Maybe Perth, Australia is the next hot spot location to open a hostel. According to this article, the hostels there don’t have enough beds to satisfy the high demand.
Every single bed in Perth's hostel accommodation was booked out last Thursday night...
An investigation by _The West Australian _last week found West Perth backpacker hostel Planet Inn was allowing guests to sleep on a couch for $16 a night.
Authorities are concerned that non-accredited operators are going to take advantage of tourists in need.
[Tourism Council chief executive Evan Hall] said backpacker hostels housing more guests than they were licensed to hold could be in breach of building codes and fire safety standards.
Complaints against operators who were accredited by the Tourism Council could be investigated but those that were not, such as Planet Inn, could only be investigated by the State Government's consumer affairs department if a customer complained.
The same may apply to many cities with high demand. Unregistered hostels frequently fly under the radar of the authorities. Legitimate hostels are more subject to scrutiny because they’re listed on the official register and routinely controlled. When they can’t find a bed anywhere, I have to wonder if backpackers really care. They may be perfectly happy with the couch, as long as they have a place to crash.
The article states that tourism in Western Australia grew by nearly 15% from 2010 to 2011. Is anyone familiar with the situation in that area and know why it’s growing so much? (We should all be so lucky to have this problem!)
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