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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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Scotch Argus

16 years

Wait a minute! That is not the case anywhere in continental Europe either.
There is certainly not "lack of the market of people who've grown up with hostels" in America! Most of our guests are American!

I think the original HI network started with the emphasis on outdoor pursuits, whether they still exist in Germany etc I have no idea. Obviously when someone thinks of a hostel they bring their own experiences - some might think of a small mountain shack, others of a modern multi floor city hostel. I think Western Europe is different to the USA in that the network sprung up around an active travelling scene of inter-railers, contiki etc. To my knowledge this doesn't exist to anywhere near the same degree in the US.

Even though most of your guests are American, I don't think that means much for anyone opening a hostel in the USA as
1) they still represent a tiny proportion of Americans who've left their country at all
2) I would have doubts that they would use US hostels anyway. European hostels are full of Aussies, but they by and large don't holiday in hostels in Oz. Same might be true in Europe - we get many Spanish, Germans and French, but I seriously doubt they use their native country's hostel a lot.

I agree. The only American city I know is Atlanta - I was pretty amazed that a city bigger than Berlin (if you include the suburbs) has only two underground lines (this is Berlin´s underground system).
I think that has finally sunk in now though.

I've visited Minneapolis a number of times - they have a bus network, but it's very limited - anyone would find it very difficult to get about that city (which is pretty large) without a car. It's not only the lack of public transportation, but also the difficulties in walking. I found a freeway in Allentown that couldn't be crossed on foot legally- it was like a wall separating pedestrians from two sides of town

I plead guilty.

When we opened our first hostel in Vienna, there was no kitchen. Neither in the second one in Munich. It took me five years of molesting the bosses to convince them. Unfortunately, it´s sometimes difficult with the bureaucracy, too: they only know two sorts of kitchen here: a private one like you have at home and a restaurant kitchen with zillions of regulations. There is no such thing as a public guest kitchen for them. They just wouldn´t approve it. Now we have a kitchen in three of our hostels, only Munich has none - because the landlord wouldn´t approve it (fire hazard, he says... )

It has to be said though, not that many guests actually use it. Ours are probably not bigger than yours, but we have around 300 beds in each hostel - the kitchen rarely gets very crowded.

I don't think it's a matter of being guilty. It's a matter of providing what your customers want - if a kitchen isn't used, it's of no use. As I say, I bring my prejudices of what a hostel should be, but their not necessarily right. From the reviews I read Wombats does a great job satisfying its customers. That's the most important thing in any business

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santa klaus

16 years

I think the original HI network started with the emphasis on outdoor pursuits, whether they still exist in Germany etc I have no idea.

The original idea was to get working-class schoolchildren out of their industrial hometowns a week or two so they can breathe some clean air once in a while.
Germany´s HI network still caters most of all to school groups. In the rural HI hostels in Germany, there were never a lot of other guests - unlike in the UK.

Anyway, especially in the Alps there are a lot of mountain refuges, most of them operated by the local "Alpenverein" which are technically hostels. They have dorm rooms and common facilities, like a common living room and a guest kitchen. They run pretty well, they just aren´t called "hostels".

I think Western Europe is different to the USA in that the network sprung up around an active travelling scene of inter-railers, contiki etc. To my knowledge this doesn't exist to anywhere near the same degree in the US.

Good point. Still - there´s enough demand for hostels in the big cities and a bigger network could evolve around them.

Even though most of your guests are American, I don't think that means much for anyone opening a hostel in the USA as
1) they still represent a tiny proportion of Americans who've left their country at all
2) I would have doubts that they would use US hostels anyway. European hostels are full of Aussies, but they by and large don't holiday in hostels in Oz. Same might be true in Europe - we get many Spanish, Germans and French, but I seriously doubt they use their native country's hostel a lot.

Well, the USA is a pretty big country, so if Spaniards use Scottish hostels, there is little reason to doubt that Texans would use Alaskan hostels.

