Why Hostels Are Perfect For Student Travelers

Traveling to a new destination can make for the experience of a lifetime and opportunities for personal growth. Often, while in a foreign place, visitors will feel tempted to find some comfort in a familiar accommodation, such as a hotel or private resort, in order to maintain a sense of home. Although hotels can be great for comfort and luxury, they are often missing important elements of exploring an unfamiliar scene. With that being said, a great living alternative to hotels is staying in a hostel. Following are top reasons why any globetrotter should consider this awesome way to bunk overseas.

Meeting New People

Hostels are the perfect way for people traveling to foreign destinations to meet new people during their stay. Unlike hotels which offer individual rooms and little structural opportunity to openly socialize with other hotel dwellers, hostels promote socializing as result of building structures. Often times, hostels group sleeping accommodations in large rooms of single beds, meaning over the course of a stay, one could share a room with ten, twenty or more other customers making for a continuous flow of new faces to share stories and experiences during an embed. You never know, perhaps there will be a new best friend at your next hostel experience.

Now that you are aware of the benefits of meeting new people while staying in a hostel, the next slide will offer another benefit to this alternative style of living while across the world.

Inexpensive

Hotels, Airbnb’s and other housing arrangements make for a nice means of shelter while on vacation, however, the costs of such luxurious or over-priced residing solutions can significantly reduce disposable income. Hostels provide a significantly less expensive means for accommodations whilst sightseeing, making for meaningful cost reductions that can extend a trip by days. Although the cost is much less, tourists should be aware that the saved money does come with less luxurious living situations. This should come as no serious worry however, many of the amenities made available in hotels that are not available in hostels are unnecessary, such as a private mini fridge.

Although being inexpensive is definitely one of the upsides to staying in a hostel on vacation, another one of the key benefits is listed in the next slide which you will not want to miss.

Informal

Another fantastic aspect to hostels that resonates with many globetrotters is the informal character associated with such a laissez-faire living situation. With so many residents living in a shared space, hostels feel more like a University dorm rather than a formal housing alternative. Such a phenomenon promotes a community feel that promotes communal breakfasts, doing chores together and much more, great for building relationships quickly. Also, many of the buildings that are turned into hostels are older unique buildings, such as an old bank facility or boathouse, making for a neat opportunity not often found with hotels and Airbnb’s.

Being able to reside in an accommodation which is informal and flat-out fun is a tremendous weight off any extraverts shoulders. Following is another great reason for enjoying the opportunities that hostels have to offer.

Food

Food is a big part of traveling, especially for globetrotters that are on a long trip, usually exceeding two weeks. Eating out every day becomes too expensive for many and can greatly reduce one’s budget. Hostels are beneficial because they take much of the stress out of meals offering fridges to store food, communal kitchens for cooking, as well as plates and cutlery to accommodate. Often other hostel residents cook in-house as well, which means there is plenty of opportunities to collaborate with meals and share meals and a few good memories. Not to mention, for those in foreign destinations a kitchen can provide the ideal chance to learn new local dishes which can be tried and brought back home after the trip to share with family and friends.

Food is a big part of any trip and most-definitely comprise a make-or-break situation, however, hostels take the worry out of that. Next up is a benefit to hostels that makes the time indoors much more enjoyable than the typical hotel.

Activities

Sightseeing is a primary focus of many vacations and can eat up a lot of time is a foreign place, however, after a long day, sometimes it is nice to simply go back to the hostel and play a game. Hotels and Airbnb’s will often provide television, wifi and more for entertainment, but they are not the only sites with fun activities. Hostels commonly own various televisions, gaming systems, board games, and more items meant to entertain visitors and encourage fun, interactive play. Such opportunities to use hostel assets for fun with friends and other residents allow for a great ice-breaking chance to enjoy the time spent inside the hostel, perhaps after a long day of exploring the city, or a low-key day for relaxing.

Activities are quite important when having down-time on vacation. Next up is one more cool aspect to hostels that will make any tourist eager to book their spot.

Friendly Service

Hostels often make for a great example that you do not have to pay tons of money to receive great customer service. For many stops, employees are very welcoming and are often bilingual which makes it ideal for those that are traveling with limited foreign language experience. Also, the crews that operate hostels often live in the building which means that they are within reach all day every day and are usually quite relaxed with late-night entries and rowdy guests during the days. That being said, at most hostels there is a late-hours guideline that encourages all visitors to respect those sleeping at night, typically around eleven pm.

Following may be the last benefit to hostels on this list, however, is possibly one of the more important aspects of the famous accommodation style.

All Essentials

Although hostels have unfairly earned the reputation of being cheap and low-quality residing options in the travel and tourism industry, the quality of accommodation and amenities offered by most are completely acceptable. Beds are often singles, but are comfortable and have fresh sheets daily and rooms cleaned. Also, hostels typically have large bathrooms with warm water, showers and plenty of space to feel comfortable. Lastly, hostels, although quite open, are quite safe places to be as many require a key or an access pass to enter the building ensuring that residents are safe when they are within the building and those possessions are kept fairly well protected as well.