# Wheel the World

> Wheel the World is a travel platform that makes booking accessible trips reliable for people with disabilities and seniors. Founded in 2017 by Chilean childhood friends Alvaro Silberstein and Camilo Navarro, it treats accessibility as an information problem: trained mappers collect 200+ verified data points per hotel room, activity, and destination, so a wheelchair user can check the exact door width, bed height, and shower type before they book. The company now covers 8,000+ travel services across 200+ destinations and guarantees accessibility on rooms booked through its site.

- **Founded:** 2017
- **Headquarters:** Berkeley, California, United States
- **Founders:** Alvaro Silberstein (Co-Founder & CEO), Camilo Navarro (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** ~78 employees
- **Products:** Wheel the World Booking Platform, Accessibility Verified Program, Accessibility Mapping System, Accessibility Match, AI-Powered Travel Agent
- **Notable:** Founder Alvaro Silberstein became the first person with quadriplegia to complete Patagonia's Torres del Paine W Trek (2017)., Won the WiT / Phocuswright Global Startup Pitch (2022)., Finalist, Fundacion MAPFRE Social Innovation Awards.

## Products & services

- **Wheel the World Booking Platform** — An online travel agency where users filter and book hotels, tours, and activities by their specific accessibility needs, with a guarantee that booked rooms match their described accessibility.
- **Accessibility Verified Program** — A yearly certification program where trained mappers collect 200+ accessibility data points per property, producing a verified listing, staff training via Wheel the World Academy, and marketing visibility. Priced around $150/month billed annually.
- **Accessibility Mapping System** — The on-site data-collection tool that captures door widths, bed heights, grab-bar placement, shower type, and slopes at the individual-room level, each with photographs.
- **Accessibility Match** — A compatibility-scoring engine that aligns a traveler's specific needs against a property's 200+ verified data points.
- **AI-Powered Travel Agent** — A conversational tool, first piloted in Grand Rapids, that answers travelers' specific accessibility questions using verified data rather than marketing language.

## Achievements

- Founder Alvaro Silberstein became the first person with quadriplegia to complete Patagonia's Torres del Paine W Trek (2017).
- Won the WiT / Phocuswright Global Startup Pitch (2022).
- Finalist, Fundacion MAPFRE Social Innovation Awards.
- World Summit Award winner.
- Grew to 8,000+ verified travel services across 200+ destinations.
- Tripled revenue in two years and improved travel access for 20,000+ people.
- Donated $60,000 to the TravelAbility Foundation (2024).

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Park City, Utah earned Wheel the World's Accessibility Verified destination designation.
- **2026-02** — Closed an $11M Series A co-led by Enable Ventures and Kayyak Ventures, with former Expedia CEO Erik Blachford and former Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans investing.
- **2026-02** — Piloted an AI-powered accessible-travel agent in Grand Rapids that answers accessibility questions using verified data.

## Links

- Website: https://wheeltheworld.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/wheeltheworld
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/wheeltheworld
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wheeltheworld
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wheeltheworld
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/gowheeltheworld

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/wheel-the-world
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-10