News

In Austria, a hotel where refugees are the hosts

(The Christian Science Monitor) It is less than a year old, but the reviews for this bright, stylish hotel in Vienna on TripAdvisor are glowing. “Modern, retro, cozy,” reads a recent one. “Trendy hotel” or “hipster and great,” report other guests.

But few reviewers note who is running the Magdas Hotel: those seeking refuge in Europe.

In fact according to the staff’s count, only 50 percent of guests realize that this is a social experiment, in which two thirds of the staff have received asylum. And that is exactly how they want it.