Bethel - The dream job at the Bethel Hotel zum Weinberg

He normally picks up the phone quickly, but now Daniel Ibs lets the phone ring. After all, two guests who have just arrived are standing in front of him, and they have priority. As soon as he has handed them their room cards and provided them with all the important information about their stay, Daniel Ibs will call them back - as long as the next visitors are not already arriving. Things can get a little stressful at the reception desk of the "Bethel Hotel zum Weinberg". But that doesn't worry Daniel Ibs. "I've found my dream job here," he says.

The 41-year-old has been working at the inclusive hotel in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler since 1 December 2021 and is part of the founding team of the hotel, which opened in February 2022. At reception, he welcomes guests, takes care of check-in and check-out, files registration forms and processes enquiries and reservations on the phone and computer. "I really like the job because it's varied and I'm in contact with people," he says. "It suits me because I'm the communicative type."

Daniel Ibs and his workplace are just one of many examples of how inclusion works at the barrier-free "Bethel Hotel zum Weinberg". Employees with disabilities take up around 40 per cent of the jobs in the three-star hotel; for guests, six of the 72 rooms are designed to be wheelchair accessible and equipped with electric care beds. Three further rooms are designed for people with visual impairments and three for people with hearing impairments and offer assistive technologies such as light bells and visual fire alarms. There are also two family rooms and a room for people with autism.

"People with and without disabilities treat each other well and as colleagues here," says Daniel Ibs. "I hope that this is also the case outside the hotel. And that's why it would be good and important if there were more inclusive businesses like this and more inclusive accommodation options."

Text: Philipp Kreutzer | Photos: Christian Weische