Hostel Trend
Hostel bookings reach new all time high
The economic downturn is not affecting all businesses. Contrary to many other types of accommodation, youth hostels are becoming increasingly popular. In 2008 Hostelling International noted an all time high on the global hostel booking website www.hihostels.com. The growth was over 14 percent compared to the year before.
hihostels.com is the Website of Hostelling International, the brand name of youth hostel associations in over 80 countries, operating 4 000+ hostels. In 2008, overnight stays worth 22.4 million GBP were booked on hihostels.com.
There are two main reasons for the impressive 14 percent booking increase, according to Mikael Hansson, CEO of Hostelling International. “Hostelling International is the only hostel operator offering a global network of hostels with assured standards. Also we have a unique membership benefit program attracting almost 4 million members worldwide. Members are not only offered beneficial prices on accommodation, but also attractive discounts on a huge variety of activities and packages.”
In total, there were close to 1.4 million overnight stays booked on hihostels.com during 2008. The countries showing the biggest increases in overnight stays booked on hihostels.com were USA, France, Switzerland, Argentina and Belgium. When it comes to individual hostels, 3 Paris hostels are on the top 5 list. Le d'Artagnan is number 1, Clichy number 2 and Jules Ferry number 5.
Spain is top of the list of the biggest customer countries followed by France, Germany, USA and England & Wales. Another interesting fact is that the growth didn’t slow down at the end of the year. In December for instance, growth in bookings was at 7.5 percent.
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