|
|
The short walk from the 103rd and Broadway subway station to Hostelling International USA’s (HI-USA) New York hostel is a refreshing change of pace for a frequent traveler to New York City. It’s quiet on a Sunday afternoon and picturesque red brick buildings filled with bodegas and cafes are intermixed with the brownstone homes of Upper West Side residents. It’s a far cry from the noisy—and touristy—hustle and bustle of a summer afternoon in Midtown, where you’ll find most of the city’s notable and fine hotels. There’s nothing better or worse between one scene and the other. They are just different and, depending on the traveler’s personality or one’s mood, one might seem more enticing than the other on any given day.
For a travel editor who spends approximately a quarter of his life in hotels, this different travel experience seems like just the ticket this time around. Rather than arriving at a front entrance by taxi to a lobby full of suits, roll-a-boards, and briefcases, staying at a hostel means arriving to a lobby full of oversize backpacks and much less hurried guests waiting to check in.
The building itself is an architectural gem. Originally designed by noted architect Richard Morris Hunt, the man who designed the base of the Statue of Liberty, it has the largest private green space in Manhattan.
Admittedly, there can be some trepidation when first visiting a hostel, especially the largest one in the nation’s largest city. It’s an element many travelers aren’t quite used to—and, unfortunately, for many travelers, the image of a hostel is based on a generation removed from today’s very hotel-like hostels. Like any hotel, hostels are operated on that age-old principle of hospitality, and they come in all shapes and sizes.
“There’s a wide variation—from a dozen beds to 670,” Russell Hedge, CEO of HI-USA, says of the hostels that can be found here in the United States. “We have rural locations. We have upper-Manhattan, and everything in between.”
HI-USA is the domestic arm of London-based Hostelling International. It is a not-for-profit IRS 501(c)3 business with a network of nearly 60 hostels in the U.S. “We have two components to our mission. We are all about promoting international understanding through hostelling. That involves both operating hostels as well as operating programs,” Hedge says. HI-USA’s newest hostel—a LEED-certified property—will hold its grand opening on June 22 in Boston, Mass.
HI-USA serves about 400,000 travelers from approximately 80 countries each year. It recently became a member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and submitted input to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board for a national travel and tourism strategy. These days, hostels are coming out from church basements and into the center of the growing youth and international travel market.
And that’s because the market typically associated with being attracted to the hostel experience is the one that is growing fastest of all. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, youth trips made up nearly 20 percent of the international trips taken in 2010, and that share of the travel market is expected to grow by more than 50 percent to nearly 300 million trips by 2020. And those travelers aren’t necessarily concerned most with on-site luxuries. They are there for more than a bed; they are there for the experience.
“When you walk into any of the hostel lobbies it’s a like a mini-United Nations,” Hedge says. “The folks are there for, yes, overnight accommodations, but also to interact.” Indeed, the New York property was full of new acquaintances, various languages, and perpetual social gatherings in the common areas.
A QUALITY EXPERIENCE
Hedge admits that there are similarities to those hostels of past decades to today’s hostels, but with more modern twists. “The big difference these days is that there is a heavy emphasis on quality standards and creating a clean, safe environment,” he says. “We also have a heavy focus on programming.”
Quality standards at the hostels are not unlike many of the franchise standards we see in the traditional hotel industry. Housekeeping procedures are uniform across the hostels in the HI-USA portfolio. Reservation and check-in procedures are done in expedited fashion via the same property management systems, which serve the hotel industry. Door locks and common area doors are protected by the same keycard systems used in hotels.
“They have to meet five categories of standards—welcome, guest services, security, safety, and hospitality,” Hedge says. “We have standards just like hotels do.”
The organization also has enforcement of those standards. It employs assessment individuals—a person who goes from hostel to hostel to enforce the standards.
Hedge points out that green and sustainability have become standards recently as well, epitomized by the new opening in Boston. “[Sustainability] is part of who we are as well,” Hedge says.
Part of HI-USA are 26 “local councils,” which serve various cities and areas around the country. HI-USA’s hostels are owned as a cooperative partnership between the organization and the local council. “For example, we have a great council in Boston that is helping put together this latest project, which is an about $42 million project that makes use of historic tax credits, new market tax credits, financing, and donations,” Hedge says. “When it opens it will be one of the finest facilities in the world.”
FOCUS ON PROGRAMMING
Once inside a hostel, you’d fine a great deal of similarities to hotel operations, with one notable exception. “I think the biggest difference would be our focus on programming,” Hedge says.
While many hotels promote social interaction in lobbies and even outside of their own walls, HI-USA takes social “programming” to another level. The social interaction of guests within the hostel and throughout the city is not simply an amenity, it is an expected part of the experience. It’s why youth travelers go there. They get a built-in insider experience of the foreign city they are visiting—and most likely get to meet people who they may stay in touch with beyond their stay.
“Our program staff at the hostels put together education and social programming,” Hedge says. “There is everything from seminars to walking tours to you name it. It’s all designed to bring the guests together for conversation and, depending on the program, education.
“There are also social activities,” he continues. “They go out to local pubs or even organized activities on their own.”
And those activities aren’t created only with youth travelers in mind. Contrary to popular belief, hostels aren’t solely for the backpack-toting youth set. “There are no restrictions in terms of who can stay at a hostel. Thirty or 40 years ago there were but we now have senior clientele as well. We have families as well,” Hedge says.
EVERYONE BENEFITS
“We make travel accessible,” Hedge says. “There is a lower cost and the social interaction that comes with the design of our facilities. There’s a connection to the community.”
Hedge considers hostels very much part of the hospitality scene in the United States. He says the organization is another option for travelers, and it encourages quality lodging alternatives to serve the youth travel market.
He points out that billionaires, such as Ron Burkle, have reportedly been seeking to enter the hostel market. “We welcome people into this market,” Hedge says. “To the extent that people enter and create quality accommodations for the youth travel market to continue to grow, everyone will benefit,” he says. “What comes with more travel opportunities is more interaction and more understanding. Ultimately, that is what we, as a not-for-profit, are all about—international and cultural understanding.”
READER COMMENTS
Monday, June 10, 2013 by free bookmarks
ItOYtp Enjoyed every bit of your post.Thanks Again. Really Cool. http://crork.com/
Monday, June 10, 2013 by free bookmarks
V77SI5 Enjoyed every bit of your post.Thanks Again. Really Cool. http://crork.com/
Thursday, June 06, 2013 by social bookmarking service
YYuS1M I cannot thank you enough for the blog article.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Thursday, June 06, 2013 by social bookmarking service
6cpSlj Thanks for the post. Much obliged.
Friday, July 27, 2012 by Morris Ginsbutr
We have an excellent building and location in downtown Denver one block from the Denver Convention Center and two blocks from The Performing Arts Complex. We are interested in learning about the industry. Our location will accommodate 60-70 beds.
Friday, July 27, 2012 by Morris Ginsbutr
We have an excellent building and location in downtown Denver one block from the Denver Convention Center and two blocks from The Performing Arts Complex. We are interested in learning about the industry. Our location will accommodate 60-70 beds.
|