Our HostelManagement theme for December is “Industry Expectations: Standing out, while fitting in.” I have to admit, even I thought to myself, “How can I write about such a cliche?” I want my writing to be meaningful, but most of all useful.
Magazine Article Keyword: Hostel Design
Find a great hostel, and you've likely found great communal space within that hostel. Hanging out with other travelers is an integral part of hostel life, and having a great space to do it in can make or break a hostel.
Can you remember the first dorm room you ever stayed in? Mine was somewhere in Cape Town nearly seven years ago. Being students, we went for the cheapest hostel we could find, and from my fuzzy memories I think we got what we paid for.
While discussing cleaning with Gerti and Andy, the owners of lovely Old Countryhouse Backpackers, they told me about one particularly awful stay they had somewhere else. It wouldn't have been so bad in itself, except that it was filthy.
This post is filled with ideas and great tips I saw from various hostels throughout New Zealand and Australia. I tried to put pictures with them whenever possible, as well as give credit to any hostel-specific ideas.
Backpackers in 2013: The only people who will travel half way around the world to experience other people and cultures be on Facebook. Likely while sitting next to someone from another country, who is watching YouTube. Eish.
Anyone who has met me, ever, knows I am not a morning person. I'm also incredibly difficult to wake up. That being said, I have never jumped out of bed so fast as the first time the hostel fire alarm went off in the night.
So far with these blogs I have been highlighting various 'best practices' that I've seen in hostels along the way.
Not all in life is as it seems. If you've ever been enticed by a fast food burger commercial you know what I mean. Forget that the meat actually looked real through the magic of HDTV. What really got me was the crispy lettuce and juicy tomato, so fresh out of the garden they bore water droplets.
There's no question travel can be fun, rewarding, and exciting. However anyone who's traveled will tell you it can also be frustrating, lonely, and exhausting. Sometimes missing certain comforts of home can cause some unusual behavior.
My admiration for Hekerua Lodge on Waiheke Island as described in my previous post was very much from a guest perspective.
There are a lot of aspects about my life that I consider very fortunate, if not lucky.