Hostel Life vs. Hotel Life: The Real Difference
Travel is about experiences. It's about the people you meet along the way. It's about being somewhere completely new and sometimes having to break through some level of unfamiliarity or discomfort in the process of getting what you need or where you need to be. It's about the things you learn about yourself or the world while being in a new place or an unfamiliar environment.
While hotels may provide access to new places, they are limited in what they can offer beyond their levels of comfort and familiarity for travelers. When booking a hotel, you can expect a certain degree of comfort in the space. There's uniformity behind how things are arranged, and there's often a standardized way of operating. There are stacks of fresh towels, TV guides, and takeout menus. There's typically a 24-hour concierge service, and someone available to come fix a broken appliance or toilet. In a hotel, you know what you're going to get when you book a room for the night.
Hostels, on the other hand, have a raw, organic way of exposing one to all sorts of new experiences and people purely by the way they operate. When you book a hostel, you never know what you're going to get, and that's part of what makes them so unique and special. There's mystery and intrigue behind each new interaction at a hostel. There's a seemingly infinite amount of conversation to be had, depending on how busy the hostel is on the day you arrive. There's often something fresh being cooked by someone from another city, state, or country. There might even be an activity taking place, or about to start, when you arrive to check in.
No hostel is arranged or run the same way. The space so often drives the experience, and that's what makes each hostel unique. There are party hostels. There are chill hostels. There are luxury hostels. There are hybrid hostels that strive to combine several elements of travel into one. But what remains a common thread in hostels all around the globe is that there is most often some form of communal space, a place where people can gather, meet one another, and create new friendships.
Those communal spaces, whether that's a large common area, a shared kitchen, or shared restrooms, require at least some level of engagement and interaction between hostel guests. While it might be uncomfortable at first for someone who has never stayed at a hostel, those points of forced interaction are often what spark lasting memories and lead to time spent with other travelers either inside the hostel or out on the town. Those shared spaces become the vessel for new experiences, and that's where the magic in hostels happens.
Hotels, for as quiet, cozy, and familiar as they may be, often only offer a bar or cafeteria for guest interaction. There might be a brief cross-over with another guest or a good conversation that occurs at the front desk or in the lobby, but by and large, once you check into a hotel, you're either spending your time in your room or out exploring a new place alone.
In hostels, it can be hard to find time to be alone. This is both a blessing and a curse. But there are also ways to curb this, such as having a solid pair of headphones and being practiced in looking very busy, even if you're just scrolling the web or chatting with someone over text. And, at the same time, just because you are in a hostel and happen to be in the common space, does not mean you have to talk to anyone. The social element of hostels is, however, why so many travelers choose to stay in them in the first place.
Traveling alone can be an enriching experience, and it is in many ways therapeutic. But there are also limitations to traveling somewhere completely alone, and at least with hostels, you have the opportunity to make connections and find someone who is eager, curious, or willing to experience the same thing as you. That lone experience, then, can lead to many more like it, or even future travels with that person, simply because of that common desire or curiosity you shared.
Among the many benefits of staying in a hostel instead of a hotel is that hostels are a much more economical way of traveling. The price of a bed, or even a private room, can pale in comparison to the price of a hotel room. And if you choose to share experiences with other travelers, that can reduce the cost of your trip because there are more people to split the cost with. That money can then be put towards more experiences, a little extra food, or a souvenir from the road.
At the end of the day, travel means different things to different people, but at least with hostels, there are several benefits to the experience that separate it from a standard hotel stay.
