On 28 January, Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Asturias visited the Confortel Hotels (www.confortelhoteles.com) stand during the official opening of the International Tourism Fair (FITUR). They were welcomed by the executive president of the ONCE Business Corporation (CE0SA), José María Arroyo, the managing director of the hotel chain, Jon Cortina, and its general manager, José Ángel Preciados.
Confortel has always seen FITUR as an opportunity to strengthen its relationships and generate new ones, this year of economic crisis being the time to promote Spanish destinations as locations for company incentives and conventions. The ONCE hotel chain has 18 establishments: four in Madrid, four in Barcelona, two in Valencia and one each in Seville, Badajoz, Minorca, Fuengirola (Malaga), Calas de Conil (Cadiz), Islantilla (Huelva), S´Agaró (Gerona) and Zaragoza.
Furthermore, and for the second consecutive year, Confortel received the “Prize for the Best Stand” at FITUR in the Company section. The Fair’s director, Ana Larrañaga, presented the award to Jon Cortina and José Ángel Preciados, who were accompanied by the chain’s commercial director, Javier Sancho. The stand, which measured 236 metres, retained the innovative design of the avant-garde look which is now characteristic of Confortel hotels, combining simplicity, a uniform colour scheme and a great sense of modernity. Cortina stated that “it fills us with satisfaction to see that our design work is so well received”, but he emphasised that “the most important thing about the stand is what it contains, since it is the people that bring it to life”. For Preciados, the prize represents “recognition of the team effort that is demonstrating how a medium-sized company, such as Confortel, can make a name for itself in the sector, setting the standard in the hotel industry”.

Accessibility at the Confortel Alcalá Norte
The Confortel Alcalá Norte in Madrid has received the Global Accessibility Certificate from the Spanish Standardisation and Certification Association (AENOR), thus becoming the second of the chain’s establishments to obtain this distinction in line with the UNE 170001 regulation on Universal Accessibility.  This recognition was made public at the fourth AENOR Flags ceremony, held on 30 January at FITUR 2009.
AENOR’s deputy general manager, Avelino Brito, and its New Products director, Jaime Fontanals, presented the distinction to the managing director of Confortel Hotels, Jon Cortina, to whom it represented “a further step along the path towards our ultimate objective: to achieve certification at all of the chain’s hotels”. Brito reminded those present that AENOR has spent more than twenty years generating confidence through these certifications which are “an incentive to encourage companies to reach their social responsibility objectives”, as well as “a way of communicating their compliance with these regulations to third parties”.
The AENOR Global Accessibility Certificate guarantees that everyone, with or without a disability, has the same opportunities to access and enjoy the services offered by the establishment. The Confortel Pío XII, also in Madrid, already achieved certification in 2007, being the first establishment in the Spanish tourism sector to be awarded it. It involves incorporating the concept of accessibility in everyday management, raising employee awareness and implementing the necessary technical aids. Confortel Hotels trains all of its staff in this area as soon as they start working for the chain. Furthermore, as part of its plans for the future, the chain has set itself three objectives in its quest for excellence in the field of accessibility: to obtain similar certification at all of its hotels, to carry out internal audits and create a specific Accessibility Department at its head office. Not for nothing, the CEOSA hotel chain is a pioneer in the promotion of “accessible tourism” and continues to incorporate technical changes, offering adapted rooms in all of its hotels which have the same aesthetic design criteria as the remaining facilities. Efforts which have earned Confortel Hotels the recent award of “the most people-orientated company” and the 2008 Medal for Merit in Tourism in the accommodation sector.
On this occasion, AENOR gave out a total of 310 flags to 219 companies devoted to cultural, recreational and sports activities, car hire, campsites, hotels and restaurants, paradors, spas and national parks.