Are you a cycle tourist, a backpacker, or a gap year traveler? You probably don’t want to waste money checking in to expensive hotels as you have a lot to do during your trip. This leaves hostels as the ideal option. They’re cheap, available everywhere, and are the closest thing to a hotel. But what exactly does it mean to stay in a hostel?
As a whole, living in a hostel means renting a bunk bed for a few days and sharing other facilities such as the kitchen, bathrooms, and living room. In most cases, you might even share a room with more than two people. However, you’re not responsible for paying bills such as electricity, water, or gas.
That’s not all, as you still need to know what a hostel is, why they’re cheap, whether it’s safe living in one, and resources where you can find the best hostels.
Table of Contents
What Is A Hostel?
A hostel is a low-cost shared accommodation where travelers rent a bunk bed to sleep in for a limited stay. In a hostel, guests are allowed to share facilities such as bathrooms, kitchens, and sleeping spaces. However, only one person per bed is permitted in a hostel.
Over the last decade, hostels have been used by people backpacking throughout their travel since they offer affordable accommodation. However, as things are changing, hostels are turning to social places for travelers to mingle.
Due to the growing demand for privacy, many hostels are offering private rooms for those who prefer to keep to themselves. There are single bedrooms that are suitable for someone traveling alone and need privacy, and there are double bedrooms for two people traveling together, such as siblings or friends.
Why Are Hostels So Cheap?
Hostels are considered to be the cheaper form of accommodation for travelers for many reasons. Hostels differ from traditional hotels since guests have very little control over their environment, and they have to adjust their lifestyle to accommodate other guests.
However, there are still other significant factors that make hostels very cheap compared to hotels, and they include:
- Shared sleeping spaces – Most hostels have a hall that contains more than four beds where guests only rent a bed, making them very cheap.
- Lack of privacy – Hostels charge less since there is not much privacy between guests.
- Shared facilities – Apart from sharing the sleeping space, you still need to share facilities such as kitchens, bathrooms, and entertainment centers.
- No room service –Except in rare cases, hostels don’t provide room service to their guests. You’re responsible for your food, drinks, and other forms of entertainment.
As you can see, hostels only offer accommodation to their guests, and that’s why they’re very cheap compared to hotels. However, some hostels are becoming aware of a need for privacy and are offering premium services to their guests. That’s why you might come across a hostel offering private quarters and special meals at an additional cost.
What Does It Mean To Stay In A Hostel?
As a whole, staying in a hostel means sharing sleeping space with other guests by renting a bunk bed. You only rent the bed for a short time, and once your days are up, you pack and move on. It also means you have to share facilities with other guests and are responsible for your own meals and security.
Besides offering accommodation at an affordable rate, hostels are also a great place to meet other people with shared interests. Such meetings have benefits such as:
- Share travel ideas – Travelers share their travel ideas and experiences they had in certain places. They also get to update each other on what’s happening around the world.
- Get job opportunities – It’s easy to run out of cash when traveling, and that’s why you need to build a network of people who will share job opportunities with you.
- Find travel partners – It can get lonely on the road on your own, and getting a few people who are heading in your direction might help. However, be careful of the people you associate with since they’re all strangers.
Staying in a hostel is also economical, especially if you’re traveling on a budget. It’s also a great alternative to hotels if you’re in an expensive country. The only drawback is that you’re in charge of your security, food, and other resources.
Is It Safe To Stay In A Hostel?
Hostels are generally safe from external threats but not necessarily from other guests. Although you almost never hear about cases involving bodily harm, it is somewhat common to come across someone who lost their belongings to other travelers. That’s why it’s crucial to keep your suitcases locked whenever you’re not around and avoid leaving your properties exposed.
In most cases, people have recorded losing their smartphones, cameras, and credit cards to other guests. However, according to police reports regarding such cases, it’s evident that the victims were careless with their properties despite a stern warning from hostel management to keep their belongings close to them at all times.
Even so, there are some steps you can take to ensure you don’t lose anything during your stay in a hostel. They include:
- Always keep crucial documents with you –Avoid leaving your credit cards, passports, or other travel documents in your suitcase when you’re out of the hostel.
