With tourism slacking, Jerusalem hostel pivots to low-cost student housing

While Israel’s ongoing war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza has harmed many businesses in the tourism sector, the Abraham chain of hostels has found a creative way to keep its Jerusalem branch going.

After shutting its doors this summer due to a lack of visitors, the iconic hotel, popular with young travelers, has been repurposed as a dormitory offering affordable housing for students studying in Jerusalem.

“With occupancy down by about 90% since the war started last October 7, the cost of rent and salaries was too heavy for us, and we decided in June to close down,” said Yaron Burgin, a partner in the Hostel chain. “But through a connection made by the city’s Hitorerut (Awakening) political party, we started speaking with the NGO Tene Yerushalmi about taking over the building and offering rooms to students.”

Tourism in Israel has all but dried up since the beginning of the war in October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israeli towns, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Most airlines have canceled flights to Israel, and the price of travel has gone through the roof.

Under the arrangement, Tene operates the building, located on Haneviim Street in the city’s center, and rents out private rooms to students for prices ranging from NIS 1,700 ($475) to NIS 2,000 ($560) per month. This is in a neighborhood where the average price for a three-room (two-bedroom) apartment is nearly NIS 7,800 ($2,176) per month, according to the real estate website Madlan.

Jerusalem’s center is the city’s most desirable neighborhood for students, with nearly 40% of its students making it their home while they study, according to Madlan.

In addition to its proximity to Jerusalem’s cultural center and nightlife, the city center is just a short walk from several of the city’s most popular institutions of higher education, including Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, and Hadassah College of Technology. Access is also convenient to the Givat Ram and Mount Scopus campuses of Hebrew University, where more than half of Jerusalem’s students study.

The lounge area at Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem when tourists were present (Courtesy Abraham Hostel)

Residents of the living space are expected to participate in communal activities and commit to a program of community volunteering, in addition to paying rent and expenses, noted Tene Yerushalmi CEO Yael Berman-Domb.

While most of the 78 rooms available are occupied, there are still several spots available for the coming school semester, she said. The residence includes several shared spaces for studies, social activities, and communal programs.

Tene Yerushalmi, which runs a number of programs encouraging civic participation and leadership for youth, has a contract to operate the site for at least two years, Berman-Domb said. The Abraham Group provides funding for the building’s upkeep, and has spent more than a million shekels to make sure that Tene can continue operating it, she noted.

“After they closed, Abraham received dozens of offers from other organizations, but they chose to work with us because they believe in our social mission,” Berman-Domb said.

Tene Yerushalmi also runs a pre-military academic preparatory program (mechina) in Jerusalem’s Kiryat HaYovel neighborhood for pluralistic leadership and social engagement, she noted.

Before the war, Abraham Hostel would host up to 300 travelers per night in Jerusalem, the company says on its website. Its locations in Tel Aviv and Eilat are still open for guests, but a facility in Nazareth was closed earlier this year due to the war. Abraham also operates two spots in the Philippines.

This summer, the Abraham Group received certification from the US-based Global Sustainable Tourism Council for its sustainability efforts maximizing social and economic benefits for local communities.