Hostel provides budget-friendly and sociable accommodation where guests can rent beds, usually bunk beds, in dormitories and share bathrooms, lounge and sometimes kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex rooms, and private rooms may also be available.
Hostels are often cheaper for operators and residents; many hostels have long-term residents they hire as desk agents or housekeeping staff in exchange for experience or discounted accommodation.
In some countries, such as the UK, Ireland, Nepal, India and Australia, the word hostel sometimes also refers to companies that provide long-term accommodation. In India, Pakistan and South Africa, the hostel also refers to boarding schools or student dormitories in residential colleges and universities. In other parts of the world, the word hostel mainly refers to a property that offers shared accommodation for tourists or backpackers.
In the "traveler" category, other differences can be drawn between hostels hosted by Hostelling International (HI), a UK-based non-profit organization that encourages outdoor activities and cultural exchange for young people (formerly IYHA), and independently operates hostels. Hostel Backpackers starts in Australia and New Zealand and is different from hostels by opening during the day, often shortened to "Backpackers." In New Zealand, the BBH network is the first network of 'modern' backpacker dormitories, serving independent tourists since 1985.
Video Hostel
History
In 1912, at Altena Castle in Germany, Richard Schirrmann created the first permanent Jugendherberge or "Youth Hostel." This first youth hostel was an exponent of the vision of the German Youth Movement to let poor town children breathe fresh air outdoors. Young people should manage their own dormitory as much as possible, perform tasks to reduce costs and build character, and be physically active outdoors. Therefore, many youth hostels are closed during the midday part.
Maps Hostel
Differences from hotels
There are some differences between hostels and hotels, including:
- Hostels tend to be budget-oriented; the rates are much lower, and many hostels have programs to share books, DVDs and other items.
- For those who prefer an informal environment, hostels do not usually have the same level of formality as hotels.
- For those who prefer to socialize with fellow guests, hostels usually have more common areas and opportunities for socializing. Hostel hostel aspect also increases social factors.
- Hostels are generally self-contained.
- Hostels usually close during the day to keep costs down (for customers and hostels).
Communal accommodation
The privacy of the hostel is fewer than in the hotel. Sharing sleeping accommodation in dorms is very different from staying in a private room at a hotel or bed and breakfast, and may be uncomfortable for those who need more privacy. The hostel encourages greater social interaction among guests due to shared sleeping areas and communal areas such as lounges, kitchens and internet cafes.
Care must be taken with personal items, because guests can share living space together, so it is advisable to secure guest's belongings. Most hostels offer a kind of system to safely store valuables, and an increasing number of hostels offer private lockers; there are other things to consider as well when choosing a safe hostel, such as whether they have a guest curfew, a fire code, 24-hour security and CCTV.
Noise can make sleep difficult at certain times, either from snoring, talking, sexual activity, someone returning late or coming home early, or getting close to so many people. To reduce this, some wear earplugs and/or sleep masks.
Standalone facilities and services
In an effort to attract more visitors, many hostels currently provide additional services that were previously unavailable, such as airport shuttle transfers, internet cafes, swimming pools and spas, tour bookings and car rentals. Some hostels may include hot food in the price.
Type
Traditional hostel format involves dormitory-style accommodation. Some of the newer hostels also include en-suite accommodation with single, double or quad rooms, although to be considered as a hostel they must also provide dormitory accommodation. In recent years, the number of independent hostels and backpackers has increased rapidly to serve more travelers traveling on land and multi-purpose (such as pause-time travelers and railroad workers).
The quality of such places has also increased dramatically. While most hostels still insist on curfew, daytime lockouts, very few require residents to perform tasks other than washing and drying up after food preparation.
Hostelling International (HI)
Richard Schirrmann's idea of ââhostels quickly spread abroad and eventually resulted in Hostelling International, an organization of over 90 youth hostel associations representing over 4,500 youth hostels in over 80 countries.
Some HI Youth Hostels serve more school-age children (sometimes through school trips) and parents with their children, while others are more for travelers who want to learn new cultures. However, while cultural exploration and different places are emphasized in many hostels, especially in popular cities or tourist destinations, there are still many hostels that provide accommodation for outdoor activities such as hiking, hiking and bike tours; this is a small friendly hostel that retains many of the original vision and often provides valuable access to more remote areas.
In recent years, Hostelling International has increasingly added hotel and resort packages to their network next to hostels.
Regardless of their name, in most countries the membership is not limited to youth.
Independent hostel
Independent hostels are not always affiliated with any of the national agencies of Hostelling International, Youth Hostel Association or other hostel networks. Often, the word independent is used to refer to non-HI hostels even when hostels belong to other hostelling organizations such as SIH and Backpackers Canada.