There is one more thing: I believe that Brits and Americans are more familiar with the idea of sharing rooms than most Europeans. In the Anglo-world, when you´re a student you often live on the campus and share a room with other students - so they are used to that. In contrast, German students usually live in their own flat, or at least in their own room in a shared flat. The French, Italians and Spaniards usually don´t move out of Mom´s place until they marry (which is AFTER they graduate).
[The spanish word for "married" is casado - literally "housed" - you have your own house only if you´re married, by definition. BTW, the word for "wife" is esposa; the word for "handcuff" is also esposa! :D ]

So - most continental Europeans are very used to their privacy. Much more than Britons or Americans. Another reason why American hostels could attract more domestic guests than European hostels.

I don't think it's a matter of being guilty. It's a matter of providing what your customers want - if a kitchen isn't used, it's of no use. As I say, I bring my prejudices of what a hostel should be, but their not necessarily right. From the reviews I read Wombats does a great job satisfying its customers. That's the most important thing in any business

Thanks for the flowers! :)

I bring those prejudices, too. Even though what we do might be a long way from the original definition of "hostel", I insist on things like that. There are people who want a kitchen and even if they are only a few, a kitchen is just one room on ground floor we can easily spare.
The other thing I insist on is that in a hostel, you put the linen on your bed yourself. If nothing else, at least that. :)

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aboriginalhostel

16 years

That wasn´t very hard back then. We were in the monthly top ten almost every single month in 2003 and 2004 with ratings around 85%. It was the time when the small hostels in Budapest, Krakow and Lisbon which win everything now were not yet there. We won a lot of Hoscars, too. Ah, the old days! :)

So are you actually saying this hostel has won the hoscar with the same service and facilities? I don't think so...

I figure the cost of a building in a location like that in London must be absolutely crazy, so I´m not surprised they try to use every square inch for beds.

I don´t think a 700-bed hostel can´t be good though. We have 350 in Berlin and it works pretty well. Sure, you can´t do a job like Olga if you have 20 different receptionists and they don´t even know most of their guests, let alone talk Nietzsche to them as long as they want. It´ll be a machine, but it can be a well-oiled one, which most guests appreciate just as much. The one thing you have to avoid is getting cynical. If the management gets cynical (i.e. by not fixing the hot water for whatever reason), the rest of the staff will get cynical pretty soon, too. And then you´ll end up with a 57% cleanliness rating pretty fast.

Indeed, London prices are all crazy and I don't think it will be much of a change even if the recession would destroy the whole British economy.

You mentioned in another thread (and I agreed with it), that one of your successful ideas was to make small, ensuite dorms and a lots of space.
You don't have 10 bed dorms especially in a space where you'd put only 6-8 because it would be too cramped. I haven't been to Piccadilly yet but I'd love to check what's wrong with it. IMHO, they use the same amount of space as yours but for twice as many people (5m2 instead of your 10m2/person), so It would be a good sized 350-400 bed hostel, IMHO.

Don't get me wrong when I recommended to one of the future hosteliers to open a small hostel because it is better. Big hostels can be good as well, a perfect showcase is yours, for example. BUT: You do have knowledge and experience what that fellow doesn't. Smaller places are easier to see through than bigger ones, so if you have a problem, you can recognize it much easier. But you need to know what to see. IMHO if you see the whole process through, you are able to recognize problems, regardless the size. A rookie can recognize problems in a smaller place much easier than in a bigger one, IMHO.

Before you open a hostel, you plan it. A good plan worth at least half of a good hostel's success, IMHO. If this guy opens up a big place and makes a planning mistake, the price will be much higher. If let's say you need an ensuite bathroom and you forgot to plan it into every room at the beginning, you need to bash up the entire place and renovate the whole thing and you are closed meanwhile without any income but paying or firing the already experienced staff you have...

A small hostel with only private rooms is not a hostel - that much is right.

HOWEVER! I think one of the very few edges big hostels have over small ones is that they have the recources to run a smooth, professional operation. Picadilly obviously doesn´t (or can´t because the rent is so friggin expensive that there´s simply no cash left for providing decent service).

IMHO that's just an excuse. If you cramp a place that much and still don't make money on it especially when you always have a full house, then that business doesn't worth to work with it.

