Ethic étapes

éthic étapes is, as its name suggests, a network of tourist accommodation for individuals and groups: we welcome families as well as classes on school trips, local companies coming for a seminar, sports associations and clubs, or visiting solo travellers. This mix of genres conducive to exchanges is what we love, what we claim and what we share with our guests. 

éthic étapes is also the name of our establishments, and they welcome you everywhere in France (as far as Martinique!) all year round. A spirit of solidarity and responsibility that unites all the centres, meeting and exchange as a principle of action. We have been defending this idea for 40 years, and it is still going strong.

Missions and Objectives

éthic étapes, voluntary union of international residency centres is a non-profit association, governed by the law of 1901, which aims to provide a quality welcome for all. The 45 éthic étapes are part of the social and solidarity economy and are mostly managed by non-profit or cooperative organisations.

Meetings and exchanges, disinterested management, social and cultural mixing, education for citizenship, are the values that the éthic étapes are committed to applying on a daily basis.

The éthic étapes are actors involved in their territories and aim to bring them to life all year round. éthic étapes and its members work with the ministries and its partners to develop mobility and international exchanges and to make our particular concept of accommodation known: the international residence centre. The union is also a member of Atout France, the International Federation of Youth Travel Organisations (FIYTO), the National Union of Tourism Associations (UNAT). It is a partner of the Agence nationale pour les chèques vacances (ANCV) and the Fédération nationale des comités départementaux du tourisme (FNCDT). Finally, éthic étapes has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The éthic étapes are also project leaders who invest in their territories. Each establishment develops, in its own way and in conjunction with local social, cultural and economic actors, a project structure, which frames and guides its action. 

Beyond the activity of tourist accommodation, which they fully integrate, these projects focus on the implementation of social and citizen and/or cultural actions, with the exchange, discovery and mixing of the public, locals and visitors as the main driving force.

In parallel to their tourist activity, some éthic étapes also carry out a specifically social or socio-cultural mission: several éthic étapes are thus coupled with a Foyer de Jeunes Travailleurs (FJT), such as in Saint-Malo, Evian, Autun, Blois or Romorantin (among others), or with a Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture (MJC), such as in Narbonne, Amboise, or Evian (...).

Finally, the éthic étapes network is a tool for the professionalization of its members through :

- The implementation of a quality approach, regularly controlled, which aims at permanent improvement.
- The organisation of training sessions in the field of tourist accommodation for the staff of the centres and by the implementation of innovative training courses within associative tourism concerning for example sustainable development issues or new technologies.
- The organization of exchanges of know-how and experience
- The implementation of a sector observation, statistical barometers and thematic watches
- The implementation of an engineering service

Quality commitments

With its customers and each of its guests, éthic étapes is committed to a charter, created in 1986, to serve your comfort. This charter guarantees the same quality at all points of the network for comfort services, catering, cultural and sports activities, safety, compliance with legislation in force, etc., as well as for the staff, who are qualified and motivated by their mission to welcome you. 

This charter takes the form of a reference system covering all the services offered in the establishments, from accommodation and catering to common living areas and activities. It certifies the presence of qualified staff motivated by its mission of welcoming guests. It takes the form of two classifications: "comfort and services" and "activities and environment". Both cover more than 200 regularly updated and controlled criteria.

These classifications also allow future guests to have a precise and reliable idea of what they will find once they arrive and to choose their destination accordingly.

Ethic étapes