For many people with disabilities, attending in-person conferences can feel more stressful than welcoming due to accessibility challenges. Attendees may worry about barriers they’ll encounter or whether vital accommodations will be in place for panels, breakout sessions, and interactive activities.
At Dreamforce 2025, Salesforce is working to alleviate those concerns.
Known as a champion for accessibility and inclusion, the company is using its annual event to showcase progress and ensure all attendees can fully engage.
To prepare for the roughly 40,000 attendees who will be in San Francisco from Oct. 14 to 16 for the event, Salesforce has created its Accessible Guide to Dreamforce.
Key Takeaways
- Salesforce has created a comprehensive accessibility guide written in the first person. Salesforce's Accessible Guide to Dreamforce uses engaging, first-person language designed for diverse cognitive processing styles, covering everything from app features to accommodation requests.
- Training all staff in disability etiquette transforms the attendee experience. Even a five-minute session gives accessibility staff, ambassadors, and security the confidence to offer respectful support without hesitation, creating a more welcoming environment where everyone feels truly included.
- Multiple sensory accommodations are essential. Three quiet tech-free spaces, English captions in all sessions, ASL streaming, and sighted guides ensure attendees with various disabilities can fully participate.
- Why include accessibility feedback in your main survey? Dreamforce now asks all attendees about accessibility, not just those who use accommodations, ensuring improvements reflect the lived experiences of the entire community.
- Build partnerships that last decades. Salesforce's 26-year collaboration between their Office of Accessibility and events team proves that trust-based relationships enable organizations to balance accessibility with creativity, design, and budget constraints.
The Dreamforce 2025 Accessibility Guide
To help the roughly 40,000 attendees navigate the conference, Salesforce has created the Accessible Guide to Dreamforce 2025 to answer common accessibility questions and preview available accommodations. Written in the first person, the guide is designed to be engaging and easy to follow, supporting attendees with diverse cognitive processing styles.
Key features include:
- Event app: Downloadable from the App Store or Google Play, provides agendas, food and beverage options, a detailed campus map across several buildings and four blocks, and more.
- Accommodations requests: Attendees can request accommodations during registration or contact the Disability Help Desk via email (DisabilityHelpDesk@Salesforce.com) or in person.
- Event logistics: The guide covers security protocols, badge pickup, keynote speakers, and breakout sessions.
Designing Dreamforce 2025 to Be Accessible for All
Drawing on 26 years of experience, Salesforce has designed Dreamforce 2025 with accessibility at its core. Highlights include:
- Mobility Support: All buildings feature ramps, elevators, and low-height surfaces. Accessible restrooms are available on every floor. Motorized scooters are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and electrical outlets are plentiful for recharging assistive devices.
- Transportation: Accessible shuttles will transport attendees with mobility devices to and from hotels throughout the event.
- Sensory Accommodations: Three quiet spaces provide tech-free areas for relaxation, supported by trained accessibility staff. Interactive maps on the app also help attendees navigate campus.
- Staff Training: All accessibility staff, ambassadors, and security receive training in social etiquette, respectful language, and inclusive behaviors. “Even a quick five-minute training can give staff the confidence to offer support without second-guessing themselves,” explains Amy Wood, Accessibility Manager, Office of Accessibility.
- Hearing Support: English captions will be available in all sessions, supporting attendees with hearing loss, non-native English speakers, visual learners, and those in noisy environments. An American Sign Language channel will stream on Salesforce+, with ASL support available onsite upon request.
- Support for Attendees Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision: Sighted guides stationed at the Disability Help Desk can provide physical and verbal guidance between sessions. The free Aira app also connects users to trained remote agents for assistance.
- Disability Help Desk Vests: Staffers at the Disability Help Desk will now wear clearly branded vests with “Accessibility Support” and disability icons on the back. This makes them easier for attendees to spot when they need assistance, and also signals to Security which staffers have escorting privileges and access to restricted areas. It’s a small but powerful change that improves both visibility and trust.
- Agentforce AI for Accessibility Support: Salesforce is leveraging Agentforce AI to handle the most common accessibility-related questions from attendees, employees, and staffers. This frees its team to focus on high-priority, individualized needs while still ensuring quick, accurate responses for routine inquiries. It’s an innovative way to combine human support with AI efficiency.
Evaluating & Improving Accessibility
Accessibility is an ongoing priority at Dreamforce. After the event, the Office of Accessibility reviews successes, challenges, and lessons learned.
For the first time, a dedicated accessibility question is included in the main Dreamforce survey, inviting all attendees to share feedback. This ensures the strategy reflects the lived experiences of the entire community. Real-time feedback from attendees and staff also informs improvements.
“Over the years, we’ve built an incredible partnership with the events team, rooted in trust and collaboration,” Wood adds. “That relationship makes it possible to design environments that are truly accessible, while balancing creativity, design, and budget.”
Salesforce is a founding partner of InclusionHub, a resource for digital accessibility committed to helping businesses and organizations prioritize inclusion in the workplace. To learn more about how your organization can better support professionals with disabilities at your in-person events, visit Salesforce’s a11y website.