Swiss Villages Become Hotels

Following a 1976 earthquake in Friuli, Italy, a concept called the “scattered hotel” arose. The idea—born from the need to rebuild devastated villages—repurposes vacant homes as guest rooms. Today, roughly 150 hotels in Italy operate under the standards of the Associazione Internazionale degli Alberghi Diffusi.

Switzerland now hosts three such hotels. The “Albergo Diffuso Monte Generoso” opened in 2021 in Scudellate, a village of 22 people in the Ticino region.

Another is located in Corippo, once Switzerland’s smallest municipality, and is funded by donations. A private group also established a scattered hotel in the Jura town of Porrentruy.

These hotels typically center around a reception and dining area, with rooms spread throughout the village. While the concept boosts local economies and preserves historic buildings, it requires a functioning community to provide an authentic experience for visitors. The future will reveal if this model can fully reverse decades of population decline in these areas.