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How to make hostelling more popular in the USA?

Promoting the Hostel Movement

Josh started this discussion 16 years 11 months ago

I think that hosteling would be more popular in the US if more Americans knew what a hostel is.

This is an example of a phone call that I've had a few times from a hostel front desk:

"Hi this is Josh from [name] hostel"

"You're calling from which hospital?"

"No, hostel, H-O-S-T-E-L. Like a hotel, but a hostel."

"Hotel?"

"Hostel, like youth hostel"

"Which hospital did you say you were at?"

:confused:

I think that hosteling would do a lot better in the US if more Americans knew what hostels were. Many Americans have only heard about hostels because of the horror movie.

I think that many people in the US are driving around the country and traveling places, but only staying at hotels and motels.

If more Americans knew about hostels it would be good for hostels everywhere because there would be a new group of people who suddenly realize that traveling isn't as expensive as it sounds.

Does anyone have ideas on how to make the idea of hosteling more known in the USA?

Just brainstorming some ideas:

A coordinated effort for US hostels to give slideshows about hostels and traveling. When I stayed at one of the California HI hostels Edward Hasbrouck came by and gave a presentation on how to travel around the world. He was promoting his book and airtreks.com, but what if more hostels offered presentations/slideshows and invited students to events at the hostel...? I think that HI USA is doing this at the hostels that they run, but I'm not sure if many other hostels are doing it.
Hostels mentioned in TV or movies (not just horror movies)
More coverage of hostels and backpacker travel in major media like NYT. This is already happening more often lately.

If you are from the US, how did you first hear about hostels?

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Josh Hostels

16 years

Weaknesses:
-Transportation is bad
-Hotels are very cheap, not much different than hostel prices (referring to budget sector)

Good points about the transportation, and the prices. I know one city where you can get dorm beds for $25 each, and a hotel room at the Radisson with double bed (4 persons) for $80.

I wonder if some city hostels could make more money by lowering prices but having higher occupancy, and also using add-on services to compensate for the difference. E.g., bar, restaurant, Internet access, phone cards, and tours.

Though there may be a large number of American hostel travelers who actually have a fair amount of money to spend. I've seen a hostel guest drive up to a US hostel in a rented Ferrari. :confused:

Many people just want the social atmosphere. It's hard to meet people at a hotel or motel. Maybe hostels could be marketed in the USA as a way to meet people...

-Young Americans prefer to backpack abroad (rather exploring US on regular vacation at older age -> would strength the hotel sector then)

I have a feeling that there is a very large group of young Americans driving around the USA in cars who don't have any idea about staying at hostels. I was one of them :D

I think I went through over 40 US states before I ever stayed at a hostel.

If some of those Americans began staying at hostels and had a good time, there might be a demand for more hostels in the USA. More of the Americans would probably travel overseas also.

Dangers: [...]
=Too high security restrictions could diverse tourism

Maybe if the USA had a central tourism office it could do something about that issue. It's hard to believe that there is no tourism agency for the USA. :confused:

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Rucksack Brian

16 years

Does anyone have ideas on how to make the idea of hosteling more known in the USA?

Just brainstorming some ideas: A coordinated effort for US hostels to give slideshows about hostels and traveling. When I stayed at one of the California HI hostels Edward Hasbrouck came by and gave a presentation on how to travel around the world. He was promoting his book and airtreks.com, but what if more hostels offered presentations/slideshows and invited students to events at the hostel...? I think that HI USA is doing this at the hostels that they run, but I'm not sure if many other hostels are doing it.

I think a focused marketing campaign promoting the idea of hostels could really be effective on college campuses rather than in the hostels themselves. I saw a presentation on my campus once by a gentleman like Mr. Hasbrouck who was promoting his book on how to travel the world for pennies a day. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the name of the book or the author, but I remember that his seminar was packed with students.

Universities are always looking for guest speakers to promote topics relating to anything "cultural," and they frequently pay to have those speakers flown in. The US hostels could combine their resources and create a standard (45-minute?) presentation on how to travel on a budget with an emphasis on enriching the experience by staying in hostels. Then each participating hostel could send someone to the universities in their area to make the presentation shortly before Spring or Summer break. If a lot of hostels got involved this would have the potential to reach an enormous number of students in a short amount of time.

