Airbnb acquires accessible accommodations web site Accomable

We met Srin Madipalli, co-founder of Accomable in October of 2016 at the Abilities Expo in San Jose.  He had launched his company a year earlier and just this past week, Airbnb acquired Accomable.

Srin posing across from the Golden Gate Bridge

For those of you not familiar with Accomable, it is a web site listing fully verified, accessible properties that disabled travelers can rent.  Each property has detailed information about its accessibility along with photos and videos of the property, something that no other web site (including Airbnb) features.

When talking to Srin, we thought, wow, what a great idea.  He is a charismatic guy who set out to make a difference in the world to make traveling with a disability less frustrating and he has done so as his web site now features over 1,100 listings in 60 countries.

To take the company to the next level though required resources, especially the financial and technical kind and that's where Airbnb is poised to offer that.  According to the press release from Accomable, Srin will be joining Airbnb as accessibility product and product manager to address a lot of its problems. Part of his role will be helping oversee how Airbnb applies new filters for accessiblity features and extend accessibility into some of its newer features like Trips, Airbnb's version of tours and activities.

There's always a great deal of concern when a behemoth like Airbnb acquires a company like Accomable.  As long as Srin stays rooted in his original cause and beliefs, we have confidence that travelling for the disabled will continue to improve.