This post is filled with ideas and great tips I saw from various hostels throughout New Zealand and Australia. I tried to put pictures with them whenever possible, as well as give credit to any hostel-specific ideas.
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All good things must come to an end, which is why I've stopped drinking. Wait…traveling. I've stopped traveling. Though they did begin to feel like one in the same at some point. Sadly my four months in NZ & Australia came to a close last week, and I am now back in the US.
The only thing worse than finding out a guest is unhappy with their stay is finding out after the fact. Online. For the world to see. When you can now do nothing about it. Or can you? I've heard a lot of debate over whether hostels should respond to online reviews. Does it make a difference?
No matter how amazing your hostel, there will come a day when some lowly guest finds it unworthy of his standards. You could give everyone a 6 week old puppy to cuddle with when they check in, and this guy will complain that it's a black lab.
Oh, complaints. In terms of enjoyment, they are right up there with clogged toilets and overbooking on a festival weekend. For some, a close tie with an extended visit from the in-laws. Some complaints are warranted, while others are just nit-picky.
How do I even begin to describe the magic that is the Arts Factory Lodge? It may be unlike any other hostel in the world. Word on the street was you either love it or you hate it.
I recently stayed at Aussitel Backpackers in Coffs Harbor, Oz. The hostel itself is great, with by far the most free adventure activities I've seen to date. Other guests and I went surfing, stand up paddle boarding, jetty jumping and surf kayaking…all for free. What?!
One time I had a great guy who was supposed to start training on reception. Thankfully so, because I was about to be really understaffed.
A couple weeks ago, a large group of people in the hostel and tourism industry gathered in Sydney. Naturally, it was in a bar, but this time it wasn't just to have some laughs or talk of taking down HostelWorld or steal housekeeping secrets.
It's no secret I want to open up my own hostel in the next few years. I'm not even positive where it will be yet, but I know it will be great. My mom always joked they overdid the self-esteem thing with my generation, but why shouldn't you follow your passion with confidence?