Ethical traveller: Focus on inclusion

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It's time for hospitality to focus on inclusion — for the good of all, writes Alison McIntosh.

On a recent trip to the UK I spent a pleasant afternoon having high tea at Foxes Hotel on the Esplanade in Minehead, a seaside town in the southwest of England.

I quickly realised this was a very special hotel. The hotel provides hospitality training and work experience for young people with learning disabilities. It was the focus of the television documentary series, The Special Needs Hotel, which aired on TVNZ last year.

I was particularly struck by the vision of the hotel to vary and even challenge what we expect in terms of the "look and feel" of hospitality work and service delivery. In fact, I found the overall experience more rich, meaningful, personal, unique and memorable. Our afternoon tea arrived with an extra piece of delicious homemade cake, as much tea or coffee as we could drink, and the service was warm and genuine.

We were invited to have a tour of the 15-room hotel and were pleased to learn that approximately 86 per cent of the 400-plus learners who have so far graduated from the Foxes training academy have since been employed.

With people with disabilities representing an estimated 10-19 per cent of the general population worldwide and with unemployment rates among people with disabilities as high as 80 per cent in some countries, I was not surprised to learn they are being seen as an untapped source of labour for the hospitality industry amid persistent labour shortages. Despite reports that show people with disabilities continue to experience workplace discrimination, I was pleasantly surprised by the way in which the hotel was demonstrating the possibilities for inclusive hospitality training for this group of young people to implement and support lasting change in the employment of disabled youth. It appeared to me their attempt was highly successful. The glowing feedback in the guestbook stood as evidence of this.

My welcoming experience over afternoon tea that day made me question why inclusive employment and training practices are not more widely evident in the tourism and hospitality industry.

The infectious enthusiasm, loyalty and dedication of these young people with learning disabilities was very evident that afternoon. It was apparent that their willingness to succeed, assisted by the strategies applied at the Foxes Hotel to support them in their learning, was breaking stereotypes about traditional hospitality training and the norms and standards of professionalism generally associated with hospitality service delivery.

I began to consider the opportunities for the hospitality industry to actually expand their customer base, vary the experience of service offering, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and boost business profitability through a focus on inclusion. But in order to achieve that, there perhaps first needs to be a wider shift in thinking about the possibilities for breaking with traditions.

One has only to witness the smiling friendly faces and commitment of these young learners to appreciate the passion that is afforded with their new-found independence.

Wouldn't it be wonderful for the hospitality industry to act as a broader vehicle for social change?

Professor Alison McIntosh teaches at the AUT School of Hospitality, Tourism & Events.