Close to people | Stories from Bethel
The housekeeper at the Bethel-Hotel Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler
She has just been talking to tradesmen in the lobby. Now Jana Seifert is carrying chairs that have just been delivered into the building. And she will soon be available to the photographer for portraits for this story. The housekeeper at the Bethel Hotel zum Weinberg in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler has many tasks on this working day shortly before the hotel opens at the beginning of February 2022 - and she does them all with a smile on her face. Of course, if you work in service like her, a friendly demeanour is a professional must. But anyone who gets to know Jana Seifert quickly realises that she really is like that.
There are other explanations for her positive charisma besides her cheerful nature. For example, her successful job change. After 29 years at a renowned hotel chain in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, the now 46-year-old mother of two grown-up children wanted to try something new professionally. She found out about Bethel's plans to open an inclusive hotel in the Rhineland-Palatinate town from the Protestant parish in which she is active as a presbyter. "I started by googling," she recalls: "What is Bethel? And what is an inclusion hotel?"
"I have no fear of contact with people with disabilities."
The answers convinced Jana Seifert. "Bethel's church connection is very important to me," she emphasises, "because I'm very religious." She also likes the concept of an inclusive home. "It allows me to combine my church and social commitment with my job," she says: "I like helping, listening and accompanying people. And I have no fear of contact with people with disabilities." Around 40 per cent of the hotel's staff are employees with disabilities.
As a housekeeper, who is responsible for the hygiene and cleanliness of the hotel and the cleaning staff, there was initially nothing for Jana Seifert to do when she started at the beginning of August 2021. The building was still under construction at the time and Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler had been devastated by flooding shortly beforehand. The hotel was spared and served as a supply point for flood victims. Jana Seifert lent a hand in her first few weeks of work there and in the coffee and laundry tents in front of the hotel. And in the church community too.
"I feel like I've really arrived here"
It was only later that she started to furnish the hotel. Jana Seifert was amazed that the management gave her responsibility for selecting and purchasing bed linen and crockery, for example. "I saw that as recognition," she says. In general, it was a great pleasure to be able to actively shape the development of the house from a building site to a finished guest house.
"Outside, everything was destroyed by the flood, but in here everything is intact and new," says Jana Seifert. Although the house she lives in was not affected, she feels the same way: "The hotel is a nice bubble for me that simply does me good. I feel like I've really arrived here." Another point that explains her satisfaction and friendliness.
Text: Philipp Kreutzer | Photo: Sarah Jonek / Christian Weische
This story simply told
Jana Seifert works at the new Bethel Hotel zum Weinberg in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. She is responsible for the cleanliness of the hotel. 40 per cent of the hotel's employees are people with disabilities. Jana Seifert thinks that's a good thing. She enjoys helping and listening to others. She really enjoys her work.
Would you like to find out more?
Bethel Hotel zum Weinberg
Hauptstraße 62
53474 Bad Neuenahr- Ahrweiler
The hotel is:
Inclusive: At least 40 per cent of employees are people with disabilities. This makes it a hotel with a special profile in the region.
Hospitable: Our hotel team works together to ensure that all guests feel at home here.
Accessibility is the guiding principle in the design of the hotel: for our guests as well as our employees.
