YMCA to relaunch two hostels as international hotels to maintain funding for social programmes
If you think the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong provides budget accommodation for travellers of modest means, think again - its two hostels, in Yau Ma Tei and Wan Chai, are to become four-star hotels.
The group says going upmarket, which will mean room prices rising by up to 100 per cent, is the only way of raising revenue to support its social services in the wake of government funding cuts and growing competition in the hotels sector.
Other options - such as pay cuts or layoffs - are unthinkable, says general secretary Lawrence Yick Kar-lim.
'We help people find jobs. How can we lay off people,' he said.
The new hotels will not feature the YMCA logo or name.
