B.A.U.E.N. Hotel

The B.A.U.E.N Hotel, located on calle Callo in Buenos Aires´ financial district, is not to be confused with the BAUEN hotel, directly around the corner.

Before 2001, both hotels were owned by Marcelo Iurcovich, but then he fraudulently closed B.A.U.E.N. and due to the hotels unprofitability, never paid taxes or debts. As a result, numerous workers lost their jobs and could no longer afford to support themselves and their families. However in 2003, the neglected ex-employees were able to “take it back”.

Our class choose to stay at B.A.U.E.N to support the hardworking individuals, who without any education or experience in managing a hotel, have restored the site and opened up 150 jobs.

The four star, twenty-story hotel is no easy building to maintain. Equipped with 200 rooms, a pool, hot tub, fireplace, air conditioning, and television, the bills pile up quickly. Due to limited resources, the owners, (most of them which are the orignal employees), can only invest so much money to keep up the hotel´s maintenance. Still, everyday, my room is cleaned an a satisfactory breakfast and lunch is served.

Although B.A.U.E.N. is not a hotel to stay in if you care for a luxurious experience in Buenos Aires, (it´s got a rustic feel, there is on-going construction in parts of the building, and they speak little english), it is the place to be if you want to help make a positive difference in people´s lives.

Just today I saw how crucial the B.A.U.E.N. is to the people of Buenos Aires. Since the collapse of Argentina´s economy in 2001, when half of the country’s 37 million residents fell below the poverty line overnight, there has been a devastating unemployment rate. Walking through the hotel today, I passed by a long line of people applying for work at B.A.U. E.N.

The B.A.U.E.N. offers hope to the people of Buenos Aires. Without recuperated enterprises like B.A.U.E.N. there would be even less work opportunities for the Argentineans.

Source: Marie Trigona www.thetake.org