No more hotels: Amsterdam municipality to prioritise the welfare of locals

If you’re dreaming of moving to Amsterdam to open up a snazzy new hotel (and make bank on tourists), you’ve snoozed too long. The capital’s municipality doesn’t want any more hotels in the city. 🙅‍♀️

Until now, only a few Amsterdam neighbourhoods have fallen under the ban on new hotels. The new plan, however, is to encompass almost the entire capital, the NOS reports.

Protecting Amsterdammers quality of life

Previously, the municipality allowed new hotels to be opened if there was a place for them in the zoning plan (which specifies the rules for how a certain plot of land can be used).

So, all a person would have to do to open a hotel on their property was adjust the terms of their ground lease at the municipal leasehold office — et voila, social entrepreneurship and more tourists. 😅

Now, things are looking different. The municipality has decided not to cooperate with the previous rules in the interest of quality of life for locals.

READ MORE | Looking to book an Airbnb in Amsterdam? Maybe think again

The alderman for Economic Affairs in Amsterdam says: “New hotels add nothing for the people of Amsterdam.” 🤷‍♂️

New standards

Is this the end then? Amsterdam’s tourist industry will freeze at 533 hotels?

Not quite.

New hotels are still welcomed by the municipality if they are built in neighbourhoods under development — places where it’s felt they can provide added value.

The Amsterdam hotels of the future will also have to meet criteria pertaining to neighbourhood involvement, sustainability, and social entrepreneurship. 🙌

Considering that we’re in the midst of a housing crisis that literally leaves locals and internationals homeless — and that there already are about 40,000 hotel rooms in the crowded capital — some increased responsibility for hotel owners may not be such a bad idea. 👀

What do you think of the municipality’s decision? Tell us in the comments below!

Image: kruwt/Depositphotos

Christine Stein Hededam 🇩🇰
Christine Stein Hededam 🇩🇰
A Dane with a special place in her heart for Minnesota, Christine is now falling in love with everything Dutch. Between finishing her bachelor’s degree, learning Dutch, and doing yoga teacher training, you will find her wandering about the Hague. Always up for visiting new places, she loves to explore the Netherlands with friends and takes pride in scoping out cute cafés (wherein to discuss books, big plans, and food).

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