Tui and Ocean Florida seal £117k accessible booking

A travel agent and tour operator worked together late into the evening to secure a £117,000 accessible booking within 48 hours of the initial enquiry.

The booking is Tui agent Carl Stoner’s biggest-ever sale, and marks Ocean Florida’s largest accessible booking achieved through the trade.

The 14-night Florida package at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn is for a family group of 22, including six passengers with disabilities, flying with British Airways to Tampa in July 2027. Four of the customers are neurodivergent and two have cerebral palsy.

Stoner, based at Tui’s Bluewater branch in Kent, contacted Ocean Florida after receiving a text enquiry from a regular family client on his day off. He said: “Within half an hour, they put me in touch with travel trade specialist Katie McGregor.

“As soon as they understood there were neurodivergent travellers in the group, they were already thinking about how to make the whole journey easier. It felt like everyone was pulling in the same direction and it was all about tailoring it properly.”

As well as organising airport lounge access, fast-track passes and Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyards, the pair sourced a hotel with fewer over‑stimulating features near the theme parks.

Stoner, who has completed Tui’s internal neurodiversity training, added: “One person needed a first-floor room; some needed at least one interconnecting room. They didn’t need adapted rooms, but it was about making sure the set-up really worked.

“We looked at the hotel location, accessibility in the parks and transport options – practical details make a big difference once you’re there.”

About 10 members of the family came into the store at 5pm to finalise details. “They wanted an agency on the high street, where they could talk with me in person,” said Stoner, who was in contact with McGregor late into the evening until the rooms were confirmed at 11.30pm.

He added: “It was one of those bookings where everyone rolled their sleeves up and kept going until it was sorted. Katie and I have become friends through all of this. We were texting late into the evening, and it just shows how much everyone cared about getting it right.”

Clare Harvey, Ocean Florida key account director, said: “Launching our accessibility offering in 2022 was exactly for families like this – the agent knew to come to us, and within 48 hours the booking was confirmed.”