When you organize a trip you want to combine different activities in it. Total costs of a trip include (*=optional):
- transport tickets (e.g. plane)
- your transfer from the airport or port to your accommodation
- your transportation during the trip
- the accommodation where you will stay
- your meals
- the activities you will participate in*
- car or boat rental*
- things you will need to buy or souvenirs*
Overall, traveling, even going two cities away from yours is expensive. So, this is where hostels come to make people’s lives easier.
A hostel is called a short-term shared accommodation. Guests rent a bed in a room with bunk beds (so it can accommodate as many people as possible). Common features of a hostel are the sharing living room and kitchen, while the bathroom can be private or shared. It is common for people of the same gender to stay in the rooms (but this is determined by the policy of the respective accommodation) and the ages that choose the hostels range from 18 to 49 years old.
The first hostel has its roots several years ago, in 1909, in Germany, in an attempt by Richard Schirmann to create a holiday place without much expense for students. In this way, he would teach things that no university could teach them such as responsibility, discipline, and autonomy since they would all have to manage and maintain an entire accommodation as a unit.
As hostels offer you the basics and you share many of your comforts, the cost of accommodation is clearly lower than a hotel that offers you privacy and luxury. Let’s weigh a bit the pros and cons of a hostel.
Pros:
1) Meet people from all over the world
Ideal for solo travelers, quite helpful for socializing and making friends. You can share and hear people’s experiences from people with different backgrounds.
2) Location & Style
The hostels are located in key points of every city and country that making it easier to move around and browse around every place. Unlike the hostel style. With a little more research you can find extremely well-decorated and maintained hostels!
3) Price
Obviously, the cost is too low for your stay!
4) Remote work
Hostel accommodation for travelers who can work remotely has skyrocketed in recent years! Think about working for a few hours and then being in a country you’ve never been to before and you have a whole month to explore it.
5) Freedom & time management
In a hostel you have to decide when you need to wash your clothes, eat, exercise, read, work, etc. and for a young person, these skills are of major importance.
Cons:
1) Hygiene
No matter how consistent and meticulous you are with cleanliness, no one can guarantee that your roommates will be the same.
2) Noisy nights
Parties, nights out, and evening get-togethers are common habits of hostel guests, and of course, you will participate in many of them, but there will be times when you will not feel like participating, and possibly your sleep will be disturbed!
3) Limited privacy
Many people in the same space can sometimes not be an ideal scenario. If you want to sit in your room and relax while listening to music, at the same time your roommate will need to dry his hair from the bath he just took.
4) Minimum number of employees
As long as you’ve been to a hostel, you don’t expect excellent service. Hostels have as many people as they need to be fully functional.
5) Security
There is no guarding of the area and in combination with living together with foreign people some days, you may feel the feeling of insecurity. But don’t be afraid, that’s what the locks are for!
If you are willing to travel at the lowest possible cost or want to live the hostel experience, all you have to do is book your next trip immediately. And think how you will feel when you see the total amount of your reservation!!
