A hotel in the centre of Kraków is making its rooms available for homeless people throughout the winter months. The owner says that, since tourist demand is currently so low amid the pandemic and hotels still need to be maintained, he decided to put his rooms to good use.
Pergamin Old Town Apartments, five minutes from Kraków’s famous market square, plans to rent out 60 rooms from December to March for a symbolic amount of 1 zloty (€0.20) per month to homeless people and others in need.
Przemysław Greniewicz, who owns the hotel, said that the “Roof over your head for 1 zloty” campaign was being organised because “we need to help each other in these difficult times”.
Applications from people interested in taking him up on the offer or those wishing to nominate other deserving candidates will be accepted from 15 November. Those who are successful will be required to abide by a code of conduct, with weekly checks taking place to ensure no residents are breaking the rules.
Before the pandemic struck, Kraków was Poland’s leading tourist destination. A record 14 million visitors spent 7.5 billion zloty there in 2019.
The city – with its UNESCO-listed medieval Old Town and plethora of cafes, bars and museums – has been voted Europe’s best city break destination three years running, and featured in TripAdvisor’s top ten trending destinations for 2020.
A report on the Polish hotel market for the first half of 2020, however, found that Kraków had been the hardest hit by the pandemic, as a relatively large proportion of its tourists come from abroad. Landlords renting out properties on a short-term basis have also found themselves without clients, reports Interia.
Greniewicz told Gazeta Wyborcza that hotels are currently almost empty, but still generated maintenance and heating costs.
“I don’t suppose the business situation in the sector will change before spring or summer next year,” he said. “Since the rooms are empty, they can be useful in a good cause and during the winter season help people without a roof over their heads.”
His idea has already attracted a large amount of interest because such initiatives are needed in Kraków, according to Gazeta Wyborcza, which notes that the city has an estimated 2,500 homeless people.
Bans on serving food in public places in spring hit such people hard, while the new restrictions introduced amid spiralling infection rates plus colder temperatures will create further challenges.
Greniewicz said that he has already been approached by several foundations and organisations supporting people in need, including a city councillor, Alicja Szczepańska, who is also president of the Your Visible Hand foundation.
Main image credit: Tomasz Wiech / Agencja Gazeta
Ben Koschalka is a translator and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Kraków since 2005.
