When you book your accommodation for trips, you probably always wonder whether a hotel or a hostel will be the better overall option. Budget, comfort, and convenience will be the deciding factors, but both options have a long list of pros and cons.
Hostels are the best budget-friendly option, and they have excellent locations. Hotels are the traditional and more expensive option, but they also offer more privacy and protection. In general, there are plenty of advantages (and some disadvantages) to consider in both before making the decision.
If you’re debating whether to pick a hostel or a hotel on your next trip, read on to see what’s the best and worst of them.
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Hostel vs. Hotel: The Pros and Cons of Each
Choosing between a hostel and a hotel isn’t as easy as it sounds. You’ll have to consider where you’re going, how long you’re staying, whether you’re traveling alone or in a group, and how much the budget can stretch to accommodate this choice.
Both hostels and hotels have a steady mix of advantages and disadvantages. Still, when you know what you need from them, you’ll be able to make an informed decision more quickly by knowing exactly which setting would be more suited for you.
One thing you may want to check out before deciding is what does it mean to stay in a hostel.
Let’s take a look at the main pros and cons of each, and then you can use this information to settle on the right decision for your next trip.
Hostel Pros
Hostel culture has been flourishing worldwide, but it’s not been enjoying steady popularity in all areas due to them being, in essence, shared accommodation. If you can look past that enough to enjoy the advantages, read on to see exactly how a stay at a hostel can be beneficial for you.
The Price
On average, hostels will always be cheaper than hotels when paying per night. This becomes even more impressive when it comes to how little you can pay for an overnight stay in some of the most touristy destinations in the world.
Usually, if you opt for staying in the bigger dorms, you’ll be able to find a bunk between $15 and $20 even in places like Paris, where hotels are known for their costliness, especially in central areas.
If you’d rather have more privacy, you won’t break the bank if you choose to stay in a smaller dormitory or in a private shared room that involves being around fewer people. In general, staying at a hostel will be the most cost-effective experience for those traveling alone and those seeking to get as close to all the attractions as possible.
Staying at hostels will avoid the usual inflation you’ll see in other types of accommodation like hotels in popular areas. This is due to hostels being able to easily make up the same price that someone would get from a hotel room by making a larger shared space available to travelers and asking for a far lower price per head.
The Social Factor
Hostels are specifically designed to encourage and foster social interaction. There are plenty of shared common spaces, and of course, you’ll usually share your sleeping space too. On top of that, hostels offer numerous group activities that are meant to get people to hang out even if they’ve just met.
This is a huge difference from the hotel culture, where if you’re not traveling with someone, you are unlikely to get much space to interact with other guests in the hotel. Hostels are known for their pub crawls, tours, board game nights, and movie sessions.
From the moment you arrive at a hostel, you’ll usually be plunged into groups of people hanging out in the reception area, which usually has some seating that encourages immediate interaction. It makes communication easy and spontaneous, even for the most introverted among you.
Location
Despite a recent boom, hostels aren’t as prevalent in the US as they are in the rest of the world. However, if you’re traveling through Europe or Asia, you’ll find numerous options in the most popular locations and beyond. There will be at least several choices available no matter where you go, and usually in the most central and convenient areas.
While hotels in the most touristy areas in town will be either far too expensive or fully booked, especially at peak times during the year, most hostels will always have availability in the best locations for a fraction of the price.
Here are the best locations to visit while staying in hostels:
- St Petersburg, Russia: This amazing city is home to one of the best hostels in the world, Soul Kitchen, and this says everything you need to know about how great the hostel culture is there. Discovering the city while staying at a hostel will make a massive difference in your budget.
- Lisbon, Portugal: This beautiful city full of culture and history is known for having some of the cheapest hostel accommodations in the world. You’ll get to enjoy all the benefits of being there while paying almost nothing for your overnight stay.
- Berlin, Germany: Germany’s hostel culture is thriving, and nowhere more than in its vibrant capital city. Stay in the trendiest neighborhoods for low prices and discover all the city’s history while spending the night right in the heart of it.
These are just a few of the many reasons you should stay in a hostel!
