Hotel turns into youth hostel

A Causeway Bay hotel has become the first to be turned into a youth hostel offering 97 rooms and up to 194 beds for people aged 18 to 30 under a new scheme announced in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's policy address.

Butterfly on Morrison, a boutique hotel at 39 Morrison Hill Road which was a quarantine hotel during the pandemic, has been approved by the government to convert into a youth hostel.

The project was launched by the Hong Kong United Youth Association in collaboration with developer Gale Well Group. It will be called "BeLIVING Youth Hub."

A scheme launched by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau in January subsidizes nongovernment organizations to rent hotels and guesthouses for use as youth hostels, with the target of providing about 3,000 places within five years with a rent of about 60 percent of market level.

The associations's website says six types of rooms are provided. The smallest is 176 square feet, while the largest is 324 sq ft, and the rent ranges from HK$3,800 to HK$4,800 a month.

The hostel is prepared for working people aged between 18 and 30 who are permanent residents, earn less than HK$25,000 a month, have assets of less than HK$380,000 and do not own a residential property in Hong Kong. Full-time students are not eligible.

Applicants can choose to apply for one person or add a coapplicant. One-person applicants may be assigned to stay in a one-person unit or share a room with another one-person applicant of the same gender, while two-person applicants will be allocated a twin room.

Online application is open on the association's webpage, with the first phase ending on April 28.

Applicants cannot choose the room type. They must sign a one-year fixed term plus a one-year optional tenancy.

"On the basis of shared values ... youth hostel residents benefit from the lower rent, including water and electricity expenses, while they also have the responsibility to contribute by serving the community for at least 17 hours a month," the association said.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com