understand the experience of staying at that hotel.
WCAG Criteria: 1.1.1: Non-Text ContentOpens in a new tab
Disabilities Affected: Visual
3. Unclear labels made it difficult for non-sighted users to navigate between pages.
Our testers encountered numerous page elements that were missing descriptive labels (for example: a series of tabs that were each labeled “see more,” instead of more descriptive labels like “reviews” and “amenities.”
WCAG Criteria: 4.1.2: Name, Role, ValueOpens in a new tab
Disabilities Affected: Visual
4. Links without labels failed to provide critical context.
Our testers also encountered links without descriptive labels, which forced non-sighted users to stop, go back, and read the surrounding text to try and figure out where clicking the link would take them.
WCAG Criteria: 4.1.2: Name, Role, ValueOpens in a new tab
Disabilities Affected: Visual
“Travel sites can do a lot of things well. But if the booking process is clunky, that's what [will] stick in everybody's mind.”
Maxwell Ivey | AudioEye A11iance Advocate
AUTOMATED SCAN RESULTS
Most common issues, travel sites.
Our automated scan revealed a number of significant accessibility issues on travel sites, including missing image alt text that made it hard to look up seating charts, compare hotels, and more.
73% of travel pages had at least one image with missing or inadequate alt text.
Without descriptive alt text on product photos and other graphics, people with visual and cognitive disabilities can have a hard time understanding what an image is supposed to illustrate.
WCAG Success Criteria: 1.1.1: Non-Text ContentOpens in a new tab
Disabilities Affected: Visual, Cognitive
54% of travel pages were missing frame titles.
Travel sites had the second highest rate of missing frame titles across all industries scanned, which can make it difficult for screen reader users to find content or orient themselves within a page.
WCAG Success Criteria: 2.4.2: Page TitlesOpens in a new tab
Disabilities Affected: Visual
40% of travel pages with a form had at least one field that was not labeled.
Without descriptive field labels, it can be difficult for people with visual and cognitive impairments to sign up for an account or upload their personal information.
WCAG Success Criteria: 3.3.2: Labels or InstructionsOpens in a new tab
Disabilities Affected: Visual, Cognitive
Get expert insight into the accessibility of booking travel on your site.
Uncover accessibility barriers that are making it hard for people with disabilities to search for rooms or flights with an expert audit of your site.
