About Us
Each of the Accessible Accommodation team either has a disability or is a family member of a person with a disability. We are here to help make travel easier for people with disabilities.
Kerry and Grant Williams are the people behind Accessible Accommodation. We have family members that frequently require accessible accommodation and also own a holiday rental. We’ve seen both sides of the importance of good information for people with disabilities, from the perspective of people needing accessible accommodation and for people owning and managing accommodation that may or may not be accessible.
Ten years ago, they built an Accessible holiday rental in beautiful Barwon Heads. They discovered just how different everyone’s needs are, that there simply isn’t a “one size fits all”. They have spent considerable time researching and talking to guests who require varying levels of accessibility. They understand the needs of people with disabilities and now share this knowledge with other property owners who wish to attract a booming category of travellers and people requiring STA (Short Term Accommodation).
Meet Kerry
Kerry Williams - Founder/ Director
Kerry Williams is an entrepreneur and accessibility advocate, revolutionising how individuals with disabilities enjoy travelling through her Accessible Accommodation and Accessible Experiences websites. Inspired by her mother Barbie, who had MS. Kerry’s goal is to make it easier for people with disabilities to book suitable accommodation that can be assured suits their needs.
Passionate about inclusivity, she collaborates with organisations and provides Tourism Inclusion Training and Accessibility Consulting Services, with her core belief that Accessible accommodation can look beautiful, and does not need to look clinical. A multi-award winner, she continues to drive innovation for seamless, accessible travel.
Meet Grant
Grant Williams- Co Founder and Tech Support
Grant, is Kerry’s husband, partner in life and co-founder of The Accessible Group. He is responsible for the websites and the platforms behind all the online content as well as technical support for the team. He has almost 40 years of experience in the IT industry and is a Chartered Engineer and an IT and Human Factors specialist. He uses these skills, along with his understanding of accessible traveller’s needs, to ensure an easy user experience.
On his (rare!) days off, he loves classic cars and cruising in his vintage Citroen 2CV.
Meet Ashlee
Ashlee Morton - General Manager
Ashlee Morton, Accessible Accommodation’s General Manager, is a devoted mother to two young children, and finds both immense joy and occasional stress in parenting, often joking that they are the cause of her daily search for grey hairs!
Having relied on a manual wheelchair for most of her life, she understands firsthand the crucial importance of ensuring accommodation meets an individual’s specific needs. Passionate about making the tourism sector more inclusive, she advocates for dismantling societal obstacles to travel, believing everyone should have the opportunity to experience the world.
An adventurer at heart, Ashlee’s passions extend beyond parenting and advocacy. She spends her spare time surfing, playing para ice hockey with the Melbourne Walers, and aMTB (Adaptive Mountain Bike Riding), embracing life’s challenges with enthusiasm.
Meet Liz
Liz Reeve Barnes - Finance
Liz is a mum of two and manages our accounts.
Liz had family members with Asperger’s Syndrome disability and understands the need for helpful and empathetic service. She studied Education Support to assist children with disabilities and using these skills volunteered in the local Kindergarten and schools.
Liz loves to travel and believes everyone should be able to have a holiday with peace of mind.
Meet Shae
Shae Mankey- Assistant to Kerry & Marketing
Shae has worked over 20 years as a receptionist in the healthcare sector where she enjoyed her role in customer service and prides herself in maintaining a high standard of care to all she meets. She has also worked briefly as an NDIS Support Coordinator and is an NDIS Participant herself. Shae has a form of Muscular Dystrophy which has seen a decline in her mobility over the years making the need for accessibility out in the world more prevalent. Shae is passionate about accessibility and inclusion for everyone and believes that going on a holiday should be a joy, not a stress.
Outside of work Shae enjoys spending time with her fiancé and their dog and looks forward to holidaying at one of our pet-friendly, accessible properties in the future.
Meet Josh
Josh Evans- Customer Service
In 2014 when Josh was 17, he had an accident on a mountain bike where he ended up breaking his neck at C4, C5 vertebrae and suffered a spinal cord injury. Since his injury, he finished year 12 and began studying atmospheric science at Monash University. Josh has also travelled around the country and in 2018 went on his first overseas trip to America with his girlfriend, Brooke. At the beginning of 2021, Josh proposed to Brooke, and is now lucky enough to call Brooke his fiancé. Josh says “working at Accessible Accommodation gives me the great pleasure of being able to assist people like myself that want to travel and may not realise the number of opportunities available. I know that planning a trip away can be very daunting for someone with a disability and I am excited to help people with their wants and needs in booking their accommodation away”.
Meet Sharron
Sharron Marshall - Customer Service
Sharron is a mother of three children, her second child is a quadriplegic. She knows how difficult it is to find accessible accommodation to suit her family’s needs.
In 2017 her family brought a house on Phillip Island and spent 6 months renovating it into a luxury accessible holiday house.
Having worked in the travel and tourism industry for many years, Sharron prides herself in providing exceptional customer service. She has undertaken an accessible tourism course, Scope and National Relay Service training.
Meet Lyn
Lyn Gillies - Customer Service
(Ashlee Lyn) or Lyn as we call her, is a mother of 3 Children, her youngest Daughter suffered a T4 Spinal Cord Injury. Lyn also helps cares for her Mum that suffered from a Stroke in 2014 and understands the need for accessibility. She has also had her own injuries in the past that caused for months at a time unable to walk, long hospital stays and having years of physiotherapy.
2020 after her Daughter obtained a Spinal Cord Injury, she realised the extreme difficulties in finding suitable Accommodation. To be able to travel and still be independent as possible. This why Lyn loves to be able to help and assist people find the right and suitable accommodation, this is very close to her heart and understanding.
Together our goal is to ensure that travellers can now be well informed, allowing them to confidently find and book accommodation where they can have an inclusive stay with their family, creating cherished memories.
Between us, Accessible Accommodation offers tech-savvy support and intimate knowledge of digital marketing, and experience managing an accessible holiday rental, as well as travelling with a disability.
These attributes are vital in today’s tourism climate. We have also launched Accessible Experiences.This is an opportunity to be a part of an even more comprehensive resource site.