Hostelworld and Hostel Handbook on "Rethinking the hostel"

Rethinking the hostel (April 15, 2010)
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=103&article=69362

Dictionaries typically define hostels as inexpensive lodging, usually for young travelers. But Hostelworld.com, a Web site where travelers can book a hostel stay, is trying to change that definition...

Online hostel booking sites abound. Hostelworld.com is one of the largest, with 1.6 million visitors a month, according to the research firm comScore.

Other top hostel-booking sites, according to comScore, include HostelBookers.com, which advertises no booking fees; HostelsClub.com, which requires a $2.50 fee for each booking and a nonrefundable 10 percent deposit in advance; and Hostels.com, which has a $2 booking fee and 10 percent nonrefundable deposit. Hostelworld charges a $2 fee, but after you make three bookings, you don’t have to pay fees again.