Lucerne: Museum of Transport and SJH plan 250-bed hostel
The Swiss Museum of Transport (SMT) and the Swiss Youth Hostels (SJH) want to build an accommodation facility with up to 250 beds on the site of the Swiss Museum of Transport. For this purpose, the office building on Lidostrasse is to be converted.
The office building on the site of the Swiss Museum of Transport (SMT) was built at the end of the 1960s and now needs to be refurbished, among other things because of corrosion damage to the facade and high energy consumption. As part of a total renovation, the building is to be converted to serve as a new accommodation facility. The project partners VHS and Swiss Youth Hostels SJH are currently working on a preliminary project which envisages the move-in of a youth hostel of the highest standard ("top" class) with around 200 to 250 beds.
The SMT and the SJH are convinced of their cooperation, among other reasons, because both partners could benefit from synergy and economies of scale due to the overlap of their target groups in the area of schools, groups as well as families, according to a joint media release of the two organizations.
The project is unique in this form in Switzerland. Thanks to the new hostel, SMT expects to become more attractive for multi-day visitors and conferences; advantages for the city of Lucerne lie in an upgrading of the urban space around the "Lido", and the accommodation situation in the low-price segment will also improve.
The Swiss Museum of Transport (SMT) says it is the most visited museum in Switzerland; in 2015, the SMT sold nearly 760,000 admissions.
The Swiss Youth Hostels Association operates a network of 52 establishments (46 of its own and six franchised), ranging from castles and urban design operations to wellness hostels. Its own establishments generated around 747,000 overnight stays in 2015. (ah)