IMHO, it is not the income which make the quality but the quality what makes the income. If you have a decent place you can make more money than with a crap place - if you have competition, because you have an interest to make your place better than the others. But as a general perspective, if you are always full, then why bother?

If you have 700 beds, you can very well have 500 of them in doubles and small private dorms. You´ll still have 200 guests in coach class and those, along with the odd flashpacking people who don´t lock up themselves in their privates, will keep the social scene alive.

You've seen the pictures and read the reviews by yourself as well. I think that building is about 3500-4000m2 all together. How would you put 250 double rooms into such area? :rolleyes:

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santa klaus

16 years

So are you actually saying this hostel has won the hoscar with the same service and facilities? I don't think so...

You are right. They did have better ratings then, but still: a 2003 Hoscar was not the same thing back then. I remember only hostels with at least 50 (?) ratings in a month appeared in the top ten at all. HW didn´t generate so many bookings, so only a few large and very popular hostels ever got so many ratings.

Don't get me wrong when I recommended to one of the future hosteliers to open a small hostel because it is better. Big hostels can be good as well, a perfect showcase is yours, for example. BUT: You do have knowledge and experience what that fellow doesn't. Smaller places are easier to see through than bigger ones, so if you have a problem, you can recognize it much easier. But you need to know what to see. IMHO if you see the whole process through, you are able to recognize problems, regardless the size. A rookie can recognize problems in a smaller place much easier than in a bigger one, IMHO.

You are probably right. On one hand, one thinks that running a large hostel can´t be rocket science, but then you see how much goes wrong everywhere...

Before you open a hostel, you plan it. A good plan worth at least half of a good hostel's success, IMHO.

Absolutely correct. But then, nobody is forced to build a place with a bad plan. One just has to show the floor plans to Santa Klaus! I actually LOVE that sort of stuff and think I`m actually good at it! I wouldn´t mind to help a lad in SF with his plans, if I get to stay for free for a few days after the place has opened. :)

IMHO that's just an excuse. If you cramp a place that much and still don't make money on it especially when you always have a full house, then that business doesn't worth to work with it.

IMHO, it is not the income which make the quality but the quality what makes the income. If you have a decent place you can make more money than with a crap place - if you have competition, because you have an interest to make your place better than the others. But as a general perspective, if you are always full, then why bother?

You've seen the pictures and read the reviews by yourself as well. I think that building is about 3500-4000m2 all together. How would you put 250 double rooms into such area? :rolleyes:

Right. If someone at Picadilly´s reads this, here is my theory:
The guy who owns it is not the guy who runs it. After it ran very well in the beginning, the guy who owns it thought "cool, let´s triple capacity and quadruple return on investment". This worked well in the beginning when the reputation was still excellent. The guy who owns it continued to ask the guy who runs it to deliver the same yearly profit without knowing that after some time you need much more money for maintenance. Budget for maintenance was not approved, nor higher salaries for the experienced staff who wants to have a share of the fantastic profits after a while as well - knowing full well they can´t be easily replaced. The guy who runs it knows all along something is running downhill, but the guy who owns it wouldn´t listen, so he only has the choice to play along or else get fired.
After some years of things going downhill, revenues aren´t what they used to be, making the guy who owns it squeezing out the guy who runs it even harder. And so on.

You've seen the pictures and read the reviews by yourself as well. I think that building is about 3500-4000m2 all together. How would you put 250 double rooms into such area? :rolleyes:

I guess you are right here, too. So: I´m perfectly happy with properties which will get a location rating in the 85%-90% bracket, because these are usually not so expensive that you have to squeeze the hell out of every square inch.

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gordo

16 years

The guy who owns it is not the guy who runs it. After it ran very well in the beginning, the guy who owns it thought "cool, let´s triple capacity and quadruple return on investment". This worked well in the beginning when the reputation was still excellent. The guy who owns it continued to ask the guy who runs it to deliver the same yearly profit without knowing that after some time you need much more money for maintenance. Budget for maintenance was not approved, nor higher salaries for the experienced staff who wants to have a share of the fantastic profits after a while as well - knowing full well they can´t be easily replaced. The guy who runs it knows all along something is running downhill, but the guy who owns it wouldn´t listen, so he only has the choice to play along or else get fired.

