STA Travel is closing 48 of its 65 retail locations in the USA.
The store closings and new online capabilities will enhance STA's ability to succeed in an increasingly competitive marketplace that favors buying travel online, it says.
Hostelbookers.com lists 10,000 properties in 2,500 destinations. They have reported that bookings in 2008 are up by 83%. Their top 10 most popular destinations in 2008 are:
Here are 10 free places to list your hostel online and get additional exposure on the Web:
Hostelworld.com is asking Oxford, Collins and Chambers' dictionaries to redefine the word hostel. Many dictionaries still use outdated and inaccurate definitions of the word.
The HI Redwood National Park hostel was voted the #1 HI hostel in the world by users of hihostels.com, tying with the Shin-Osaka HI hostel in Japan.
New Zealand's Minister for the Environment spoke at YHA Wellington City on 29 April 2008:
Swiss hostels saw a 4.4 percent increase in visitor nights in 2007 over 2006:
Switzerland's 58 youth hostels registered 912,000 nights spent by tourists last year, a rise of 4.4 per cent compared with 2006.
YHA Australia reports that the numbers of solo female travelers are increasing:
A boost in women backpackers travelling alone has led the country's largest hostel group to encourage them to take extra precautions.
Illegally operating hostels in Queensland may face trouble under new rules:
The Queensland Backpackers Association says amendments to state laws governing youth hostels mean illegal operators will be caught.