Should Travellers Use Hostels?

[Hostels]

I think there might be a forum bug. Can anyone view my post directly above this one with some screenshots of Expedia.com?

I can see the post when I'm logged out, but not when I'm logged in.
I'm wonder if there is a bug I need to fix...

[santa klaus]

Can´t see it.

[aboriginalhostel]

Originally Posted by Hostels

I think there might be a forum bug. Can anyone view my post directly above this one with some screenshots of Expedia.com?

I can see your post both logged in and out. It's just on the first page...

[Hostels]

Strange... I'll try again:

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

I've heard some hostels are using hotel engines to fill up their rooms... with a fine cut of 15-20% commissions. That's not the future I want for hostels.

You can get a list of hostels on hotel sites with a Google "site" query. Here's a sample using expedia.com:
http://www.google.com/search?q=site%...hostel&num=100

Here's one with no availability at the hostel, but you can book a $200 hotel room instead:
(EDIT: this property does allocate beds, but just not at those dates)



Here are some dorm beds on Expedia. I wonder what the commission is.



If the trend is for people to book hostels rather than hotels I think that Hostelworld will be in for some competition from these huge travel sites. Maybe that's where boo.com comes in (it uses non-WRI booking engines too).

[Hostels]

I hope that worked...
I deleted the original and reposted.

[santa klaus]

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

How about saying no bugs in hostels?

How about telling a girl "I´m a billionaire and I can get you 10 consecutive orgasms tonight"?

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

IMHO there is a difference between satisfying someone who doesn't belong to hostels or attracting these people.

I think we agree there. With "attracting" I mean nothing else than "not pissing off".

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

I have a fine bottle of wine reserved for a bet about HW's conference will be about to attract these people (about tapping into new and emerging markets). I'd be happy to lose the bet though...

I fear the worst as well.

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

I've heard some hostels are using hotel engines to fill up their rooms... with a fine cut of 15-20% commissions. That's not the future I want for hostels.

IMHO because most of these people got used to hotel standards. We are not 4 star hotels. Try to sell some privates on a hotel engine, even a good quality hostel could get 60% ratings on a hotel engine... I'd be curious for your results though...

As we discussed it in another thread, the first thing they will miss is the bell boy...IMHO.

I do NOT want our hostels to appear on sites people use when they look for hotels and I don´t want to call our hostels "hotel/hostel" like some other hostels do.
Everybody who thinks about staying at Wombats should be aware that we are NOT a hotel.

That said, there´s no reason to be worse than a hotel in every respect. I guess the trick is to lower expectations to a point where people are positively surprised when they see what they get.

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

Do you get booked out during the weekends for the dorms though?
IMHO you can raise the private's prices until 80% of occupancy, but I don't know about your walk-in skills for privates though. Your WordOfMouth powers are very high!

I think EUR 58 for a clean but no-frill and smallish double Vienna is the sort of price I would still be willing to pay, but not more. I don´t want to think too much about what we could theoretically charge and still fill up - I can´t stand it when someone accuses me of ripping him off or being otherwise unfair. Please don´t exploit that weakness when we play Risk!

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

Another advantage for purpose build hostels... we have a bathroom situation going on for months and every time we get it fixed, it goes wrong withing weeks. It might be time for bashing out the bathroom... poor fellow, not even two years old!

Small ensuites are the way to go... the times of 30 bed dorms with shared facilities are over!

The best thing about purpose-built hostels is planning them. Exciting work. That experience is only topped by the thrill when you first see a 7-million-Euros property which matches exactly the sketches you sent the architects. I will never forget that moment. It really paid off to wait and not go to the site until the thing was finished.

[santa klaus]

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

I can see your post both logged in and out. It's just on the first page...

No, it wasn´t that. I remember because I almost typed "there is only a silly post by aboriginal above it"!

[aboriginalhostel]

Originally Posted by santa klaus

How about telling a girl "I´m a billionaire and I can get you 10 consecutive orgasms tonight"?

Indeed, both statements could be inappropriate.

Originally Posted by santa klaus

Everybody who thinks about staying at Wombats should be aware that we are NOT a hotel.

Right, as long as hostels can sell beds on the "regular" channels, none of us have to worry about it. But I also remember when regular channels meant guidebooks, flyers and phone bookings...

So when I see this flashpacker fever, I just see different people than we got used to and I'm not sure about how those plenty "novice nomads" with a single hostel experience will be "globetrotters" ever!

Originally Posted by santa klaus

Please don´t exploit that weakness when we play Risk!

Another deal to negotiate, maybe?

Originally Posted by santa klaus

The best thing about purpose-built hostels is planning them. Exciting work. That experience is only topped by the thrill when you first see a 7-million-Euros property which matches exactly the sketches you sent the architects.

In Hungary, it equals to the telling a girl "I´m a billionaire and I can get you 10 consecutive orgasms tonight"? phrase.

I just read an article about a Hungarian passage house full of luxury apartments, central location, all apartments are sold previously and the constructors saved as many concrete out of the building as it seems the whole thing gonna collapse in 20 years.

[santa klaus]

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

Right, as long as hostels can sell beds on the "regular" channels, none of us have to worry about it. But I also remember when regular channels meant guidebooks, flyers and phone bookings...

So when I see this flashpacker fever, I just see different people than we got used to and I'm not sure about how those plenty "novice nomads" with a single hostel experience will be "globetrotters" ever!

I´m also against jumping on every silly hype, but then I´m also allergic to some German hostel owners who have a very specific opinion about how travelling should be done and try to force that down on their customers.

We shouldn´d get used too much to some type of people though. I have worked at two YHI hostels, which were completely out of touch with reality. I have also had a few interesting chats with owners of independent hostels which have been in business since the 80ies. These people also had an obvious generation conflict with their customers. We should never let that happen.

What we should do is being aware of trends like flashpacking - or "regular" tourists coming to hostels all of a sudden. These people expect different things than classic backpackers. We should know very well what exactly they expect and make sure we deliver that. If we can´t (or don´t want to) deliver that, we should be brutally honest about what we really deliver. Of course, we should state the obvious - that a hostel is still a hostel even if it´s a really good one. We have to present ourselves in a way that people can make a sound decision if that´s what they really want.

[aboriginalhostel]

Originally Posted by santa klaus

I´m also against jumping on every silly hype, but then I´m also allergic to some German hostel owners who have a very specific opinion about how travelling should be done and try to force that down on their customers.

We shouldn´d get used too much to some type of people though. I have worked at two YHI hostels, which were completely out of touch with reality. I have also had a few interesting chats with owners of independent hostels which have been in business since the 80ies. These people also had an obvious generation conflict with their customers. We should never let that happen.

What we should do is being aware of trends like flashpacking - or "regular" tourists coming to hostels all of a sudden. These people expect different things than classic backpackers. We should know very well what exactly they expect and make sure we deliver that. If we can´t (or don´t want to) deliver that, we should be brutally honest about what we really deliver. Of course, we should state the obvious - that a hostel is still a hostel even if it´s a really good one. We have to present ourselves in a way that people can make a sound decision if that´s what they really want.

Amen!