In December, Secretary of State for Tourism Joan Mesquida visited the new accessible rooms for disabled guests at the Confortel Suites Madrid hotel –a new proof of Confortel Hoteles’s commitment to accessible tourism.

Mesquida visited the rooms with Confortel CEO Jon Cortina, Confortel General Manager José Ángel Preciados, CEOSA Executive President José María Arroyo, and CEOSA CEO Enrique Servando Sánchez.

This initiative, launched by the ONCE hotel chain in July 2008 (cf. “Así somos,” 60), is aimed at guaranteeing that everyone can stay at the comfortable Confortel hotels, without barriers. Accessible rooms have been designed following the design criteria used in regular rooms and hotel facilities, so that hotels’ integrity is preserved.

Avant-Garde
Confortel is a pioneer company in the promotion of accessible tourism for disabled people. The hotel chain’s efforts were rewarded with the CERMI.ES Award 2008 to Best Social and Cultural Work, granted by the Spanish Committee of Disabled People Representatives. This organisation is the most important one representing this group in Spain (which, according to recent statistics, comprises around 4M people).
In addition, the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade gave Confortel CEO Jon Cortina the Medal for Merit in Tourism 2008 in the category “Accommodation,” for his efforts in tourism accessibility improvement in Spain.

Aiming for excellence in 2009, the chain has set three specific goals: being granted accessibility certification in its hotels, performing internal audits, and setting up an accessibility department in its headquarters.