A new Amsterdam hotel staffed and run by asylum-seekers

CAIRO-24 September 2017: It used to be Bijlmerbajes, the Netherlands' most notorious prison, but earlier this month it inaugurated as a hotel with a different name, The Movement Hotel. The experience the hotel gives its staff and guests alike is a far cry from that the usual tourist should expect.

The new Amsterdam hotel is staffed and run by asylum-seekers, mostly Syrians. Although these asylum-seeking workers may be uncertain about their residence position, working in this hotel is a step for them to earn valuable employment history.

The project’s funding was developed through donations and the assistance of different authorities, organizer Rob Hoogerwerf told The National. He clarified that the hotel’s employees receive certificates that would quality them work in the hospitality industry either in Netherlands or anywhere else.

The cost of this hotel’s rooms range from €99 to €140 per night. Each of the rooms is adorned with only one word written on the wall "Freedom?"