Hotel Etico takes home award for Disability Inclusion and Access
Social enterprise hotel recognised at the 2024 Accommodation Australia NSW Awards for Excellence
At the 2024 Accommodation Australia NSW Awards for Excellence, Hotel Etico took home the prestigious Disability Inclusion and Access Award.
Hotel Etico is the first social enterprise hotel in Australia and is helping young people with a disability to step into rewarding careers in hospitality.
Based in the Blue Mountains, Hotel Etico is staffed by hospitality trainees with disability alongside industry professionals. It’s a unique business model that aims to break down barriers preventing people with disabilities from achieving their full potential.
Read more about Hotel Etico HERE
For Hotel Etico Australia co-founder and CEO Andrea Comastri, receiving industry recognition for their work in disability inclusion and access was an honour.
“Hotel Etico is extremely proud of the recognition by its peers in the tourism and accommodation industry,” Mr Comastri said.
“We work very closely with the industry not only to secure ongoing employment for our graduates but also to promote inclusivity in the sector.
“We are very encouraged by the warm reception of our vision by a rapidly growing number of partners and we are really looking forward to continuing to work with the sector to make Australia the most inclusive country in the world when it comes to tourism and accommodation.
Winning the award is a fantastic recognition of the hard work of our very dedicated team of disability and hospitality professionals who every day go above and beyond in supporting our trainees and graduates in becoming hospitality professionals and aspiring to a life of dignity, independence and inclusion.
Hotel Etico trainees live onsite in the Academy of Independence for the duration of the program, which is a minimum of 12 months. Here, they also learn valuable life skills that alongside their hospitality training, empower the trainees to embrace opportunities post-graduation.
Mr Comastri said their latest cohort of graduates have all flourished, with many already having secured employment in the hospitality industry.
“Our 13 new graduates (Aaron, Azza, Ash, Brandon, Cleo, Domenic, Francesca, Joel, Luci, Maxime, Melinda, Stephanos and Trent) have either already secured ongoing employment or are currently being supported with interviews and work experience and we have no doubt that they will all secure employment and flourish as professionals in the sector,” he explained.
“They will all work in open, integrated award paying jobs and will continue to be supported in developing their careers.”
Looking to the future of Hotel Etico, Mr Comastri said they had recently inducted their latest intake of 15 trainees.
Hotel Etico has also embarked on national expansion that will see the social enterprise model rolled out in every state and territory.
To help support the expansion, Mr Comastri is keen to speak to any industry professionals or businesses who may be interested in supporting the important work of Hotel Etico.
“We are keen to talk to property and delivery partners to make our vision become a reality and to continue to partner with the sector to build its capacity and disability confidence,” he said.
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Sarah is a freelance journalist with experience across print, digital and audio. After working for Multimedia Publishing as a contributing writer, she has recently joined the team in a part-time capacity for School News AU and AccomNews.