A little look at hostel life 🛏️
+ recent trends in hostel travel, predictions for the future and debunking hostel myths
This post was written by my good friend Linda Martinez, who alongside her husband Steve Brenner, owns and runs The Beehive Hostel in Rome.
No one knows the hostel industry better than Linda and Steve and I am excited to share with you some of her insights!
Be sure to check out The Beehive (find them on Facebook and Instagram also @thebeehiverome) when planning your next visit to Rome (they offer private, hotel-like rooms too!) and don’t forget to drop a comment at the bottom of this post with any feedback or questions!
Hostels vs Hotels
Hostels come in all shapes, sizes and personalities – from backpacker style to design/luxury hostels and everything in-between. A hostel cannot truly be considered a hostel unless it has at least one dormitory/shared room.
These are rooms with multiple beds where guests – both male and female – share a sleeping space usually in bunkbeds. Some hostels have pod-style bunks or privacy curtains as well. More and more hostels now also offer female only dorms as well as private rooms with shared bathrooms and/or with private bathrooms.
The big draw of staying in a hostel rather than a hotel is the social experience. It comes from social spaces like a bar with nightly activities such as hosting local acts, karaoke, open mic or from other activities organized to bring guests together which can include game nights, walks, cooking classes, art projects and more. Food is a very popular part of the social aspect of hostel life.
Unlike hotels, most hostels have a communal self-catering kitchen for guests to use. Food in hostels often brings people together and for guests to get to know each other while cooking and/or eating together. It not only offers people with food intolerances or allergies to prepare some of their own meals but helps budget conscious travellers save some money.
Hostels are truly more personal than most hotels which often have reception staff who seem a bit unapproachable or who are often not even from the area. Hostel reception on the other hand wear multiple hats - not only as receptionists but housekeeping, tech support, nurses, travel planners and even emotional support.
Hostel staff have a vested experience in the hostel itself but also in the people staying there. In the best of experiences, we become friends with our guests.
Hotels, on the other hand, are not designed with these things in mind which are more about the actual room and the amenities in it. When a hotel has its own restaurant, it’s usually a more upscale experience.
Therefore, if you want to to meet people, socialise or cook your own food, and get great insider information from a local, hostels are the way to go.
Recent trends in hostel travel
Hostels have gotten a bit more corporate and the larger hostels all use pricing software much like airlines, that base the price on demand.
Many smaller independent hostels are now also doing the same in regard to pricing in order to keep up. This is something that has changed the prices in Rome across the board for the last two years or so.
We've also seen a change in how guests acquire information which is now primarily through social media - for better or for worse.
Guests requesting personal recommendations or directions or advice is becoming less common. Younger travellers in particular have become more autonomous and independent, even if the information they are receiving, in our opinion, isn't always the best.
Predictions for hostel travel
Hostels and hotel hybrids will become more prevalent and the line between them will blur even more. Otherwise, I think it will remain fairly consistent as it has for decades, with newer, younger travellers taking the place of those that move on in their travel style.
The Airbnb phenomenon, which for a while there was synonymous with travel, is now considered mainstream enough to just be another accommodation option like a hotel and has lost its novelty. Also, Airbnbs are becoming more standardised and impersonal and the experience side of it can be rather isolating which makes hostels an attractive alternative.
Airbnb was very worrisome to hostels when it first took a big chunk of the market, but hostels persevered and I don’t think hostels have to worry about dying out anytime soon. I do think that hostels have to up their game if they want to remain relevant whether that means adding AC to a room or adding female only dorms.
Taking a look at reviews and seeing which of the criticisms or suggestions are feasible to incorporate into the hostel is a good way to see where to start making any changes or improvements.
Debunking a few common hostel myths
Myth: Hostels are dirty, grubby places with bedbugs
Reality: Cleanliness is of prime importance for many hostels because of the turnover of people. It’s also just common decency and sense to have a nice clean place for guests. Bedbugs unfortunately can be found in even 5 star hotels and has nothing to do with cleanliness as they hitch a ride on luggage and travel around that way.
Myth: Hostels are only for young people
Reality: Hostels accommodate people of all ages although dorm rooms often have an age restriction on both the older and younger end for a variety of reasons. However, many hostels often have private rooms with no age restrictions or can be flexible about staying in the dorm if you contact them and let them know you have no special needs and understand what it means to stay in a dorm.
Myth: There are only shared rooms at hostels
Reality: Many more hostels now have private rooms as well although there are some hostels that only have dorms. However, don’t expect hotel-like amenities in hostel private rooms such as linen & towel changes, televisions, mini-fridges, etc.
Myth: Hostels are unsafe
Reality: Guest safety is a major concern for hostel owners and something taken very seriously. Each hostel has its own systems in place depending on the size and the structure. Many dorm rooms have self-locking doors so only the people occupying the room have access to it. Lockers are a must in dorms but vary in size. Some can fit an entire suitcase or backpack but other hostel might have space restrictions but offer small lockers for small valuables.
Private rooms have safes. CCTV is installed in common areas. Most importantly, if another guest is acting bizarrely or exhibits unacceptable behaviour most hostels have a zero tolerance policy for this kind of behaviour. The comfort and safety of other guests in the hostel is paramount.
Myth: Hostel aren’t very private places
Reality: The reality of dorm life is yes, there is no privacy even in dorms with curtained bunks. If privacy is essential, many hostels do have private rooms.
How to find a hostel for you
Our favorite hostel ambassador, Kash Bhattacharya has been writing about budget travel and hostel stays and experiences since 2009.
In 2018 his book “The Grand Hostels: Luxury Hostels of the World” was published and is an excellent resource to get you started and inspired about staying in hostels.
The OTA (online travel agency) Hostelworld started back in 1999 as a small independent booking service for hostels and has since grown into a global corporation which focuses primarily on hostels although there are some non-hostel options on their website.
Hostelworld is a great way to see the different hostel options available in a myriad of cities and towns since they represent hostels in about 180 countries.
I have stayed at the Beehive and it was a wonderful experience. I truly enjoyed getting to socialize with other guests and the cooking class was excellent. I am 72 and travel alone. I would highly recommend the Beehive. It is also well located near Termini Station.
Really dislike that cooking to accomodate allergies at shared hostel kitchens was mentioned. This is a recipe (ha!) for disaster. A shared cooking and eating space provides endless opportunities for careless or accidental cross-contamination that would end or severely change a person's trip, or potentially even kill them.