Hotels or Hostels?
You have to sleep somewhere while traveling. Should you be looking for a hotel room or hostel?
Traditionally, tourists and business travelers stay in hotels. Hostels were the low-cost choice for backpackers. Many backpackers are students on break or are new college graduates taking a trip before starting their working careers. So naturally, backpackers often have low budgets.
But today many backpackers are beyond school and already working. It is not unusual to meet a doctor or investment banker backpacking through Europe or South America for three months. Some backpackers are retired people. These travelers can probably afford to stay in hotels if they wanted to. So where should they stay?
Hotel vs. Hostel
What is the difference between a hotel and a hostel? In a hotel you get a room for the night. Hostels have dormitory-style rooms with bunk beds. You get one bed and share the room with other guests. There might be four, six or even ten beds in a single dorm room. Good hostels have lockers to put your belongings. But when staying at a hostel, your dorm room is really just for sleeping and storing your clothes. You will not be spending that much time there.
Photos courtesy of Amazing Travel Photos
Instead of big individual rooms, hostels devote space to common areas. There is often a shared kitchen with refrigerator so you can cook your own food, saving money over eating at restaurants. Good hostels have a room with a television and sometimes a bar. Many offer free breakfast in the morning.
If you like your privacy you may prefer hotels over hostels. But there are many benefits to staying in a hostel rather than in a conventional hotel.
For one thing, a well run hostel will have tons of information on the city you visiting. The staff will be knowledgable and helpful. They have guidebooks, maps, bus schedules and discount tickets. And many hostels arrange for all kinds of activities from walking tours to pub crawls to football matches.
Comradery
The best part of hostel living is the fellow travelers you meet. In a hotel, everyone goes to their private hotel room, turns on the TV and never interacts with other hotel guests. In a hostel, you will spend your time in the common areas where you will make many new friends. It is a little like moving into a college dorm. You and your fellow travelers have much in common and all in the same boat. It pays to get to know them.
And your fellow travelers are a valuable resource. You’ll probably meet someone who is coming from where you are going, and they can tell you where to stay and where not to stay. You can also pass on your own hard-earned travel knowledge. Sometimes you may change plans based on the latest travel intelligence from a fellow traveler.
Downside to Hostel Living
One downside comes from sharing sleeping accommodations with other guests. If your sleeping schedule differs from your roommates you may not get much sleep. Most people are considerate, but some are not. And the more alcohol someone consumes, they less considerate they become. After a night of partying, drunken room mates might come into the room, turn on the lights and speak at the top of their voices waking everyone up.
Which introduces the major downside to hostel living–alchohol. Some hostels have a party atmosphere which means a lot of alcohol consumption and drunken behavior. Drunken behavior frequently is bad behavior.
Final Answer: Hostels are Better for Travelers
Leave the hotels for business travelers with an expense account and package tourists. Travelers stay in hostels. Hostels are a more enlightening way to travel than hotels and less expensive. There are a few downsides but the positives far outweigh the negatives. Do some research, find good hostels to stay at, and your travel experience will be broadened.
There are many online resoueces to find and book hostels. One of the best is Hostelworld.com. Another good website is hostels.com.