CNN just came out with an article called Winter 'flashpackers' prepare to invade hostels:
They are usually over 30, in mid-to-late career and can afford higher-end hotels but instead choose budget options -- albeit better-furnished and well-kept ones -- because it fits their lifestyle, said Mark Vidalin, Marketing Director for Hostelling International USA, a nonprofit network of hostels. Flashpackers also tend to stay connected by traveling with gadgets and seeking accommodations with free Wi-Fi, Vidalin said.
The term "flashpacker" likely originated in Australia, and combines the term "flash" -- meaning "stylish" -- with "backpacker," according to Vidalin.
Flashpackers and regular backpackers are booking hostels at U.S. vacation destinations in full force this year. Attendance at hostels has been consistently rebounding from lows following the September 11, 2001.
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This year's turbulent economy appears to be fueling demand for hostel space.
Heading into ski season, Loree Weisman, the owner of the Crested Butte International Lodge and Hostel in Crested Butte, Colorado, said her hostel bookings are trending ahead of the town's other lodging options -- and up about 25 percent from her bookings by the same time last year.
Amid the unsteady economy, she said, people "don't want to give up a vacation, but they might need to adapt a vacation."
The only odd thing about the article is that they tagged it with "Hiking and Backpacking" (instead of something like "Backpacker Travel").
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