Hotel Pros
Hotels are the more traditional option when it comes to booking accommodation while traveling. As such, they offer plenty of advantages that differ from what hostels can put on the table. Here are some of the best reasons why you should choose a hotel for your next vacation.
Consistent Quality
You will usually pay more when spending the night at a hotel. Still, you’ll also usually be able to expect the same level of quality, especially when staying in established chains. You’ll also be able to research in detail what other travelers think of the choices that interest you.
Paying more for a hotel can grant you more peace of mind by fulfilling your expectations. Everyone knows what to expect from a stay at a hotel, while a stay at a hostel can be full of surprises.
Privacy
This is the aspect of staying at a hotel that will always win over a hostel. Hotels remove the element of sharing accommodation with complete strangers. This allows you to have total privacy, which, depending on your personality and what you wish to get from the experience, will usually be worth the higher price.
Having privacy also means you’ll have to worry less about safety and about leaving your belongings in your room without having to lock them in a deposit box or a personal locker. And, of course, the biggest bonus is that you will never have to share a bathroom with strangers at a hotel.
Amenities
At most hotels, you’ll be able to enjoy daily housekeeping service, laundry service, and even room service. You’ll also get to spend more time relaxing during your vacation by not having to cook. Hotels usually have their own restaurants or options in the area that offer deals to lodgers.
Staying at a hotel will give you that full holiday feeling more than hostels can, so that can be a deciding factor when you’re researching the right accommodation choice.
Hostel Cons
There are some disadvantages to staying at hostels that are usually universal for guests staying in them. Let’s see what the cons you may be facing in them would look like.
Unlikely from hostels but we also have list of most expensive hostel in the world you might wanna checkout!
Noise
Sharing accommodation with other people may have an impact on how well you’ll be able to rest. While hostel guests tend to be considerate, the culture involves many people coming and going as they please through the night. If you’re a light sleeper, you should invest in some earplugs or choose some other type of accommodation.
Messy Rooms
No matter how clean the hostel is, it will be hard to prevent being faced with other people’s lack of tidiness when sharing space with so many others. The constant coming and going that is so specific to hostels means that the potential for mess is high and that staff won’t always be able to control it as quickly as it happens.
Relative Discomfort
The noise and the mess can directly impact you, but even if those are under control, you may still suffer from the absence of comfort provided by having to sleep in bunk beds. There are ways to make bunk beds easier to deal with, but if you’re new to the experience, you’ll find yourself struggling with them, especially if you’re stuck on the top bunk.
Hotel Cons
Beyond price differences, hotels can also come with plenty of disadvantages that you should know before booking them. To make sure that you get a well-rounded view of what hotels can and can’t do, take a look at these potential cons you may be facing with them.
Less Authentic Experience
While hostels put you right in the middle of what it means to experience your chosen location as a local, hotels tend to offer a generic experience that will strip some authenticity from the experience.
This is even more of an apparent problem when staying at large chains. The locations will usually be indistinguishable between countries, and while you will get the consistent quality, you’ll have to search for authentic flavor somewhere else.
By not having access to a kitchen, you’ll also miss out on sampling the whole wealth of local food unless you opt to have your meals away from the hotel restaurant.
The Price
Staying at a hotel will always involve spending more money on accommodation than staying at a hostel. You’ll also have to spend more money on board because you won’t be able to make your own meals.
If you’re traveling by yourself, you’ll face high costs on overnight stays at hotels, and if you’re traveling as a group, you may face significant variations in price across rooms. To counter some of the impact this can have on your budget, try to always be on the lookout for deals.
Unreliable Conditions
Most hotel guests will only be able to provide reviews for what they experienced during their stay. The conditions they experienced can wildly differ from what you might experience. You may stay at the hotel at the same time they’re hosting boisterous functions, or when service and quality change during peak and off-peak times.
It is hard to build a correct view from other people’s reviews, so you should always be prepared to face conditions you may not expect.
Outro
Hostels and hotels are both excellent choices for accommodation, with a balanced number of pros and cons. Remember to research as much as possible and form an opinion based on what will be best for you during your trip across all areas.