17 years
Hostelz.com has a list of recommendations for hostel owners here:
http://www.hostelz.com/hostel-recommendations.php
It contains some good recommendations for hostels.
What features would an "ideal hostel" have?
The Ideal Hostel
What kinds of features and qualities make up an ideal hostel? What are some common problems that could be avoided?
I'll start the list. These are just personal opinions from traveling and working at hostels for many years. I would be interested to hear others' comments.
A partial list of features that an "ideal" hostel would have:
- SECURITY LOCKERS: There would be security lockers in every room. They would be large enough for a laptop and a camera. Backpackers are increasingly traveling with high-tech gear. This is more of a problem in city hostels. I mention it because I am on the road right now, staying at a city hostel that advertises security lockers, but that does not have them. There is only a small safety deposit box behind the front desk. They offered to put my laptop behind the front desk, but I've been to a couple of city hostels where theft by employees was a problem, so I don't feel comfortable with doing that. All city hostels should have at least one locker for each guest.
- COMMON KITCHEN: Many backpackers are on a tight budget and like to self-cater as much as possible. The advantage to a common kitchen is that it is easier to keep clean than multiple kitchens, and it is a place where all of the guests can come together and meet.
- ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR: Whether this role is taken up by one of the existing employees, or by someone whose sole job is activity coordinator, it is important for the hostel to make sure that the guests are meeting each other and are having fun. To some extent, the most important thing that will leave a positive or negative impression on backpackers is whether or not they met other people and had fun. Even if they see a cockroach, if they met other backpackers and made new friends, they will remember the hostel as being a great place. Example activities that could be coordinated by a hostel: volleyball at the beach, barbeque nights, "open mike" night, walking tours of the area, pub crawls, game tournaments (e.g., chess), etc. Anything to encourage guests to interact.
- MINIMAL TELEVISION: If anything, televisions at hostels seem to get in the way of people meeting each other, especially if there are TVs in the rooms. Nothing wrong with an occasional "movie night", but many great hostels do well without a TV at all. The same goes for loud music. If there is an area where loud music is played, there should be a place where people can gather that does not have radio or CD music pumped into it all day. Musical tastes are too varied.
- 24-HOUR TALKING AREA: The ideal hostel would have a place where guests could talk 24-hours a day without disturbing other guests or neighbors.
- HOSTEL CLEANLINESS: Some hostels have cleanliness problems. The best hostels keep themselves very clean. Designing the hostel facilities well in the beginning can help. Dirty hostels are often a result of work-exchange cleaners that aren't supervised well.
This is just a start to the list. What qualities do you think would make an ideal hostel?
EDIT: See also the Start a Hostel Wiki Guide.
- Comments
17 years
Thats a great list.In fact that should be a hostel charter :)
Although the success of my hostel is reliant on the average hostel's complete ignorance of those suggestions (the current situation), so I hope it doesn't spread around too much.
A good example of this...
I stayed in a YHA in Manchester which decided to sound what seemed to be its fire alarm at 8am followed by a staff member announcing breakfast was being served.. While talking with the receptionist later in the day I was told they were struggling to attract younger travellers/backpackers.. I didn't say anything but I think the firealarm alarm clock, school kids and families probably had something to do with their failure.. Plus it was Manchester..
17 years
Thanks to the administrator for posting our Hostelz.com hostel suggestions link above. I hadn't seen this thread before, but it's great to see that many of the same suggestions from our page were already mentioned here. The same issues do seem to come up again and again. I also added several ideas from the posts here.
We may eventually make hostel owners aware of our suggestions page, possibly with a mass email to all hostel owners. We try to avoid sending unnecessary emails to hostel owners, but it may be worth doing in this case.
Let me know if anyone has any suggestions for our list.
17 years
I presume your an American Gordo? :rolleyes:
actually no, im an aussie itinerant.
and i seriously doubt id use a hostel bath - ive cleaned showers before and damn... but a bath?
besides, the water bills would be high enough without baths!
17 years
Hi Folks,
So far, since we opened 5 years ago, it was easy to recommend to our guests some cool pubs around where they can go for some concerts or just meet the locals, discover the nightlife, etc. Although it seems more and more travellers have the demand of having a bar in the hostel.
Any suggestions?
17 years
I worked in a hostel that had a bar. It was definitely a fun place, though the music from the bar caused some noise in the rooms.
I think even more important than a bar is a designated place where hostel guests can talk late at night without disturbing the other guests.
17 years
Sort of off the topic of the previous posts but I figure this belongs in this thread...I'd have these in my ideal hostel..
Stayed in a hostel recently and saw these baskets that I thought were worth a mention.
Alternative to lockers - Large metal basket on wheels, for each guest to put their bag,clothes in that fit under the bottom bunk. This solved the issue of guests leaving their clothes/stuff all over the floor/other beds. For me this was a great idea. I emptied most of my pack into the basket so I could get at all my clothes/stuff easily, but at the same time it was still all together.
From a hostel owners point of view the baskets would be cheap to purchase, don't take up any extra space and help keep rooms clean and tidy, which facilitates efficient cleaning etc. If you found a way to secure the baskets I think they would be a convenient alternative to lockers.
Im curious if anyone has seen something like this before?
17 years
I know that I would lose over half my customers if we has no cold beers after a day at the beach.
17 years
Sort of off the topic of the previous posts but I figure this belongs in this thread...I'd have these in my ideal hostel..
Alternative to lockers - Large metal basket on wheels, for each guest to put their bag,clothes in that fit under the bottom bunk.
I've seen this in at least one hostel, Sir Tobys in Prague. They were wooden boxes on wheels, and a bit clumsy and unwieldy; they really get in the way when they are out. Lightweight metal ones, provided they run smoothly, could be good.
Don't forget the simple things: plenty of hooks, and some hanging space for those of us who wash out a few clothes day by day as we go along (although a drying room would do this better).
17 years
Thank you hostels administrator...you just described our San Fran hostel. :-)
I also agree with the group dinners (which we have in our San Diego and Hollywood hostels)
I think something missing off your list is tight security for city hostels. Lockers is one thing, but they can be pried open....but screening everyone who comes in to make sure they are actually staying is a key element i think in hostels today. Often guests meet new 'friends' who are really bad news and i think it's part of our job to keep our guests safe from these predators.
And today's ideal hostel will have many places to plug in a laptop..so they stop unplugging the lights to use their computer. We've started retrofitting our hostels to serve this customer and have other things planned (which i can't talk about right now) to better serve the 'flashpackers' that are swarming the US.
On the note of alcohol, the HI in the USA do not allow alcohol..in fact the Santa Monica one has a big sign at the entry that says if you are caught with alcohol then you will be kicked out...which is great for us because then they come to our hollywood location as we allow our guests to drink.
I think hostels can operate successfully without alcohol as not everyone is a partier/partyer? (not sure how to spell that). While we allow drinking, we do get more guests complaints lately about the late night atmosphere...so there is a business to be had for hostels that do not want alcohol inhouse.
Oh and a side note, that hostel with wooden under bed lockers....bad choice...bed bugs are gonna LOVE those dark boxes that will get moist when someone's shampoo spills and the wood cracks...I suggest metal boxes or metal cages..which i saw in a Capetown hostel.
but the most important thing the ideal hostel needs is great staff....no matter what you offer, no matter how low your price, it's the staff that make the stay worthwhile. An activities coordinator is good, but an entire staff of friendly, informed, helpful people is what makes a hostel great.
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