Only 12 people live in Corippo Village in Switzerland–just 7.5 miles from Locarno and about 12.5 miles from the border with Italy–and the average age is 75.  It doesn’t take an actuarial genius to figure out that the town is, literally, dying.

But a local foundation, Fondazione Corippo 1975, is trying to save the Italian-speaking village by making it the first “albergo diffuso,” also known as a scattered hotel.

Here’s the plan: Thirty of the village’s 70 buildings are to be converted into vacation cottages and hotels. With a price tag of $6.5 million, the “hotel”  is scheduled for an Easter opening in 2020. Right now, however, you can stay in a two-bedroom Casa Arcotti, which opened in July 2018.

So far, $2.7 million has been raised to support the project. But much more is needed. In the meantime, some locals are now beginning to claim that the money would be better spent on fixing the village’s infrastructure, including poor water supply.

And while a lot remains uncertain for Corippo, there is hope that this hidden gem village will not be abandoned, after all.

And if the plan goes through, visitors will have the chance to stay in a rural valley location that hasn’t really changed since 1800. The minibar charges, however, have yet to be established.