The customer: A non-profit organization with operations located throughout Canada.

The ask: Provide booking capabilities for blind and low-vision travelers.

The solution: The industry-leading accessibility features and award-winning user interface found in Deem.

At the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), team members with vision impairments were unable to book travel on their own due to the unavailability of accessible online booking tools (OBTs) for corporate travelers. For these travelers, planning a trip would require the help of a travel manager to search and book on their behalf, an inequity which CNIB sought to resolve.

Finding accommodations that provide an appropriate level of guidance for their specific needs would require some back-and-forth with a travel manager, which could last for a few days. But the CNIB wanted to change that.

For more than 100 years, the CNIB has been a driving force behind innovations that empower people impacted by vision loss. With a mission to remove barriers to inclusion, the CNIB team includes volunteers, donors, and partners throughout the low-to-no vision community.

Working with its travel management company (TMC), Elite Travel, the CNIB explored potential solutions to meet its specific needs. As a corporate TMC, Elite Travel specializes in connecting clients with services that help manage complex travel programs and specific use cases. After consulting with Elite Travel to find a truly accessible corporate travel platform, the CNIB was introduced to Deem.

“Elite Travel takes pride in our ability to customize travel programs by client,” said Adam Danyleko, CEO, Elite Travel Management Canada. “When we presented CNIB’s challenge in sourcing an accessible online corporate booking tool to Deem, Deem again aligned with the culture Elite prides itself on. With over a year of development work between CNIB, Deem, and Elite Travel Management - we are very pleased with the impact it has made on accessible travel and the end user.”

By partnering with Deem for its corporate travel solution, the CNIB gave its blind and low-vision travelers the freedom to book travel on their own for the first time ever.
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“With Deem, it’s been above and beyond what we realized we signed up for.”

_{Elena Libaque, manager of travel safety and logistics, CNIB}

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Enabling travel for the blind and partially sighted

“We needed accessibility to be a priority, and we needed to find a company that was going to work with us in making their system accessible,” said Elena Libaque, manager of travel safety and logistics, CNIB. “With Deem, it’s been above and beyond what we realized we signed up for.”

Prior to using Deem, the CNIB used manual forms and processes to provide the support that each of their travelers need. Designed with accessibility features catering to low-to-no vision travelers, Deem offers an interface that’s easy to navigate using screen readers. Deem also respects system-level display settings to provide larger text and meets or exceeds Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) AA-level compliance.

For the CNIB, it was their one-stop shop for accessible corporate travel.

The CNIB has blind or low-vision team members that have been a part of the non-profit industry for over 30 years who have experienced barriers when booking travel for themselves. Being able to book a flight on their own provides a level of independence that visually impaired travelers have not experienced before.

“There was some initial apprehension, especially from users who are foreign to travel, so we began visiting our offices across Canada to provide one-on-one training on how to use Deem,” Libaque continued. “Now, our travelers can book their own hotels and book their own flights. It’s great, and we want to continue to grow and add more services.”

“I am so thrilled. I love Deem,” said Diane Bergeron, President, CNIB Guide Dogs. As a blind team member who often travels with a guide dog, Bergeron is a World Blind Union representative for global collaboration and brings a unique expertise to corporate travel.
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“Everything is so easy, even for complex multi-leg trips, and I can do it myself. I don’t need to ask somebody to give me flight options.”

_{Diane Bergeron, President, CNIB Guide Dogs}

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“I’m able to open up the app, find the same flight as my colleagues, and book it myself,” Bergeron continues. “Everything is so easy, even for complex multi-leg trips, and I can do it myself. I don’t need to ask somebody to give me flight options. I can filter things based on the times or days or airlines I want. I can add hotels without any problems. It’s been the greatest thing.”

According to Frank Lombardo, Vice President of IT and Digital Ecosystems, CNIB, consistent and intuitive site design is something that’s particularly important for visually impaired users. “Consistent design allows blind users to easily navigate a site or avoid complications while using a screen reader, magnifier or other accessibility tools” he explains. “That type of design approach becomes critical to the overall user experience (UX).”

“Something can meet the standard of being accessible, but it may not be easy, intuitive, or refreshing for the individual user,” Lombardo continues. “Based on the feedback we got from our team, we think Deem did a good job with the user experience.”

After initial user testing, the CNIB provided feedback that helped guide Deem towards improved usability for screen readers, and a more accessible design for travelers. With this level of accessibility in its OBT, CNIB travelers now have an easy way to book, change or manage a flight on their own, giving them a new level of confidence and independence while traveling.

Credits, refunds, and exchanges

By partnering with Deem, the CNIB was able to seamlessly integrate its preferred expense system, substantially reducing the time it takes to allocate, track and update expense data. Having accurate data synced between travel and finance systems has also given the CNIB a better understanding of its travel spend, while improving financial reconciliation efforts.

Deem also ensures the CNIB maximizes all its ticket credits by highlighting what’s available and transferring credits with just a few taps. “Automatic Ticket Exchange wasn’t on our radar when we first signed with Deem, but as a charity, it’s especially important,” says Libaque. “It was unexpected, and it’s been something that we’ve really appreciated.

As a future consideration, CNIB will consider ways to make Deem available to the entire blind and partially sighted community, for both business and personal travel.

“There are so many members of our community who haven’t tapped into travel because of the barriers,” said Libaque. “Deem gives us a way to work through each barrier, and the possibilities are endless.”