Our mission: to bring extraordinary accessible travel products to the mainstream.

Our mission is driven by passion and practicality. We believe that commercial success and social good can go hand-in-hand. In fact, commercial performance is essential to getting the right level of investment and the long-term commitment.

We combine decades of rich and diverse experience in the industry into a unique consulting entity. While we each bring different sets of expertise to travel and accessibility, we share a core quality to all we did and do: the ability to address complex issues, design sensible solutions and deliver tangible results.

  • I have always enjoyed tackling big issues, especially the ones that make a difference in people’s lives. Even more so, I love building stuff: assembling teams of experts, designing architectural projects, advising technology start-ups, creating investment funds, starting an accessible travel company from scratch. I love the systematic process: articulate the big picture, break it down into workable parts, keep your eyes on the ball and do it.

    Ten years ago, looking for the next challenge, I created with my spouse an accessible travel company focused on providing extraordinary experiences for the community of people with disabilities. In many respects, this was a natural evolution of our years of involvement with this community: me as a volunteer sea-kayak guide and my spouse as a ski guide, specializing in taking people of all abilities on outdoor expeditions.

    What a ride it was and continues to be. From offering just a couple of local adventures in the San Francisco Bay Area, we rapidly grew to be a leading accessible travel company operating in over 30 destinations in the US, Canada and worldwide, serving scores of incoming and outgoing global travelers annually. With a focus on customized itineraries for individuals, families and groups, we developed an expertise that goes beyond just travel planning: a deep understanding of the unique requirements of our customers, their families and traveling companions.

    This expertise is at the core of my push for inclusiveness and accessibility into the mainstream: advocacy, contributing articles, collaborating on travel guides, developing resources, delivering workshops and advising entities in the US and abroad on the development of accessible tourism.

    And now, Accessio Consulting.

  • Mike Saunderson is an accomplished and results-driven leader with over fourteen years of experience supporting Fortune 500 organizations in training needs assessment, instructional design, and evaluation.

    He has a proven track record of designing learning solutions that lead to measurable improvements in employee performance and business outcomes.

    Mike holds a Ph.D. in Learning Design and Technology from the University of Hawaii, where his research focused on evaluating training transfer and leveraging technology to analyze performance data.

    He is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, where he shares evidence-based strategies for evaluating learning effectiveness and measuring behavior change. Mike is also a published author, contributing multiple articles to Training Magazine, Training Industry, and ATD Magazine.

    His academic foundation, combined with practical experience, enables him to design and evaluate learning programs that are both data-informed and performance-focused.

  • We used to take road trips when I was little, like many families. My mom would keep me quiet by tying a ball of string into the tightest knots she could and tossing it to me. I’d spend hours untying the knots.

    Untying knots - tough, existential challenges - has been the focus of my career, leading technology and travel distribution businesses, from pre-revenue startups to iconic multinationals, from turnarounds to hypergrowth, from marketing and product management to CEO. But now I re-tie the knots to connect extraordinary customer experience to superior financial performance.

    For the past six years, I’ve consulted with travel and technology companies to create breakthrough growth. I’m still untying knots.

    Accessible travel is a new area of focus but a compelling one. It’s a way to give back and connect to family and close friends with unique needs, and to help companies deliver to a vastly underserved - and highly profitable - population.

    A few things about Mitch

    Undergrad degree is in design and production in theatre, where I did over 100 shows

    Advised my son’s startup for three years - and we’re still talking

    Seven commercial and non-profit boards, eight advisor/angel roles, multiple successful exits

Accessio: your partner in travel accessibility solutions

Contact us