The Subsidy Scheme for Using Hotels & Guesthouses as Youth Hostels under the Youth Hostel Scheme is open for applications starting today, the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau announced.

To help meet young people's housing needs, the Chief Executive said in his Policy Address that the Government will explore ways to increase the supply of youth hostels, including subsidising non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to rent suitable hotels and guesthouses for use as youth hostels, with the target of providing about 3,000 additional hostel places within five years.

The Legislative Council Finance Committee approved the funding for implementing the subsidy scheme in mid-December.

The bureau emphasised that the subsidy scheme will increase the potential supply of youth hostel places, providing more diversified options for eligible young people who wish to have their own living spaces. It will also benefit the hotel and guesthouse industries, NGOs and the neighbourhood community.

The scheme will provide subsidies for NGOs to rent hotel or guesthouse rooms, carry out minor improvement or furnishing works or purchase equipment as necessary for the daily use of youth tenants.

Moreover, the subsidy will cover NGOs' administrative expenses as well as their expenses for providing value-added and community services to tenants and the community.

Hotels and guesthouses that are interested in participating in the scheme can register with the bureau. After checking their basic qualifications, the bureau will compile a list of eligible participating hotels and guesthouses for NGOs' consideration.

Meanwhile, interested NGOs may identify suitable hotels and guesthouses as partners and submit their funding applications.

The subsidy to be allocated to each approved project will depend on the merits of the proposal and several factors, including the location of the hotel or guesthouse, room size, provision of communal facilities and accessibility.

The scheme accepts applications all year round and details are available online. Interested organisations may submit their applications by post, email or other means.