Report

What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?

The Ideal Hostel

Josh started this discussion 15 years 16 hours ago

8 Things that Separate Great Hostels from Average Hostels
http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/10-03/8-things-that-separate-great-hostels-from-average-hostels.html

The list of possible amenities that would make a good hostel great could be a mile long. After some painstaking research, I narrowed the list to eight services (in no particular order) that I would make priorities if I opened my own hostel.

A real bar – with real drink choices – placed in a logical location within the hostel
A good chilling area and (not or) a good place to hang out with other travelers
A breakfast that offers a little bit more
A computer station and (not or) WiFi
Staff that actually cares
Location, location, location
A kitchen that can actually support the capacity of the hostel
A good view

Do you agree with the choices?

Comments

Report

uktrail

14 years

All these are good things to have in a hostel. A hostel, to be Great, must have 2,4,5,6,7. The others are not necessary, but they add to the greatness.

Just to enlarge on 3 points:
Item 2) seems to imply 2 areas: a lounge AND a chat area. I would say only the chat area is essential for greatness, the lounge is an optional extra. There definitely must not be a TV in the chat area, otherwise it is not a chat area.

Item 5: This is vital. And it's vital that the staff are around the place for a good proportion of the day, and not simply available at the end of a phone or in their cottage 20 metres away.

Item 6: For city hostels, good location relative to centre, shops, pubs and transport is essential. For country hostels, different criteria apply, it can be Great if it has a spectacular location even if it fails in the others.

Report

santa klaus

14 years

Good staff (and enough) staff is obviously the most important factor.

A bar only makes sense in large hostels, or in very isolated rural hostels with no nightlife whatsoever nearby.

Security is important when it´s required. Places like the Treehouse need no security effort at all. City hostels always do. That means (at least) only access for actual hostel guests and personal lockers inthe rooms.

Adequate, clean facilities are also a must. Somebody like Giovanni can compensate Italian-style toilets simply by being Giovanni, but this is a rare exception.

Report

berlinpaul

14 years

I would say good staff, cleanliness, and space for the traveller to meet (lounge, kitchen, bar, courtyard, garden...it depends on the place) are probably the ones you could apply to all hostels. After that it is very dependent on whether it is a city hostel, rural hostel, small town hostel etc etc...

Just look at the ratings of different hostels and see that different travellers want different things and even an individual is looking for a different experience depending on where they happen to be or what kind of trip they are on.

Report

Jecminek

14 years

We strike out completely on numbers 1, 3 and 4 and a couple of the others are probably debatable (good view in one direction, not so good in the other; good location in the city, but a lot of stairs to climb) but our booking engine ratings are still in the mid-90%'s.

I'd have to say a place for guests to interact and personable staff are the most essential things for a good hostel atmosphere.

Report

Tim

14 years

A bar is not essential, but it is always nice to have a cosy area where you can have a few drinks. In many cases I prefer to buy my drinks from the supermarket, but drink them somewhere that resembles a bar. I agree with uktrail, any area for chatting with other travellers should NOT have a TV (or video games).

Breakfast is not a big issue for me. I'm happy to buy a croissant from a local bakery.

Free Wi-Fi should be standard in all hostels. I am amazed how many hostels in Australia and New Zealand don't offer this. This is one area where hostels in Europe and North America get it.

Staff that actually cares. That is the most important factor. A lot of purpose-built hostels that focus solely on backpackers are great at this, but staff don't seem to interact with travellers in hostels that are an add-on to another business (such as a hotel or bar).

Location isn't such an important factor and I'm willing to commute a little farther to stay in a great hostel. In fact more remote hostels can be better as they offer more to compensate for their more remote location. One of my favourite hostels (which is no longer operating as a hostel) was in New Zealand and located a two-hour walk from the closest road. Another great place is Hopewell, also in New Zealand, which is over an hour drive from the nearest town.

A good kitchen is always a bonus. And it should be fully-equipped, which means it must have knives, pots, pans, utensils, mixing bowls and an oven. I am constantly amazed how many hostels I visit that don't have ovens in their kitchens. Am I the only one who likes to cook pizza when I travel.

A great view is always a bonus. It is not essential, but it oftens makes the difference between a good hostel and a great one.

Report

KrazyBackoffice...

