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Book: Marketing Baltimore Hostel & HI-USA in a New Era

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Josh started this discussion 16 years 9 months ago

Has anyone read this book?
Marketing Baltimore Hostel & Hostelling International-USA in a New Era

There are other titles here:
Hostelling International’s Guide to Success
Baltimore Hostel's Reference Manual

I haven't been to the Baltimore hostel, but I've been following them and their email newsletter, which I think is very well done. You can subscribe to their newsletter from their home page.

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santa klaus

16 years

Hostelling International’s Guide to Success

Excuse the rant, this sounds like "Leonid Brezhnev´s Guide to Prosperity" or "Robert Mugabe´s Guide to Democracy".

I know there are some exceptions, particularly in North America, but then HI doesn´t really have very dreadful competitors there, so success comes very easily.

Here in Europe, Hostelling International is a Guide to perverting a good idea, providing stress-free jobs to apparatchiks (on taxpayer´s money) and dissappointing customers who weren´t expecting very much in the first place.

Well done.

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Josh Hostels

16 years

HI doesn´t really have very dreadful competitors there

There are so few hostels in the USA that I don't think Baltimore (pop. 2,000,000) had a large hostel until they reopened this one after many years. (There is one other small hostel in Baltimore, but I wasn't able to find its Web site.)

I think that in the case of the Baltimore Hostel that a lot of local people there got together and worked to get the project off the ground. I think that a lot of the project is still volunteer-based.

The book might be an interesting read. Anything that helps more hostels get started in the US is a good thing. I tried contacting the author earlier but haven't heard back yet.

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santa klaus

16 years

Of course you are right.

I decided to do my "Zivildienst" (in Germany, you can work in a non-profit organization instead of being drafted to the army) in a YHI hostel in Munich, back in 1993. I liked travelling and I liked the idea of providing basic but cheap accomodation to like-minded people. Hostelling has a great tradition in Germany - it was invented there. The hostel I worked at was the first city hostel in the world - established in 1926.

Unfortunately I was totally pissed off by that organization after I finished my year with them and after I have stayed in many YHI hostels in Europe.

It is one of history´s ironies that the country of unfettered markets now seems to carry on the torch of the grand old idea of hostelling for non-profit. Sorry for my sarcastic post, I really wish there would be more hostels in America, be they independent or YHI - as long as they provide a decent service for the travelers.

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Josh Hostels

16 years

I really wish there would be more hostels in America, be they independent or YHI - as long as they provide a decent service for the travelers.

The few HI hostels in the US that I've stayed at were well-run. My only complaint about one of them is that it locked people at in the middle of the day and another one had me doing chores. I think they have probably changed those requirements by now...

This was the first hostel I stayed at and was a lot of fun every time I've been back--though the last time was in 2001: Point Loma hostel in San Diego (HI). Actually, I nearly got thrown out for having too much fun... :eek:

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