Following a pioneering collaboration between Australia’s most prominent hotel, educational and social enterprises organisations, young people with disability who wish to pursue a hospitality career will have greater opportunities.
Hotel Etico was established as Australia’s first social enterprise hotel in 2020, with the goal of training people living with a disability to become job-ready for the hospitality industry.
The historic Mount Victoria Manor, gardens and 15-room Hotel are located in the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney. This hotel provides trainees with real-life experiences. After completing the training, the trainees will be assisted in finding a career in another hotel in NSW.
Hotel Etico will now expand following the acquisition of entrepreneur hotel owner. Dr Jerry SchwartzThe site where the website is located Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School (BMIHMS) operates.
Dr Schwartz wants to add the Hotel Etico Campus to BMIHMS to further enhance the international educational credentials of the site. BMIHMS continues to be owned by and operated Torrens University Australia.
The Blue Mountains International Hotel School is moving into a smaller campus that has been refurbished, making it possible for Hotel Etico’s move.
Hotel Etico has announced that it will move its Academy of Independence and Head Office to Leura, next to BMIHMS. The Schwartz Family Company runs the nearby Fairmont Resort. Many Hotel Etico alumni have worked there.
Dr Schwartz said the idea was to create an ‘integrated resort village’ where hospitality education, inclusive employment, and real-world hotel operations coexist.
The program will produce graduates who are well-trained and motivated, as well as passionate. This industry is currently suffering from a talent shortage.
“Students at the Blue Mountains International Hospitality School, Hotel Etico and the Blue Mountains International Hospitality School will be able to gain hands-on training and experience in their hospitality career.
This partnership is an example of the hospitality industry’s commitment to attract the best talent, and foster true inclusion. Disability is a strength, and an asset. The campus will serve as a role model for Australia and wider industry.
Trilogy Hotels’ Leura Gardens Hotel, Fairmont Resort and Trilogy Hotels’ Trilogy Hotels will establish clear recruitment pipelines to hire Hotel Etico and BMIHMS graduate.
Partnership and shared campus operations will begin in mid-October of 2025. Hotel Etico has also reached the final stages in planning a second Campus in Canberra in conjunction with Schwartz Family Company, Trilogy Hotels and their Mercure Hotel Canberra.
Scott Boyes said, “This is a first-of-its kind partnership in Australia that integrates vocational training, higher educational, inclusive employment and hotel operations on a single campus.”
It empowers a whole new generation of professionals in the industry, regardless of their abilities or backgrounds.
“We are confident that the Leura Campus, with its social enterprise, excellence in education, and real life learning, will be an icon for hospitality careers.”
