Traveler's Shelter
With some stretch, the first hostels can be called roadside taverns, which in ancient times gave shelter to wanderers. However, the first hostel in the form they exist now appeared only in 1907 thanks to German teacher Richard Schirrmann, who, for a very modest fee, began giving travelers overnight accommodation in school classrooms. After classes, all school desks were moved into the corridors, and straw mattresses were spread on the floor.
Schirrmann believed that it was precisely thanks to hostels, where people from different countries stop every night, that a solid bridge between nations could emerge. Now there are up to 4.5 thousand hostels in the world, where up to 31 million travelers stay every year.
When arriving at a hostel, you need not ask what is included in the bill. No matter where it is, you are offered a standard set of services: a clean room, a shower, a dining room.
Just a few years ago, it was strictly a place to sleep, to be vacated after breakfast (a cup of coffee and toast with butter and jam, occasionally a boiled egg). Now, however, hostels increasingly feature a no lockout sign. This means that the youth hostel does not close at all during the day. But if you fail to notice a no curfew sign on the door, then arriving after a certain hour, you risk sleeping outside.
Decent hostels are equipped with air conditioning, telephones, televisions, and internet connections. Most such youth hostels now have kitchens where you can cook on your own without splurging on restaurant meals. Moreover, in hostels, as a rule, they know all about the most interesting parties, cheap cafes and restaurants, and pending sales. Usually it is only here that the most fascinating excursions are offered, for example, to gangster places in Paris or to haunted castles in London.
Despite the changes, one thing remains unchanged: the democratic nature of hostels. This is confirmed by the prices. So, in London, a night in a hostel will cost you $15.5. In Dublin, you can stay for as little as $13.6, though you will have to share the room with 12 other guests. In Rome and Amsterdam, accommodation prices are higher: in these cities it is hard to find a hostel for less than $20 a night, and up to 20 people can sleep in one room. Hostel guests in Paris and Venice can manage with $19.
Prices in youth hostels often depend on location: thus, a night in a hostel on Paris's Montmartre, a tourist pilgrimage site, will cost a minimum of $24, while near the famous Notting Hill street in London – $19.5.
For those dreaming of seclusion while saving money, in most cases single and double rooms can be offered. This will cost more, but no more than $40 per night.
Another undoubted privilege of hostels is that you usually do not need to book in advance: it is enough to show your passport on arrival. But for our students, this is not very good. The thing is, without a confirmed hotel reservation, you cannot obtain a visa. So during this student vacation, only those compatriots whose visa has not expired can count on staying in a hostel.
Discounted Stay
The main difference between hostels and small B&B (Bed&Breakfast) hotels is that they are grouped into networks, each with its own discount card, or guest card. In any hostel, a student with an international student ISIC card can save 5% on accommodation.
More impressive discounts are provided by hostel network cards. The most popular cards are IYHF (International Youth Hostel Federation) and Hostels of Europe. The IYHF card allows you to save 10% on accommodation in hostels of the same network. All hotels accepting this card are marked with the Hostelling International logo. IYHF holders also receive discounts on car rentals, internet services, public transport, and even amusement rides.
The Hostels of Europe card provides discounts of up to 30%, but the number of additional discounts is smaller. In this network, discounts are most often negotiated individually.