5 Star Hotels

"The best thing about Follow the Women was the hotels."

Spoken by Mette, agreed with by many.

What are the ethics of staying in 5 star hotels when on a peace ride? I realise that some luxury abodes have been sponsorship in kind (and the problems with that is an entirely separate issue), so it's not as if we're depriving the needy - even if we slept on the street the Palestinians wouldn't get any more money. But sometimes they have been chosen by the organisers, despite being paid for out of the FtW pot. Some people think that putting money into the non-existent tourist industry in Jericho is a good thing (who does stay in that resort when we're not there, anyway?). This is an old economic argument, used to justify servants and other luxuries, but is it really true that the money gets to locals in Jericho? Does a Palestinian own the hotel? How much are the service staff paid? If we stayed in a hostel would the poor locals get more than the waiters at the hotel?

What's really strange are the juxtapositions. We go home from visiting refugee camps to hot baths and room service. A day spent in passing borders and checkpoints is finished with sheesha on a terrace overlooking the pool complete with palms and a multitude of waiters. Many are bridling with the money and time wasted on luxury, which doesn't add much to an understanding of the country.

"And don't even get me started on the carbon footprint of 250 women in 5-star hotels" says American journalist in Jordan. An environmentally disastrous bike-ride...how very original...