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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

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).

There are many Americans traveling around the country, often in cars. The USA is a big place, with many families scattered in different areas of the country. Many students go to colleges and universities away from their home towns.

I have a feeling that there is a large untapped market for hostels from young Americans traveling around the the USA. I think that if they knew about hostels, and there were more hostels, those travelers would choose hostels over motels/hotels...

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...

I wonder if that is partly because of popular magazines like Backpacker.

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Tim

16 years

There are many Americans traveling around the country, often in cars. The USA is a big place, with many families scattered in different areas of the country. Many students go to colleges and universities away from their home towns.

Australia is also a big country and a lot of Australians travel around their own country too, but they don't stay in hostels.

Most hostels don't want to have locals staying there because they cause all sorts of security issues and if anything they try to discourage locals from staying in hostels in their own country.

It is very common for Australian hostels to require a passport to check in and several hostels accept International Travellers Only, which means a non-Australian passport or an Australian passport plus an international ticket.

I have also been to hostels in the USA that are very cautious about letting locals stay there and generally only do this if they can prove that they are a genuine backpacker with a ticket out of the country.

I think hostels in the USA are much better off promoting themsleves outside their own country. It also makes sense to promote hostels to Americans travelling to Europe, but not at home.

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Josh Hostels

16 years

Most hostels don't want to have locals staying there because they cause all sorts of security issues and if anything they try to discourage locals from staying in hostels in their own country.
[...]
I have also been to hostels in the USA that are very cautious about letting locals stay there and generally only do this if they can prove that they are a genuine backpacker with a ticket out of the country.

Good point... most of the problems in US hostels are caused by locals. I wonder if most of the problems could be avoided by requiring passports and out of state IDs. I think that requiring a valid student ID from people with in-state licenses would attract more guests.

I think hostels in the USA are much better off promoting themsleves outside their own country. It also makes sense to promote hostels to Americans travelling to Europe, but not at home.

I wonder if there are any statistics available for things like:

how many foreign backpackers come to the USA
how many foriegn backpackers drive around the country in cars
how many people in the 18-25 year old range make long road trips (overnight stay required)

That would be useful information...

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santa klaus

16 years

That sort of research gets actually done right now in Europe. At least once per month, I am interviewed by a student who writes a thesis about some aspect of the hostel business. They research everything from travel patterns, socio-economic background of travellers, what travellers are looking for when staying in hostels, economics on micro-level (small hostels and chain hostels) as well as on the macro-level (impact of hostel dwellers on the local economy), site selection of hostel owners, whatever.

Lots of knowledge is getting accumulated this way. Many investors are already well aware there´s a trend they shouldn´t ignore and the knowledge will eventually trickle up to the tourism authorities as well. In some cities this happened already (Berlin, where 20% of the hotel beds are actually hostel beds!) while it takes a bit longer in other places, apparently.

I think the USA suffers a severe lack of entrepeneurship! Make money, not war! :cool:

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Tim

16 years

I think the USA suffers a severe lack of entrepeneurship!

I don't think there is a lack of entrepreneurship in the USA, but most entrepreneurs don't consider the hostel industry to be a good investment. I guess when the industry leader (Hostelling International) is a non-profit, it is easy to assume that there is no money in backpackers.

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Josh Hostels

16 years

I don't think there is a lack of entrepreneurship in the USA, but most entrepreneurs don't consider the hostel industry to be a good investment. I guess when the industry leader (Hostelling International) is a non-profit, it is easy to assume that there is no money in backpackers.

(Side note: HI makes its finances available.)

I think that people in the USA just don't know what hostels are... or they think a "hostel" means "flophouse". There is plenty of opportunity though...

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Josh Hostels

16 years

Interesting commentary from a Gadling.com article:

Hostels total about 10,000 worldwide, but only 350 of those are within the United States. Another thought-provoking claim from the article comes from Mark Vidalin, the marketing director of HI-USA, who states most Americans wouldn't be able to define the meaning of hostel correctly.

David Capelle owner of a hostel booking site where travelers can post ratings and reviews said 40% of people using Hostelz.com live in the U.S., but only 9% of them book American hostels.

Often when hostels get covered in the USA, they get bad press -- like when they are related to horror movies.

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gordo

16 years

i think the terms 'hostel' and 'shelter' are all too often interchanged - and yeah, then there's the horror movie issue.

its interesting that 40% of hostelz users are yanks, but obvioulsy use it for international travel. i cant help but think on the base of taht, that americans know what hostels are but think the ones in their own country are old school lock-out/curfew style. or just plain grotty. fair enough really - when HI is far and away the biggest player in north american hostelling, plenty of them still have curfews etc.

more good hostels will make hostelling more popular.
cali here i come!

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PhillyTraveller

16 years

i think the terms 'hostel' and 'shelter' are all too often interchanged - and yeah, then there's the horror movie issue.

I agree that when Americans hear the word "hostel" they think shelter and "backpacker" they think hiker.

americans know what hostels are but think the ones in their own country are old school lock-out/curfew style. or just plain grotty.

And sadly the few hostels that I've come across (at least here in Philly) do have lock out times and curfews.

There's a strange "stuckness" to this situation.... It feels like more Americans might be inclined to travel to other American cities if there were cool, inexpensive, modern European-style hostels to go to. But it's hard to make an effort to develop said hostels when it doesn't seem like there's enough demand.

I've been toying around with the idea of developing some kind of website or organization devoted to increasing desire to travel between US cities... Like an "East Coast Road Trip" guide, or something along those lines. Because there are so many cities here so close together that all have something to offer, and are so easy to get to and from (for instance a $20 bus ticket from Philly to NY, or a $40 plane ride from Pittsburgh to Philly).

And what exactly is the market like for people from other countries visiting cities in the U.S. other than New York or L.A.? I know that friends of mine from when I spent a semester in Germany said that Philly and Boston really appealed to them, and an older woman who I stayed with had traveled across the U.S. with her husband by car.

Do non-Americans have any desire to visit the US? What would draw foreign travelers to the US aside from Broadway and Hollywood?

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santa klaus

16 years

Do non-Americans have any desire to visit the US? What would draw foreign travelers to the US aside from Broadway and Hollywood?

There are plenty of European backpackers in Australia. Compared to the USA, that´s a quite dull country, and much more expensive to fly to as well.

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