A presentation on hostels and affordable travel would apply to multiple departments: Languages, Geography, Sociology, etc. so professors would be likely to encourage students to attend. There are countless clubs and organizations on college campuses that are (or could be) travel related as well. Any one of them could do on-campus marketing for the event, so the speaker would just have to show up and share his passion.

Maybe each attendee could receive a coupon for 50% off their first stay in one of the participating US hostels to encourage them to check out the hostel scene.

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gordo

16 years

i think working with colleges is an excellent idea - but you probably dont have to go as far as doing presentations. americans arent THAT different - there seems to be a level of agreement that when go abroad they stay in hostels. i think its a matter of creating the appeal of staying in hostels domestically. id wager that most people travel domestically with friends, in economic terms then hotels and motels may well be the better option.

of course, the same thing could probably be said of any country. the point is to try and demonstrate that hostels are a BETTER place to stay rather than just a cheap way. this is where the social element comes into play. i think having a regular presence on college campuses could help here, but it would require co-operation with other hostels. eg. in LA, local hostels advertise there, or at least create some kind of buzz (possibly the presentation idea) not so much to push their OWN hostel, but the idea of them. maybe have reciprocal agreements with hostels in SF,while in SF they do the same.

i dont think americans are ignoring their domestic hostels, its just that traditionally hotels are seen as 'better'. hostels need their own appeal and pushing the social/party thing is probably the best be. IMHO.

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Josh Hostels

16 years

I think a focused marketing campaign promoting the idea of hostels could really be effective on college campuses rather than in the hostels themselves.

[...]

Universities are always looking for guest speakers to promote topics relating to anything "cultural," and they frequently pay to have those speakers flown in. The US hostels could combine their resources and create a standard (45-minute?) presentation on how to travel on a budget with an emphasis on enriching the experience by staying in hostels. Then each participating hostel could send someone to the universities in their area to make the presentation shortly before Spring or Summer break. If a lot of hostels got involved this would have the potential to reach an enormous number of students in a short amount of time.

Great idea... that is the missing piece. Let's get started! :D

I am starting a new forum section for this topic.

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Josh Hostels

16 years

hostels need their own appeal and pushing the social/party thing is probably the best be. IMHO.

That is probably the major selling point of hostels. I'm going to start a new thread for brainstorming about what hostels have to offer.

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Josh Hostels

16 years

There is a follow-up thread about presenting hostels to students.

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santa klaus

16 years

That is probably the major selling point of hostels.

It certainly is. The independent hostel scene in continental Europe took off when they discovered this - in the UK and Australia. Little wonder our humble hostel chain has an Australian theme.

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uktrail

16 years

i dont think americans are ignoring their domestic hostels, its just that traditionally hotels are seen as 'better'. hostels need their own appeal and pushing the social/party thing is probably the best be. IMHO.

Sociability is certainly a strong reason why I stay in hostels rather than pensions or motels.

I have devised an index of Sociability:
http://www.uktrail.com/hostelinfo/sociable.php
which I'll be happy to develop further if there is any promotional value in it. Party merit is not the same; but a party atmosphere is just as much a positive feature, so perhaps a Party Index should be developed and used in parallel with the sociability one.

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Josh Hostels

16 years

I have devised an index of Sociability:
http://www.uktrail.com/hostelinfo/sociable.php
which I'll be happy to develop further if there is any promotional value in it.

I like it... I think there is definitely value in it. Unsocial hostels are not fun...

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Tim

16 years

Most travellers who stay at hostels, stay at hostels outside their own country so it is not such an issue for American hostels to convince Americans what hostels are, since Americans would comprise such a small percentage of their total guests (just as Australians comprise less than 2% of guests in most Australian hostels but around 20% of guests in European hostels).

I would guess that most Americans that do stay at hostels learn about them from guidebooks, the internet and from friends who have travelled. A large number of American backpackers are students so it seems right to advertise through student newspapers or cable TV in university towns, but you would be advertising to Americans travelling overseas and not within their own country.

There are also a few linguistic challenges. In the USA the word backpacker has a much more outdoorsy meaning and refers mostly to a hiker rather than a (mostly) urban budget traveller staying in hostels in big cities. As hostels proliferate I expect that the word will begin to take on its international meaning.

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