ITH San Francisco Pacific Tradewinds Hostel Wins Hoscar for Most Improved Hostel in North & Central America
Each year, Hoscars are awarded to hostels around the globe for their environmental efforts, improvements, and overall vibes. Hostelworld’s Hoscar awards are coveted in the industry, and winning one serves as not only a marketing piece but also as motivation to keep setting the bar high.
Hostel managers and owners may set out to win Hoscars in different categories, but sometimes the awards become an inadvertent byproduct of the day-to-day operations at a hostel. ITH’s Pacific Tradewinds Hostel in San Francisco is an example of the latter, and when they won the award for ‘Most Improved Hostel in Central & North America’, it came as a surprise to both management and ownership.
“I didn’t even know it was an award,” said Bobby Dyer, one of the owners and co-founders of ITH. “But it’s just a testament to our manager, Asad, and how he runs the place. He’s so genuine and helpful, it’s hard not to be blown away by how friendly and helpful he is.”
Asad, who has been with ITH for several years, acknowledged that earning the award was a surprise, but for him and his team, it came down to putting in the effort.
“It’s pretty simple, you put in the effort, you get the reward,” said Asad. “We can all talk about the social aspect of hostels, but I believe the basic foundation should be that you can go anywhere and there’s comfort and cleanliness.”
Core Principles of Running a Good Hostel
Running a good hostel takes a whole team, and it takes more than just what is always being shown on the surface. Guests can see clean sinks, neatly folded bed sheets, and freshly vacuumed floors, but it is often the things that are done behind the scenes that make the biggest difference. Asad specifically touched on a few of the core principles that he strives to maintain as a manager, which ultimately factor into an award like this.
“The most important thing for me is availability. Being available doesn’t mean you always have to be visible. But to be available in a way that those small moments are recognized,” said Asad. For instance, he recalled the most recent Christmas at Pacific Tradewinds, when he was answering messages at 3 in the morning for guests who were arriving late. Those little efforts went a long way, helping lead to an impeccable month of steady 100% ratings from guests at the hostel.
Being available coincides with being flexible and patient, which were two other words that Asad highlighted as being qualities he emphasizes as a manager.
“As soon as you see the light in the house is not great, lighten things up. Come up with something. It can be completely organic, and it doesn’t need to be in your plans for the week, but you have to be flexible,” said Asad.
Seeing small things and making minor improvements, constantly, is one thing that Bobby has emphasized over the years as one of the co-founders of ITH. As a hostel owner, there are only certain things that you can control when it comes to the guest experience. But knowing there is always the human element to the hostel experience means that there remains a constant window of opportunity to enhance and improve the experience.
“It goes back to introducing yourself, putting your hand out and connecting on a personal level with guests,” said Bobby. “That’s what Pacific Tradewinds Hostel does so well, since it’s a smaller and more intimate hostel, it allows people to connect.”
What's Next for Pacific Tradewinds
Now that Pacific Tradewinds has earned a Hoscar, the bar is set high to win more awards, but both Bobby and Asad acknowledged that the recognition is rewarding in itself.
“The awards are fun, but the ‘thank yous’ at checkout are really what it’s all about,” said Bobby. “We enjoy it, and we want to win more, so we can keep pushing the boundaries by doing more events and activities, but still never settling.”
