Young people with disabilities keen for a career in hospitality will have greater opportunities thanks to a partnership between some of Australia’s leading hotel, educational and social enterprise organisations.
Hotel Etico, established in 2020 as Australia’s first social enterprise hotel, trains people with disabilities to become job-ready for the hospitality industry.
The 15-room hotel, located in the historic Mount Victoria Manor in the NSW Blue Mountains, provides real-life experience for trainees, who are assisted in gaining employment in other hotels around NSW after completing their training.
Hotel entrepreneur Dr Jerry Schwartz has now taken over the Leura site where the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School (BMIHMS) operates, and the Hotel Etico project will be expanded.
Hotel Etico’s Academy of Independence and head office will move to Leura, next to BMIHMS, which will continue to be owned and operated by Torrens University Australia on a smaller, refurbished campus.
Dr Schwartz says the idea is to create an “integrated resort village” where hospitality education, inclusive employment and real-world hotel operations coexist.
The Schwartz Family Company also owns Leura Gardens Resort and the nearby Fairmont Resort, where many Hotel Etico graduates have been employed.
“This will provide the best possible hotel education facilities while students are fully immersed in an operating hotel, while benefitting from an education program that will deliver passionate, well-trained and motivated graduates to the industry, which is currently hindered by a talent shortage,” says Dr Schwartz.
“Students from Blue Mountains International Hospitality School and Hotel Etico will have hands-on pathways into their hospitality careers and learn in the best environment.”
Trilogy Hotels, which manages Leura Gardens Hotel and Fairmont Resort, will create clear recruitment pipelines for Hotel Etico and BMIHMS graduates.
The partnership and shared campus operations are planned to commence from mid-October 2025.
“We believe the Leura campus will be a beacon of social enterprise, education excellence and real-life learning for hospitality careers,” says Scott Boyes, CEO, Trilogy Hotels.