- Account for everything – Make sure you take account of your belongings before you leave and when you come back to the hostel.
- Don’t be too trusting – Don’t be too quick to trust people you met in a hostel simply because you struck up a conversation with them the other night.
- Don’t be careless – Avoid leaving your phones, camera, and other devices exposed for everyone to see, as these would attract the wrong crowd. Keep in mind that such gadgets are easy to sell, making them hot commodities to potential thieves.
- Be around when others are leaving – A lot of people lose their belongings to those who are leaving after their stay in a hostel. To avoid being the next victim, make sure you’re around when others are leaving to make sure they don’t take off with your things.
Apart from losing your things, hostels are very safe and secure from external threats. They don’t allow anyone not staying on the premises to enter unless they’re part of the staff. As long as you take the necessary precautions, you should be safe within the hostel.
If you like to explore the cities you visit, make sure you exercise caution and ask the hostel management about the safest places to visit within the city.
3 Online Resources for Finding Great Hostels?
It’s hard enough to travel, let alone find a great hostel. You have to account for many things on the road, and a hostel should be at the top of your priority list. A lot of backpackers and tourists tend to rely on references when looking for hostels, which most of the time turn out to be a disappointment.
To ensure your safety in a hostel of your choice, it’s always best to use online sources to find one. The best thing about online sources is that you can read reviews from people who have stayed there and go through photos before you make a decision.
Some of the best online sources for finding great hostels include:
Hostelworld
Hostelworld is by far the largest hostel booking website we have today, and for good reason. For starters, the website has a lot of hostels available from virtually every city in the world. They also feature some of the best and pocket-friendly hostels out there to fit any budget.
Apart from listing hostels, Hostelworld also has a catalog of cheap hotels, B&B’s, guesthouses, and apartments that are within your budget. On top of that, Hostelworld is also the owner of Hostelbookers, which is another impressive online hostel source. However, the platform has merged with Hostelworld. With hundreds of thousands of people using Hostelworld to check, compare, and book their hostel, you can never go wrong by using their platform.
Benefits of using Hostelworld:
- A plethora of hostels – They have a vast database of hostels in every city that you can check into.
- Compare prices – They also indicate the prices for each hostel where you can compare and choose the one that fits your budget.
- Cheap hostels – Apart from a huge list of hostels, they also have cheap ones available from every city in the world.
Booking.com
Booking.com has built a reputation for being a world leader by providing accommodation booking services for many years. It has almost every type of accommodation you may need, and no wonder many people prefer to use it when checking for accommodation.
However, you need to tweak your searches to include only hostels. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a list of high-end hotels and other guesthouses. Furthermore, you can also fine-tune your search by indicating the price range you need a hostel to have.
Benefits of using Booking.com:
- Compare hostels – You can compare hostels based on what they offer due to a large list of available hostels.
- Special deals – Find out which hostel has a special promotion to help you save more money on your accommodation.
- Book instantly – You don’t need to wait until you get to the hostel to book, as you can do this online from the platform.
- Cheaper hostels – Get access to cheaper hostels before anyone else on booking.com
Hostelling International
Hostelling International is another online source for getting the best hostels around the world. The platform has a simple design, with the search bar located near the top. It also has a variety of hostels on its list, with most of them offering pocket-friendly accommodation. There are also numerous articles, with most of them highlighting the best places to visit worldwide.
Benefits of using Hostelling International:
- A lot of hostels – You will never lack a hostel in your current city when you search through Hostelling International.
- Great prices – Affordable hostels are always available on this platform as well.
- Easy to use – The design is fluid and can accommodate smartphone devices. The platform also has a simple design allowing you to view all hostels without any interruption.
Outro
Living in a hostel is one way of reducing your traveling costs. It’s a safe and clean way to have accommodation when you’re operating within a budget. Apart from accommodation, hostels also offer you a chance to meet new people and potential traveling partners. Make sure you find your hostel through online resources so that you can compare the services offered and prices.