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Well well well. After 4 months of writing about best industry practices throughout Australia/ New Zealand, this wandering blogger is back at Hostel Management HQ, when not busy running Pacific Tradewinds Hostel.
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.
All good things must come to an end, which is why I've stopped drinking. Wait…traveling. I've stopped traveling. Though they did begin to feel like one in the same at some point. Sadly my four months in NZ & Australia came to a close last week, and I am now back in the US.
The only thing worse than finding out a guest is unhappy with their stay is finding out after the fact. Online. For the world to see. When you can now do nothing about it. Or can you? I've heard a lot of debate over whether hostels should respond to online reviews. Does it make a difference?
No matter how amazing your hostel, there will come a day when some lowly guest finds it unworthy of his standards. You could give everyone a 6 week old puppy to cuddle with when they check in, and this guy will complain that it's a black lab.
Oh, complaints. In terms of enjoyment, they are right up there with clogged toilets and overbooking on a festival weekend. For some, a close tie with an extended visit from the in-laws. Some complaints are warranted, while others are just nit-picky.