Ecoclub Focus™ - Tourism & Geopolitics from an ecologic perspective

According to a detailed announcement by Wind of Renewal, a social cooperative entreprise, its award-winning Welcommon Hostel had to close as the owner (of this seven-story building on Kapodistriou Street in the center of Athens) went to court and achieved the termination of the lease. This was an erroneous decision based on a small (disputed) "unpaid" utility debt, according to the Wind of Renewal, which has already appealed the decision. The hotel, however, appears as "permanently closed" on Google. A series of disputes over the amount of rent and other issues took place over the years, as the building was old and required various interventions to be converted from a clinic to a hostel, while the pandemic and its severe effects on tourism further complicated the situation. It would be a shame, however, for this commendable and globally-recognized hostel, which in addition to hospitality services, offered education to refugees and immigrants, and hosted numerous social and cultural activities, to end in such an ignominious manner. It would be pessimistic to think that this the ultimate fate of all cooperatively-owned, ground-breaking, accommodation models. A related issue is the mass purchase of buildings by foreign investors for the creation of new luxury hotels in the center of Athens, which the government considers saturated when it comes to short-term rentals.