In 2004, Datuma bought the Hotel Rothaus property in District 4 in Zurich that was generally allocated to the Red Light District. In the 1990s, the social equilibrium in this place clearly shifted towards prostitution and drug dealing, which also negatively affected the existing hotel. Datuma intended to stabilize this interesting hotel at a good location as a simple and family-type hotel. Already once before, Datuma  managed such a positive turnaround with the cinemas and flats in adjacent District 5 by changing the very climate of an entire street.

The Hotel Rothaus concept is based on the fact that inexpensive accommodations do not necessarily have to mean bad rooms and service. Guests just passing through for either business or educational reasons were to find an attractive place in a district about to change and, in turn, become part of this very change. With its bar and snack bar, Hotel Rothaus will once again become a local meeting place. Minimal architectural interventions make sure the history of the imposing red brick building on Langstrasse remains visible. Hotel Rothaus is not a contribution to an “in” area and defines itself as part of a mixed district in which drugs and prostitution still have their place.

www.hotelrothaus.ch