14 years

Bar & Location
I see that beeing very relative as well as "#8. A good view". If the hostel is located downtown, I would think twice before taking the desicion to compete with other businesses around in terms of drinks. As a hostel your major focus is to sell accommodation, of course you could include that bar as something extra but again, if you are in the city center, that obviously means that there is plenty of other businesses around whose main target is sell entertainment (bars). Do you really want to compete with them? Do you really think your guests will want to spend their night with you? What makes you so sure guests will prefer your bar over established and well known bar / pub around the corner? And so on.. It is very relative I think.

Same thing for location. We have seen that the hostel might not be in the city center and still be top rated. They compensate it by other things (e.g. staff & security). I think Portugal is a perfect example.

Report

Saskia

14 years

Agree with most, except for the bar one. I actually used to AVOID the hostels with bar, as they often turn into party hostels (with the lack of ability to sleep at all without earplugs and mask, dirty bathrooms in the morning from the drunk partiers of the evening before...). Another major downside for me for having a bar in the hostel? In many places it means you can't bring your own alcohol into the hostel! (Depending on local regulations)The must? some sort of evening entertainment nearby, or maybe a campfire at night or something.

Just to add:
9. Cleanliness! I've stayed in too many hostels where you just don't want to touch the shower walls, or actually sit on that toilet seat... Kind of goes together with staff that cares, but in my view important enough to be separated.

Number 5: Staff that cares and that KNOWS THE AREA. When you are located in a lesser known area, like we are, it becomes essential for everybody to about the area and sights. There is loads to see around, but I'll admit that the local marketing s*cks. Without us sharing our knowledge on the area our guests would miss out on some absolutely stunning attractions.

Report

Youstel

14 years

Wow, I am currently spending the week working at a hostel and this is a very helpful discussion. I plan on starting a hostel in the next year or so. I have considered many of these points. However, the way they are laid out here in this list really hits the nail on the head. Currently I am concentrating on Location. I think this is the most important element of a hostel. Socializing opportunities next (which is not to say they are 2nd on the list of priorities, but second in the planning/starting stage).
I find the point about the bar interesting. I am becoming more familiar with Hostelling International as an organization and I am still surprised that their ban on alcohol persists. What do people thing about HI and their standards/rules?

I have also gotten into some valid conversations about WiFi recently. Does modern technology take our attention away from making human connections? Is WiFi distracting us from our surroundings? I would like to think that the layout of a hostel, the arrangement of common spaces is powerful enough to break through those barriers. Ever though I would hate for the internet to take away from a social networking experience, I do think it is essential at a hostel.

Thanks for the great discussion points.

Report

Phillip

14 years

I am becoming more familiar with Hostelling International as an organization and I am still surprised that their ban on alcohol persists.

Some HI Hostels still have this rule but in Japan most of the HI Hostels here are Mom / Pop places. One of my favourite Hostels here is part of still running Buddhist Temple and they sell beer in the vending machine! :D

Report

Saskia

14 years

WIFI (or a compter available) is essential as far as I am concerned. There are too many that need the internet for keeping in touch with hoom, making reservations, etc. It is the atmosphere and the way your place is set up with comfortable common spaces that will encourage conversations among guests, not WIFI that will stop this. Not having WIFI would actually cause less conversations as people end up leaving the hostel to find internet somewhere: no people in the hostel, no conversations. (We did not have internet our first year and that is exactly what happened!)

HI offers certainty to people: you know what you get and that there is a certain level of service (enough bathrooms, a certain amount of space in dorms, etc). HI also offers name recognition and a major worldwide network. So if you want to start up a new hostel it would definitely get you a headstart as far as getting your name out there. My personal problem with HI has been the startup cost to become an HI affiliated hostel: basically I have to put about CAD700 on the table (one time joing fee + inspection fee), just to become a member hostel... and THEN I pay a commission of 4% of all my overnights to them.... Basically we are located in a province that already has quite strict regulations and inspections, I just didn't feel like paying more money to get inspected again (I kind of got tired of inspectors). Anyway, that's just my perspective on things. :-)

Search form

Report 'What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Report 'Re: What Separates Great Hostels from Average Hostels?'?

Pages

Join the world's largest community of hostel professionals.

Check Your Email