How are the Quality of hostel are certified ?

There is sometimes friction between independent hostel and HI hostels -- I'll try to write an impartial perspective here. :)

There isn't any inherent difference in the quality of HI or non-HI hostels. From my experience, it's all about the individual hostel, the HI organization, and what you are looking for.

I don't think one can compare "Hostelling International" to "other hostels" because every HI organization is different.

Some HI hostels are owned by independent hostel owners who choose to associate with HI for marketing or other purposes. Other HI hostels are owned/managed by the HI organization for that country.

Hostelling International is about 90 very different organizations that have just a few things in common including: 1) they use the HI membership card; 2) they adhere to the greatly-varying standards of their country's HI organization; 3) they sell beds through hihostels.com.

Each HI organizations has its own standards/style. For example, HI-USA hostels are vastly different from HI-Argentina hostels.

In addition to the ~90 different HI organizations, there are also other hostel networks like:

• backpackers.ca
• minihostels
• Scottish Independent Hostels

A good way to compare individual hostels is to look on reviews on hostel review websites.