In Lanzarote there is a lack of affordable housing, most of the rents represent more than 30% of the salaries and there are hardly any official protection homes. With the shortage of housing, the phenomenon of housing workers in the hotel itself, typical in Lanzarote more than 30 years ago, is returning and some establishments are already taking measures in that regard.
There is a hotel group, Gloria Thalasso & Hotels, which has taken a further step, has decided to take the initiative and build homes for the workers of the new hotel that will be built in Costa Teguise.
"Two months ago we bought two plots of about 20,000 square meters in Costa Teguise that gives us to make about 60 homes", explains Francisco Martínez, advisor of the Gran Canaria hotel group.
The monthly payment "is not decided, but it will be rather symbolic"
Guaranteeing the housing of its workers is a priority for Gloria Thalasso&Hotels, which currently has a hotel establishment in Puerto del Carmen, the Gloria Ízaro Club Hotel, and three in Gran Canaria.
The plots to build the apartments for workers have been acquired even before choosing the name for the new hotel (in full competition of ideas within the company) and starting its construction, which will be carried out by the architect José María Pérez, one of the disciples of César Manrique, with whom he worked for more than 20 years.
About how these apartments will be distributed, between 54 and 56 square meters, Martínez explains: "We will have to see, families will need a unit, single workers could be two per apartment."
The hotel group has not yet decided what economic contribution the workers will have to make, but the advisor of the hotel group anticipates that "it will not be a normal rent but rather a symbolic price."
The new hotel will need 250 workers
The new hotel of the Gloria Thalasso&Hotels group will need about 250 workers and will be linked to health and sports tourism.
"The plot for the hotel is 80,000 meters, we have made an important excavation, which is fortunately finished and now we are waiting to reach an agreement with a couple of construction companies to start the work within a month and a half, two months," specifies Martínez.
The new hotel, which is expected to be completed within three years, will include 6 swimming pools, several waterfalls, a large spa and 356 rooms, with an investment of close to 100 million euros.