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Is the dorm aspect of hostels dying?

Hostel Trends and News

aboriginalhostel started this discussion 15 years 11 months ago

Scotch Argus' post in another, derailed thread made me thinking of his words and IMHO it's worth for a discussion in a new thread.

Just to remind, this was the post:

I do wonder how much of the market really wants to share sleeping accommodation though. As a HI hostel we used to get a lot of dorm bed bookings, but now it's mostly enquiries and bookings for private rooms. I think despite what people say the dorm aspect of hostelling is dying. 10 years ago most hostel beds sold would have been in dorms - now I'd say the majority would be in private rooms.

These words caught my attention. Once my thoughts settled and when I've read Hostelworld's newsletter this morning, I realized something... so I've been looking through the most of the previous articles what have been written about hostels and guess what? Most of these PR articles which has been sponsored by either Hostelworld or Hostelbookers, has one common message:

"Hostels are not dodgy. They have private rooms."

As a conclusion, what will these readers think of hostels? Hostels are good option for private rooms. Not dorms. Dorms were mentioned nowhere.

IMHO, the reason for a decline of demanding dorms is not just a trend, but a result of a campaign change from booking engines. As they are the biggest advertisers for hostels nowadays, hostels' revenue strongly depends on their results as well.

Without conspiring but from the booking engine point of view, selling private rooms is a better business. Why?

- Bigger commission (due the higher room price),
- there are more people to target from the classic holiday market,
- classic holiday travelers rather prefer to make secured bookings as their schedule is fixed (as opposite to backpackers, who rather tend to stay on a flexible itinerary, often still without making online bookings, especially during off season).

So there are some motivations, but how does it affect?

We live in a world of consumption and advertisements. If you run a business and don't advertise, you can shut it down before you even start it. The concept of an ad is providing a message to identify a product or service among others. It helps you to choose against else.
Ads are mind work. Our subconscious filters out a lot of unnecessary information: If I say think about a pink elephant, it pops into your mind, because your mind associates with the context. You won't think about blue, yellow, or green ones (until now because it's been mentioned ;)).

It happens the same when hostels are mentioned. Those who will read these articles, won't think about dormitories as an option, because it was not mentioned. Also IMHO those people who read these PR articles are not the same target group who wants to stay in dormitories.

On the other hand, there is still a a lot of opportunity promoting dorms.
The question is, can a cheap, socializing option win against the more expensive private rooms? Why are dorms better?

Meanwhile, should those engines campaigning after the "flashpackers"* and give a chance for other engines? Should hostels focus on and build up direct channels with our good old clientele?

(*-Flashpackers again: which seems to be a guessed, no-one-knows-who-they-are trend, as I haven't seen a concrete, facts proved definition for it - So tell your definition and discuss it ;))

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uktrail

15 years

Thank you for your thoughtful ideas.

Why are dorms better?

I have just been writing the following para for uktrail.com, which neatly answers that question:

At UK Trail we give particular attention to solo travellers. Most single travellers want to keep their costs as low as possible, so that their funds will last longer. Therefore we focus on the costs of dorm beds. Many hostels also have private rooms, and if you are a couple or group, you may well prefer one, and they may not cost much more. But for a single traveller, they usually cost twice as much. Being willing to share a room gives you the option to pay the same as anyone else, and not, as in guest houses and bed-and-breakfasts, much more than anyone else.

For the single traveller, dorms are the only reasonable-priced option, whereas multi-travellers also have a choice of hotels, pensions, self-catering apartments, and "sobe" and "zimmer-frei"s. So, if adverts "don't bother" to mention dorms, they are further sidelining the single traveller.

Here is a related topic. We all know that self-catering kitchens are a valuable component of many hostels. However, hostels make more money from selling meals than encouraging self-catering. I was looking at the England&Wales YHA Guide (2007-08), and was perturbed by how few hostels have the "self-catering" symbol. Have they given up what we used to call "members' kitchens"? Eventually I realised that some hostels without the symbol do indeed have a guest kitchen, because I had stayed there and used it! But quite evidently they are ignoring the need to provide information and instead using their Guide to promote their meals service! Every hostel that provides meals has a sentence such as "Eat in and sample great local food" and does not mention self-catering. Only the hostels that do not have a meals service show the self-catering symbol. This may be good business sense, but it's yet another way in which the YHA is going back on what they originally stood for.

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santa klaus

15 years

Without conspiring but from the booking engine point of view, selling private rooms is a better business.

You make a few very good points. From their point of view, selling privates is the only way to expand business. Those who are travelling solo and want to stay somewhere on a budget have no other choice than dorms anyway. IMHO, there is now way for the booking engines to reach more people in that segment, so they focus on privates now.

This is not all bad news though. We run hostels which have both - privates and dorms. Those people who book privates on those booking engines might have never considered to stay in a hostel. So it is actually good news for us that they have been targeted by booking engine ads. When they stay with us, they´ll see what a hostel is really like, regardless of the ad content. Maybe next time they travel they´re solo and book a dorm. Look at it as a way to attract new customers.

I think the dorm aspect is not dying, but it won´t be the only aspect we can rely on. We´ll have to do both - dorms AND privates and find ways to make the combination work.

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aboriginalhostel

15 years

You make a few very good points. From their point of view, selling privates is the only way to expand business.

Thank you. We all know that we live in a free market where demands and offers meet in order to make business. These demands varies in trends, which will change by time. We always have to customize our offers in order to follow trends and to offer the best deals for our guests or our competition will. However, these demands can be different by positioning your channels.