:eek:
holy crap, its like you were describing the caledonian until stu took over!!!

except we still dont have enough money :p

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aboriginalhostel

16 years

You are probably right. On one hand, one thinks that running a large hostel can´t be rocket science, but then you see how much goes wrong everywhere...

IMHO, The biggest problem running a business is about to see and know what's happening. As long as you run a business yourself, you have the chance to see 100%. The bigger company you have, the less chance you get: Then you rely on the others as they rely on you and you have to solve puzzles and push things through.

Absolutely correct. But then, nobody is forced to build a place with a bad plan. One just has to show the floor plans to Santa Klaus! I actually LOVE that sort of stuff and think I`m actually good at it! I wouldn´t mind to help a lad in SF with his plans, if I get to stay for free for a few days after the place has opened. :)

I wouldn't mind helping either! It's all the fun part! :)

Right. If someone at Picadilly´s reads this, here is my theory:
The guy who owns it is not the guy who runs it. After it ran very well in the beginning, the guy who owns it thought "cool, let´s triple capacity and quadruple return on investment". This worked well in the beginning when the reputation was still excellent. The guy who owns it continued to ask the guy who runs it to deliver the same yearly profit without knowing that after some time you need much more money for maintenance. Budget for maintenance was not approved, nor higher salaries for the experienced staff who wants to have a share of the fantastic profits after a while as well - knowing full well they can´t be easily replaced. The guy who runs it knows all along something is running downhill, but the guy who owns it wouldn´t listen, so he only has the choice to play along or else get fired.
After some years of things going downhill, revenues aren´t what they used to be, making the guy who owns it squeezing out the guy who runs it even harder. And so on.

I agree, probably that's the case and it won't change until a crisis won't hit the establishment. :(

I guess you are right here, too. So: I´m perfectly happy with properties which will get a location rating in the 85%-90% bracket, because these are usually not so expensive that you have to squeeze the hell out of every square inch.

Well, there is no need to be right in prime downtown indeed. IMHO, if you are located within walking distance from the main sights, easy to find and close to nightlife areas, that should work.
Then you need to compromise: Main streets are pretty noisy but easy to find, small streets are hard to locate but very quiet, etc.

It is always good to bring out the best of a hostel but it matters on what price you can evaluate it.

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Ria

16 years

hey folks on the subject of US school groups using hostels...we do book US groups but i think most of them go to HI because they have a strict no alcohol policy in the states so there's nothing to tempt their kids.

I always warn groups that we allow guests to drink so that our hostels may not be for them. We also don't accept younger aged groups... no 12 year olds running around.

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dvanover

16 years

We have only been open a few months in St. Augustine, FL USA and in just those few months have gotten several calls asking "what is a hostel". So we put a link on our website that goes to an article explaining what a hostel is.
Here is a link to the page the "what is a hostel" link is on.

http://www.casayallaha.com/About_the_House.php

We also started writing articles for the web to help promote hostelling.

Here are links to the articles.

http://EzineArticles.com/?id=1885106
http://EzineArticles.com/?id=1720485

They can be reproduced (in their entirety) if you want to use them.

Dee

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Josh Hostels

16 years

http://EzineArticles.com/?id=1885106
http://EzineArticles.com/?id=1720485

Informative articles -- especially the second one which provides a good introduction for people who aren't aware of hostels.

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CAPhouse

15 years

I think one issue in the U.S. is that the local laws and codes do not mention "hostel" at all. I have been working with city hall to start a hostel, and they have to interpret the law to make it work. An example is that I can get zoning for the hostel as either a hotel or congregate housing. I cannot zone it as a B&B because they are restricted to a certain number of guests and rooms.

Getting the word out is imprtant to educate people. I will be going door-to-door to educate the "old ladies" on the citizens association.

Another way to get the word out is partnering with travel agents who book school trips.

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