Nomads Hostels New Website

[Hostels]

It looks like Nomads Hostels just launched a new Web site:
http://nomadshostels.com/

It looks like it uses the Joomla content management system.

[santa klaus]

Haha, just saw your list of CMS & description the first time. "Very difficult to use, but powerful" is exactly what I thought about Typo 3 when I saw it the first time.

Anyway, you do not have to know everything about it. Our webdude can explain the stuff we need all the time in about one hour. If we have tricky ideas, we have to ring him for help. Which is probably exactly what he intended, since we pay him by the hour!


Nomads website makes a good impression. The header with the logo is maybe a bit oversized and the "mad card" ad... would be better positioned elsewhere. Makes me think "I want a bed not another card for fuck´s sake". A video window or slideshow would be better on that spot. Or maybe the map with their locations.

Navigation easy and straightforward. Booking button right there, every hostel´s phone number easy to find. For the individual hostel sites I think the tab navigation should be moved up so you don´t have to scroll down to find the essential information - but it is very well presented and comprehensive. Pictures, entertainment facilities, location on Google map, rates, contact. All you need to know, just move mouse over tabs, I like that.


Just read some reviews about their hostels, too. Oh my lord. Making mental note to remind Mrs she always wanted to live in a city with a beach. Apparently severe undersupply of ambitious & skilled hostel managers in Oz & NZ.

[Hostels]

Originally Posted by santa klaus

Haha, just saw your list of CMS & description the first time. "Very difficult to use, but powerful" is exactly what I thought about Typo 3 when I saw it the first time.

Actually, I just changed my description of it after I posted my message above. It now says "Relatively difficult to use, but powerful."

Originally Posted by santa klaus

Anyway, you do not have to know everything about it. Our webdude can explain the stuff we need all the time in about one hour. If we have tricky ideas, we have to ring him for help. Which is probably exactly what he intended, since we pay him by the hour!

I don't know the difficulty level from a user's standpoint, but Typo3 has a notoriously steep learning curve from a developer's standpoint. I think it's more popular in Germany than in the USA.

Disclaimer: I'm a Drupal user so I might be biased towards other CMSs on the list.

[gordo]

well, so much for 'Legend Has It..' hostels. nomads was supposed to rebrand in may last year... kept getting delayed... if theyve just released this new website, im guessing theyve abandoned the re-branding. probably a good thing.

on another note; if you go to the 'Nomads Industry' (my old haunt) and look at the photos in Entertainment

yep, you see ME! theres a photo of 2 guys blowing into a tube and a guy with a microphone in front of a bar. the guy behind the bar is me. and the photo of the 'JaegerTrain' - all the jaeger bombs lined up - i poured all 50 of those friggin things and took the photo!

yep, you're dealing with a celebrity.

[Hostels]

Originally Posted by gordo

well, so much for 'Legend Has It..' hostels. nomads was supposed to rebrand in may last year... kept getting delayed... if theyve just released this new website, im guessing theyve abandoned the re-branding. probably a good thing.

I'm going by the announcement on their blog from July 4:

"Nomads, Australia’s premium Backpacking and Flashpacking accommodation network, has unveiled its new ‘Nomads Hostels’ website (nomadshostels.com) that brings together information on all of the Nomads properties in one central place, ..."

...but I don't see that post on their blog anymore.

the guy behind the bar is me. and the photo of the 'JaegerTrain' - all the jaeger bombs lined up - i poured all 50 of those friggin things and took the photo!

Working the hostel bar must be entertaining...
The photo is on the front page too...

I was just browsing around and saw Nomads are opening another hostel in January 2009:
http://nomadshostels.com/about-us/me...g-to-byron-bay

[Tim]

It is a big improvement on their old site. It is much more user-friendly than the old site with prominent links to their hostels, as opposed to the old site that hides this information under the "Book a Bed" tab.

It looks like a lot of hostels have dropped from their network in the past few years, especially "workers' hostels" like Donnybrook, WA and Nomads on Murray (Kingston-on-Murray, SA). That's a good way to improve the overall image of the network, which is becoming better known for its high-end flashpackers' hostels like Serpents and Nomads Industry. However it is difficult to develop a consistent image of the brand when you mix high quality hostels like their Melbourne and Cairns hostels with mediocre hostel like Maze and Footprints in Sydney.

Also what is the point of promoting their membership card when there are only 10 hostels in the network to get discounts at?

[Hostels]

Originally Posted by Tim

It looks like a lot of hostels have dropped from their network in the past few years...

Are all of their hostels owned, or are they just affiliated?

[gordo]

a bit of both - when i was working for them, they owned 9, were building one and were buying another, the rest were affiliates. that was a big part of the reason they wanted to re-brand; they felt they didnt have enough control over the affiliated ones and the standards/brand was suffering as a result. they were probably right.

the plan at the time was to rename the hostels they owned as 'Legend has it...' (complete with ... ) while the travel agency and affiliates kept the Nomads name. evidently things changed and im guessing a lot of money was wasted. they definately have some good hostels but it looks like, with this new Byron Bay hostel, theyre moving a lot more into the 'flashpacking' and focussing on private rooms rather than dorms. reading the blurb for the bew Byron project, dorm accomodation is mentioned effectively in passing.

i understand why this trend is happening, but i really feel like those of us who stay in hostels because theyre hostels, not because theyre cheaper than hotels, are losing out. still, i know there are still a few of us good guys out there...