The term "youth" is less often used with these qualities. Unlike hotel chains where everything is standard, this hostel can vary greatly, usually not requiring a membership card. There are independent hostel chains around the world such as Jazz Hostel on the East Coast and Bungalow Bungalow Banana on the West Coast of the United States, or Hostels Generator and Equity Point Hostels of Europe, or Zostel of India. Each offers their own service niches for travelers and backpackers. For example, an independent hostel may feature many meetings at home, others may feature daily or nightly tours or events in the surrounding city, and others may have a quieter place to relax in peace, or be on the beach. These are personalities and independent travelers from the hostel will frequent hostels that offer the personality they deem desired. There is often a difference as a "party hostel" or not.
Boutique Hostel
The general backpacking community is no longer typed exclusively by student travelers and extreme shoe budgets. Responding to demand, as well as increasing competition between the number of hostels that are increasing rapidly, the overall quality of hostels is increasing across the industry. In addition to improving the quality among all dorm styles, a new style of hostel has evolved that has focused on more trendy interior designs.
The phrase "boutique hostel" is often-arbitrary marketing terms usually used to describe an intimate, luxury or unique hostel environment. The term begins to lose meaning because the facilities of many "boutique hostels" are often no different from hostels not referred to by that label. Additionally, online order marketers and website sometimes include boutique hotels in the "boutique hostel" list, which further deepens the specific meaning of the phrase.
The related term, "flashpackers", often refers to hostels that target themselves as catering for older, more tech-savvy customers, but in practice, many of the newer high-quality hostel classes across the industry offer this technology-oriented facility. , and even the flashpacker website that appeared in 2006-08 during the peak of "flashpacker" hype was ignored or offline in 2012 because the term has lost popularity quickly.
Mobile hostels
Although very unusual, a mobile hostel is a hostel without a fixed location. It could be in the form of campsites, temporary buildings, buses, vans, or short-term agreements in permanent buildings. Mobile hostels have grown at major festivals where there is a lack of budget accommodation. As with any ordinary hostel, mobile hostels generally provide hostel accommodation for backpackers or tourists with shoestring budgets. The first (and only) commercial example of a mobile hostel is Hostival. It has grown in Oktoberfest, Carnival, San Fermin, Las Fallas and World Cup 2010.
Industrial growth
The independent hostel industry is growing rapidly in many cities around the world, such as New York, Rome, Buenos Aires, and Miami. This is reflected in the development and expansion of dozens of chain hostels around the world. A recent eruption at an independent hostel has been called "probably the single greatest news in the world of low-cost and very safe travel".
The development of independent backpacker hostels is a powerful business model, with some cities reporting higher average incomes per room for hostels rather than hotels. For example, in the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, upscale hotels are reportedly earning $ 141 to $ 173 per room, while hostel rooms in the same city can bring in as much as $ 200 per night, as some paying guests are in one room. Even during the 2008 economic crisis, many hostels reported an increase in the number of occupancy at the time of booking the hotel declined.
Even as the occupancy rate of city hotels has dropped to 66 percent in February, from 81 percent in the same month last year, despite the sharp price cuts, many youth hostels are reporting banner business.
Although in the past, hostels have been viewed as low-quality accommodation for less wealthy travelers, at least one Australian study has shown that backpackers (usually staying at hostels) spend more than non-backpackers, because they stay longer. Backpackers in Australia contributes nearly $ 3.4 billion and stays on average 34.2 nights compared to 31 nights spent by other travelers. In New Zealand, backpacker hostels have 13.5% share of guest/night accommodation in 2007.
Young Tour Travel Industry Survey
Each year, the Association of Youth Travel Accommodation reviews business operations from the boarding sector, to establish key business metrics and identify trends in the dynamic sector. This study is conducted in partnership with Hostelling International and Web Reservations International.
Findings from the 2010 study include:
- Average occupancy rate is about 56%
- The highest occupancy rate in Oceania and Asia
- Bedding sales accounted for 70% of reported income. Sales F & amp; B accounts for 14% of total revenue
- The average dorm bed rate varies between EUR 21 in high season and EUR 15 in low season
- The main cost item for hostel companies is the staff and the place, which together account for 45% of total expenditure
- Marketing costs account for nearly 10% of the total budget
- Only 8% of hostel operators are currently participating in the green certification scheme
According to the Youth Youth Travel Annual Survey one of the main reasons for the relatively strong performance of the dormitory sector is the tendency for operators to innovate and customize their products to fit the market conditions. The fact that hostel operators in general can maintain business rates through the decline is one of the main reasons why the overall average level of beds for 2009 rose by more than 3% compared to 2008.
In popular culture
Motion pictures generally depict hostels in two ways: as a fun place for young people to stay (for example, Jared Price and Maps for Saturdays ), or alternatively, as a dangerous place where unsuspecting Americans face potential horrors in Eastern Europe (see, for example, Hostel, Hostel: Part II, and EuroTrip ). There are some popular misconceptions that a hostel is a kind of flophouse, a homeless shelter or a shelter home. This does not reflect the quality and high level of professionalism in many modern hostels.
See also
- Lodging
- Backpacking (traveling)
- Boarding house
- Hostal - different lodging types found in Spanish and Hispanic Americans
- Retired
- Bed and breakfast
- Guest house
Notes and references
Source of the article : Wikipedia