Hostel World Blog 1

Hostels, to me, seemed like a European concept that I would never understand. However, during my stay in San Francisco I was required to stay in a hostel for a night. My perception on hostels has changed significantly since then. The idea of a hostel now makes perfect sense. Combining the hotel concept with a company like Hostel World, I can see why hostels are becoming more popular in the US as well.

The entire booking process was very simple, similar to booking with any other online travel agent. The site was well laid out and easy to navigate, the app also shared almost all of the same features. After booking, I received a confirmation email that summarized my stay. There were clear instructions on when to check-in, check-out, etc... I also received a reminder email 24 hours before my scheduled stay which was helpful because I did not want to search through my emails to find the location of the hotel. I didn’t plan to use hostels in the future, did not organize the email as I would if it were an email for something more important.

Upon arrival at the hostel I saw that they were a no frills type of business, which was expected. My group checked out bags and went to work on our project while we waited for the check-in time to arrive. When came back to check-in, we were warmly greeted by the front desk agent who gave us information about the property and a few tips about staying at that particular hostel. Then my group separated as male and females cannot share the same room. Once I entered my room, I noticed that I was the third person to check-in for a four-person room. I was surprised to see the bed was not made, sheets are provided, but you have to make the bed yourself. I made my bed and went to the common room to do some work. On my way there I saw the kitchen, dining room, and theatre. Everything was clean and had a minimalist feel to it, I thought that was a nice touch. Typically, at hotels, they try provide an abundance of amenities and service, the hostel was a nice change from that. While working in the common room, I was able to be very productive with because of the common respect for quite that was expected in the room as well as the soothing background music the hostel played. After finishing my work, I went to my room where I meet the fourth roommate. He was a unique person who was bicycling from Virginia Beach to San Francisco. I really enjoyed meeting that person, and I feel that if I hadn’t stayed in a hostel I would have never meet a person like that. In the morning I check out quickly and went to the next location for our trip.

After staying at a hostel, and using the Hostel World platform, I would definitely stay in a hostel if I were traveling by myself again. There is a great sense of community that comes from staying in a hostel and the ability to meet new people so easily really appealed to me.