DThe Lazio Region has launched a new initiative to support young people with disabilities interested in opening a hospitality business. Applications close July 31, 2019.
From the official project website:
Hostability is an inclusion program for 18 young people with disabilities, ages 18–35, who want to launch and run an extra-hotel hospitality service—whether an apartment rental, bed and breakfast, or vacation home—using a space they have access to.
The goal is to foster inclusion and employment while creating Rome and Lazio's first network of accessible bed-and-breakfast establishments.
Sharing economy platforms—especially those focused on tourism (Airbnb, Booking.com, and others)—open new possibilities for social innovation projects. Digital technologies are reshaping how we consume and conduct business, largely through profiling: the ability to direct appropriate services to meet diverse needs.
Hostability is a peer-to-peer economy model designed to create opportunity for its participants, leveraging local advantages—including Rome's position as a major tourist destination—within a framework of social inclusion and circular economics.
The Program
Hostability is a pathway of empowerment and active inclusion for young people with disabilities.
It offers personal and professional growth by positioning hospitality services as an innovative model for inclusion and community integration.
By the end of the program, participants will have the skills needed to:
- manage their business with confidence;
- respond to a constantly evolving market;
- meet clients' specific needs;
- promote the region, major events, and accessible services to visitors;
- master tourism techniques and procedures.
Each participant receives an hourly stipend of €6 per hour for a total of 600 hours of program activity.
By the Numbers:
18 participants
3 observers
8 instructors and tourism experts
600 total hours, broken down as:
- 40 hours of individual support
- 116 hours of seminars
- 44 hours of master classes
- 180 hours of hands-on training
- 120 hours of personal coaching
- 100 hours of classroom instruction
This intensive specialization brings together psychologists, educators, and experts to help participants build their own hospitality business: managing operations, handling administrative and tax requirements, tourism marketing, website creation, social media and booking platform management, and client and vendor relations.
Learn more at the HostAbility website