If this is the only way to expand the business, that means there will be more and more demands for private rooms... so dorms will be less and less important for them, therefore for us as well. They sell what it's worth for them to sell, whether we like it or not.

Those who are travelling solo and want to stay somewhere on a budget have no other choice than dorms anyway. IMHO, there is now way for the booking engines to reach more people in that segment, so they focus on privates now.

My main problem with this picture is not about focusing on private rooms and dorms as well but focusing on private rooms only. You said there is no way to expand that clientele: I'd agree if I'd hear from everywhere talking about dorms but this part is silent. Also there are not many solo travelers stay even in a hostel (most of them are our classic backpackers, BTW). Most people travel in small groups, just check your statistics about your average pax per booking. We don't deal with group bookings and even ours is 2,1...

If the 4stars will suffer the crisis, they wont be just looking how we get rich on the new trend, formerly their costumers. Private rooms cost already double as much per person than in a dorm and are roughly the same price for a three star, sometimes even more.

This is not all bad news though. We run hostels which have both - privates and dorms. Those people who book privates on those booking engines might have never considered to stay in a hostel. So it is actually good news for us that they have been targeted by booking engine ads. When they stay with us, they´ll see what a hostel is really like, regardless of the ad content. Maybe next time they travel they´re solo and book a dorm. Look at it as a way to attract new customers.

Private rooms are about comfort, dorms are about budget. You can save at least double on your accommodation just by staying in a dorm instead of a private. At this tiny moment our private rooms are about budget as well comparing to 4 star hotels, but still dimensions away from dorms. I doubt that we'd attract many people to dorms from privates. That maybe is too improbable for me. IMHO.

I think the dorm aspect is not dying, but it won´t be the only aspect we can rely on. We´ll have to do both - dorms AND privates and find ways to make the combination work.

My main problem with this picture is not about focusing on private rooms and dorms as well but focusing on private rooms only. You said there is no way to expand that clientele: I'd agree if I'd hear more PR about dorms without more results but like as I mentioned before, these articles are mentioning private rooms only. Less promotion on dorms will result only less people in dorms...

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aboriginalhostel

15 years

I have just been writing the following para for uktrail.com, which neatly answers that question...

Peter, I completely agree with you.

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gordo

15 years

this is really just the whole backpacker vs flashpacker discussion, but focussing on room types.

personally i think you'll find a split in the hostel community; some favouring the flashier, private room type, blurring the lines between hotels and hostels. others will go the other way and strip things back, emphasising the communal aspect, the social side of things.

id see myself sitting in the latter camp; hostels are more than a business IMO. its a way of life.

ps... good lord, how cliched was that line?!?!?

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uktrail

15 years

Most people travel in small groups, just check your statistics about your average pax per booking.

Be careful how you interpret the statistics. Suppose half your bookings are for singles, and the rest for multiples. Then the bookings are 1:1. But the average number of people per booking in that same case might be 2; and 3 people are travelling multiple for every 1 single.

Also, single travellers often hook up with others, and on arrival at a hostel they might be treated as a multiple booking (does this happen?). And if they hadn't had a dorm experience earlier, they might well not have met up!

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santa klaus

15 years

this is really just the whole backpacker vs flashpacker discussion, but focussing on room types.

True.

id see myself sitting in the latter camp; hostels are more than a business IMO. its a way of life.

I´m more pragmatic. I work at Wombats because it´s an asshole-free environment. :)

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Josh Hostels

15 years

...emphasising the communal aspect, the social side of things.

id see myself sitting in the latter camp; hostels are more than a business IMO. its a way of life.

I think hostels are more than just "cheap accommodation" -- that's why I generally don't call anything without dorms a "hostel".

A hostel is a place where highly unusual collections of travelers come together and live in very close quarters learning about each others' cultures. Sometimes at hostels I look around at the group and think there is no other way these kind of people would ever have come together at one table :)

I'm a solo traveler so I agree with uktrail's paragraph. My first big trip was an attempt to travel around the world with $2500 (lasted 10 months, but was overly ambitious :D). Properties without dorm beds are often too expensive for solo travelers. Hostels make low-budget solo travel possible...

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aboriginalhostel

15 years

I´m more pragmatic. I work at Wombats because it´s an asshole-free environment. :)

Another common interest... I run our hostel because it´s an asshole-free environment, too! ;)

However, I don't want to fill our beds with picky hotel tourists who just look for the price but not the atmosphere. The chance for losing this environment increases with private rooms...

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aboriginalhostel

15 years

Be careful how you interpret the statistics. Suppose half your bookings are for singles, and the rest for multiples. Then the bookings are 1:1. But the average number of people per booking in that same case might be 2; and 3 people are travelling multiple for every 1 single.

I did a quick check.
We had 17% solo travelers this June. The most was two people, 38%.
Financially Pax is still not as important as bednights though. Solos took 20%.

It's a pity because the least pax you have, the better atmosphere you can make. I mean the bigger group you have, the less they will interact.

Also, single travellers often hook up with others, and on arrival at a hostel they might be treated as a multiple booking (does this happen?). And if they hadn't had a dorm experience earlier, they might well not have met up!

It could happen but I wouldn't make a popular trend out of it. Otherwise the dorm experience is indeed important. The more they travel, the more people will see. And if you stay in dorms, you can travel way more than any flashpacker in a private room.

But let's look at this way: We don't do this for the money. As long as we can live on it and provide efficient service, there will be hostels, even if we get back to the phone reservations and show ups only.

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