Japanese hostels modify approach for foreign guests

An interesting article on how Japanese hostel operators need to prepare to cater to foreigners with different cultures as they visit for the 2020 Olympics.

Tokyo's low-cost hostels prepare to service flood of Olympic tourists

Although independent travelers from around the globe are expected to descend on Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics, industry insiders say hostels in the capital are still far from being friendly to foreigners.

Some groups are now trying to rectify the problem, which often stems from cultural differences and misunderstandings

“It is up to accommodation providers to try to overcome differences in habits and cultures between Japan and other countries,” said Isao Sawa...

We can all relate to that, right? At one point or another many of us have expressed frustration with backpackers who didn’t behave as we expected or who accidentally crossed unspoken boundaries. This is a nice reminder that our job is to make the travelers comfortable in the hostel, regardless of where they may be from. Getting exposed to those cultural differences is what hostels are all about.

Sawa said embarrassing moments were quite common at first: One foreign guest didn’t flush the toilet correctly, leaving the bathroom soaking wet. Another urinated in the bath area, and a third unplugged a common-use bathtub for soaking, believing it was unhygienic to leave used bath water for other guests.

Sawa solved the problems for the most part by posting and providing English-language materials and illustrations to explain how the facilities should be used.

Signs with clear images may be even better than translated words. What other methods have you found to be effective for conveying important information across language barriers?

The article provided some surprising numbers regarding the desirability of foreign guests:

A 2008 national survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications found that 38 percent of all hostels and inns in Japan did not accommodate one single foreign guest during all of 2007. As many as 72 percent of those hostels and inns also said they did not particularly want to service visitors from abroad.

The same mentality was mentioned in the Russian hostel scene during the Hostel Management Unconference in St. Petersburg. This surprised a lot of us, because the general consensus in this forum is that we prefer foreign travelers over domestic ones. In Russia, some of the most common reasons for preferring domestic travelers rather than foreigners were:

• Language barrier between staff and guests
• Foreign guests require more touristic assistance than domestic travelers
• More paperwork is required to process foreign visas
• Foreigners have different expectations for service, cleanliness, and comfort
• Awkward culture shock based on differing social norms

Have you encountered any innocent cultural differences that caused problems for your staff or other guests? How did you handle the situation, and what did you learn from it?