guide
Ghost accessibility for travel and hospitality: setup, plugins, and audit checklist
Running an accessible Ghost site for travel and hospitality combines two layers of responsibility: Ghost's platform-level accessibility, and the travel & hospitality-specific compliance frameworks — ACAA (US airlines), ADA Title III (hotels), EAA (EU passenger transport) — that layer on top.
Why Ghost for travel and hospitality?
Ghost accessibility depends on theme choice — Ghost's default Casper theme targets WCAG 2.1 AA; custom themes vary widely. The platform itself supports semantic markup, alt text, and accessible editorial workflow but does not enforce it.
Travel & Hospitality accessibility — the regulated reality
Travel and hospitality accessibility covers airline and hotel websites, booking platforms, loyalty portals, and travel apps — a regulatory must under the Air Carrier Access Act for US airlines, the EAA for EU passenger transport, the ADA for hotels and tour operators, and the DOT's 2024 final rule on airline website accessibility.
Ghost accessibility challenges that hit travel and hospitality hardest
• Custom theme variance
• Inaccessible third-party newsletter integrations
Travel & Hospitality pain points your Ghost site will likely have
• Inaccessible booking calendars and seat-selection maps
• No way to specify accessibility needs in booking flow
• "Accessible room" filters that do not actually filter
• Inaccessible boarding-pass / e-ticket PDFs
• Inaccessible loyalty-portal account management
Setup steps
1. Use Casper or audit your theme: Casper is the reference accessibility-aware theme.
2. Editorial discipline on alt text: Ghost editor supports alt; require it.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Cited answers. Sourced. Updated as standards and case law change.
Can a Ghost site be made ADA compliant for travel and hospitality?
Yes, provided the merchant or development team applies WCAG 2.2 AA at the source code and content level. No platform — including Ghost — guarantees compliance automatically.
What does the DOT require for airline websites?
Under the Air Carrier Access Act and DOT regulations (14 CFR Part 382), primary public-facing airline web pages and core functions must conform to WCAG 2.0 AA. The 2024 final rule strengthens these requirements and adds explicit penalties for non-compliance.
Are hotel "accessible room" filters required?
Effectively yes. ADA Title III requires hotels to provide accessibility information at the time of reservation, including details sufficient for a guest with a disability to determine room suitability. DOJ guidance and many settlements require filterable, structured accessibility data — not a buried PDF.
Is Ghost accessible?
Casper theme and Ghost editor support accessibility. Custom themes vary.
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