A recent news story in the Guardian wonders if alcohol will ruin the hostel experience. I haven't been to UK hostels, so can't comment on it, but what do people think?
Here is the story:
"The YHA has just been given the go-ahead to serve alcohol 24 hours a day in its hostels. But most walkers head for the hills to escape this sort of thing, says Kevin Rushby
Hang on a second. Let me just balance my can of extra strength lager on this cairn of empties. That's better. Here on the top of Scafell Pike, England's highest peak with unmatched views, I can safely say that the new 24-hour drinking laws have really benefited us walkers. For example, the other day I would have missed the trail to the bar on top of Helvellyn, if not for the lines of bottles and cans. My only regret is there aren't more branches of Starbucks on these paths. After all, a few drinks makes you want a coffee - oh, and an Indian would be nice. Nothing like a good curry to finish off a day in the majestic serenity of the Lakes. You object? But this is what people want. This is the way Britain is going.
Seriously, for those who haven't been out in the wilds recently, I can assure you that 24-hour drinking culture already exists here. Last October, I camped in Patterdale on the shores of Ullswater. It was cold and wet and we didn't expect there to be many other people at Side Farm. But there were. A gang of three couples, all bent on drinking themselves into a rowdy, shouting, screaming mess, all night long, no matter what objections or complaints. Next morning, I'm happy to report, the farmer asked them to leave, but the question everyone was asking around the site was, "Why did they come here - to behave like that?"
Now the YHA has been given the go-ahead to serve alcohol 24 hours a day at 93 of its 118 hostels. I reckon the YHA should examine its navel a little. With walking never more popular and demand for the peace and quiet of the hills at an all-time high, why are they shifting their focus towards this unnecessary business?
They say they want to attract block-bookings, presumably weddings and stag parties, but why? If they are not attracting walkers, then they should work out what walkers want. I doubt that it is 24-hour booze. The most that walkers usually manage is a swift pint after a late-night stroll through pitch-black lanes to the pub. And are they really suggesting that they can match watering holes like the Wasdale Head Inn or The Three Shires? This is a bad move and one that will not lead the YHA out of the mists that have engulfed them."
16 years
Again as I said in a different thread I think this comes back to the YHA trying to appeal to everyone...The author of that blog's idea of a good hostel experience is totally different to a backpackers idea of a good hostel experience. So although alcohol at YHA's may ruin his hostel experience it will appeal to others.
That said it doesn't seem like a great business idea, unless the YHA has a good bar or mostly young clientele.
16 years
I would agree ..there was a parnell system in the UK/Germany where YHA appealed to the school groups, scouts, walkers and then there were the backpacker hostels.
These backpackers hostels are more central, linked together by public/backpacker transport/24 hour and YHA has been hurting. Established so so that they are linked together through walking,, they have been closing all their rural hostels and reinvesting in central city locations, trying to attract backpackers as well as as families? The question is whether this two different groups can coexist in a hostel?
Should hostels aim only for one type of traveller or can they through the use of private and family rooms serve everyone? I cant see backpacker hostels offering family special rooms with nappy changing facilities!
SC
16 years
Here is another article about it:
Residents fear a proposal for a 24-hour alcohol licence at Stow Youth Hostel would encourage underage binge drinkers.In a bid to up the image of back-packers' bases, the Youth Hostel Association has gained permission to sell booze in 118 of its hostels - sparking a country-wide furore.
It wants to attract more young professionals, who can now hire hostels for parties, rather than early-to-bed hikers and penniless students.
Stow aims to go for its licence in April, following a £130,000 refurbishment.
But the community feels it's the wrong move.
[...]
"The reason the YHA has gone for a blanket application is because it's more cost effective."
YHA communications manager Paul Fearn said: "We have no intention of serving booze 24 hours a day or throwing all-night raves.
"What people don't seem to realise is that about 50 of our hostels already had 24-hour licences, many of which had to be renewed."
He said hostels were becoming more like hotels with their own restaurants, rather than kitchens for self-catering.
Only one licence has been rejected out of the 118 YHA applied for.
A total of 93 have been granted, 39 after local protests, and a decision is awaited on 21 more.
I thought the comment about hostels "becoming more like hotels with their own restaurants, rather than kitchens for self-catering" was interesting.
16 years
I thought the comment about hostels "becoming more like hotels with their own restaurants, rather than kitchens for self-catering" was interesting.
Exactly. This is YHA in a nutshell. They have deserted their founding beliefs to become just another accommodation provider.
16 years
I haven't been to the UK. What is the hostel situation like there? Are there many independent hostels around the country or are most affiliated with YHA? Does YHA own all the properties or is it like in the USA where they only own a few and the rest are independent but "members"?
16 years
Up to 1970s the YHA owned virtually all hostels, and there were no independents.
Gradually, a few independents opened, then in the 1990s they started increasing rapidly. Many of these in country areas are bunkhouses -- rather simpler than hostels, sometimes you have to bring your own bedding, and the owner lives nearby and drops in once or twice a day. Now, many bunkhouses are as good as typical hostels. Since about 1995 the YHA has adopted the policy of encouraging 'enterprise hostels' which are just like you describe for the US; YHA makes money from it and doesn't have to run the place, so it's good business. Worse, the YHA are SELLING their country hostels to individuals or charities who then run them under the YHA umbrella -- VERY good business, but despicable in my view (you've read about Dolgoch).
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