Norwegian billionaire: Refugees without accommodation can come to our hotels

Petter Stordalen, Norwegian billionaire and owner of the Nordic Choice hotel chain, has offered 5,000 overnight stays to refugees who have not found a place in reception centers, reports Yahoo News, as carried by the Patria news agency.

"We are offering 5,000 overnight stays to refugees in need," he wrote on Twitter.

The refugee crisis unfolding in Europe concerns absolutely everyone, Stordalen told the Norwegian news agency NTB. He added that refugees taken into hotels he owns will be fed at his own expense.

Refugees cannot simply head to his hotels, however. The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) must approve his offer, and council members told the media they will consider his offer if capacities in reception centers are filled.

Norway received 2,313 asylum applications last month, the highest number from Syrians, Eritreans, and Afghans. This is the highest number of applications received in a single month since the 1990s. The number of asylum applications in the country by the end of the year could reach 16,000, the UDI reported, as written by Index.