What is the difference between a hostel and a hotel? Cheap hotel or hostel. Disadvantages of staying in a hostel

Surely many have heard the word “hostel” at least a couple of times, however, only avid travelers know what it is. Now hostels are cheap alternative hotels and rental apartments around the world, thanks to which travel has become much more accessible to the middle class, young people and students. In this article we will look at what a hostel is, and also find out the pros and cons of such accommodation

What is a hostel?

Translated from English, a hostel is a dormitory. Indeed, hostels are rooms for several people with a shared shower, toilet and kitchen. Most often, hostels accommodate tourists or young people who come from other countries to study or work part-time. However, hostels are becoming increasingly popular among older people. There are especially many hostels in Europe and the USA, but more and more such establishments are opening in Russia.

Most hostels are quite comfortable - you are provided with a clean bed, a locker for storing things, the necessary amenities for common use and even breakfast, although it is often limited to tea and biscuits. There are separate hostels for men and women, and the number of people in a room can vary - on average, from 4 to 10.

If a luxury hotel room isn't your top travel priority, a hostel can save you a lot of money and give you the chance to explore the cities you've been dreaming about. In addition, by choosing a hostel, you can afford to live in the very center of the city, which will be convenient for tourists.

Hostels, as opposed to hotels and rented apartments, have a number of features:

You are provided shared kitchen, free coffee, tea and cookies.
All hostels have free internet access.
Hostels often have a common lounge area with sofas, TV, movies and music.
Sometimes some establishments have house rules – the hostel closes at certain times at night, so you won’t be able to enjoy your walks until midnight. This is for the convenience of other guests, as people coming and going from the rooms at night may disturb those who are sleeping.
Very often the hostel organizes a free transfer to airports and train stations.
Hostels often provide discounts on excursions, cafes and shopping. You can contact the reception for advice, and they will always tell you how to spend your time interestingly and profitably.

Benefits of staying in a hostel

Hostels are now very popular not only among young people, but also among adult travelers. Living in such an institution has a number of undeniable advantages:

The main advantage of the hostel is, of course, its affordable price. Such accommodation is much cheaper than staying in any hotel. At the same time, the hostels strictly observe sanitary standards, and they are located close to the main attractions of the city. If you want to relax on a budget, a hostel is a great option.

Often, even people who can afford hotels prefer hostels. In the hostel you will live in the same room with foreigners from all over the world - this is a great opportunity to communicate, become familiar with a foreign culture, and make friends from all over the world globe or just practice your English. For sociable people who by chance travel alone, this is a great opportunity to spend time in interesting company.

Disadvantages of staying in a hostel

With all the advantages, living in a hostel also has its disadvantages:

Living with strangers for a long time is always difficult. You will have no privacy, and your sleep may be unwittingly disturbed by other guests. In addition, you cannot predict who you will live with - some people do not comply with sanitary standards, others may bother you with conversations when you don’t want them to, and with some guests you may fear for the safety of your own belongings.

Sharing a bathroom and kitchen is also a problem for many. You have to carry personal towels, slippers, and sometimes dishes with you.
Hostels for tourists try to locate as close to the center as possible. However, in order to save money, sometimes the location chosen is not the best one - it may be a basement with small windows, the top floor of a building without an elevator, and the building itself may be located in a disadvantaged area where it is better for a traveler not to walk at night. All these nuances should be kept in mind and clarified before booking a room.

The hostel provides an opportunity to travel around the world on a budget and meet new interesting people. At the same time, hostels are often chosen by people with a certain character - those who love communication, noisy company and do not attach importance to comfort. If you value luxury and prefer privacy to an abundance of social contacts, you are unlikely to like a hostel. However, if you're only visiting for a few days and can't afford a hotel, visiting a new city is worth the inconvenience.

Are you an energetic and easy-going person who loves traveling and is able to accept an unexpected invitation from friends to travel to another city or country?

Are you traveling with a large group and want to rent one room for everyone?

Are you going on a visit and don’t want to burden your family with your presence?

Are you heading to distant regions of Russia or abroad with a forced overnight stay in Moscow?

Are you going on a business trip and looking for budget accommodation with optimal conditions?

Then the hostel is exactly what you need!

This foreign word is usually called mini-hotels, budget hotels, where you can rent a separate room or a bed in a multi-bed room.

In a hostel for a modest price you are guaranteed to get a roof over your head and sleeping area. Other amenities - a bathroom in the room or on the floor, TV, refrigerator, wardrobe, the ability to use household appliances - depend on the hostel and the amount you are willing to pay for your comfort.

How is a hostel different from a hotel?

Modest living conditions, sufficient to spend one or several nights;

The ability to rent a bed in a multi-bed room or the entire room for a large number of your friends;

A special friendly atmosphere;

Low cost of living.

Today, hostels compete quite successfully with conventional hotels and hostels, representing something in between. The majority of hostel residents are young people, socially active segments of the population (travelers, musicians, artists, sports teams, etc.). The difference between hostels is quite large and therefore, in an effort to reduce living costs while traveling, it would be advisable to clarify the number of people in the same room with you, the presence of a closet or bathroom in the room, whether bed linen and towels are included in the payment and other household issues that may be important to you.

The main distinguishing feature of the hostel, in addition to its efficiency, is the free, friendly atmosphere of the residents. Here you not only have the opportunity to communicate and meet new people - in the hostel it is even considered good manners to start a conversation with your roommate, ask where he is from and what the purpose of the trip is. In addition to multi-bed rooms, the hostels provide spacious meeting rooms, where in the evenings guests gather for joint friendly gatherings.

However, not everyone is willing to share a room with other travelers, and modern hostels offer private rooms for such guests. Of course, in this case, living will no longer be so economical, but if having personal space is important to you, it makes sense to pay more for the sake of psychological comfort.

Hostels are often located in historical centers or close to train stations, which further reduces the time and expense of moving around the city.

When choosing to stay in a hostel, it would also be a good idea to ask whether guests are provided with meals, or whether you will be provided with a kitchen or an equipped common area.

A hostel is a temporary accommodation option in which the guest is offered a bed in the absence of additional amenities in the room. It is something between an apartment building in Russia, a motel in America and apartments in Europe.

Features of accommodation in the hostel

The punning word hostel is formed by merging the two stems host (translated as owner) and hotel (hotel). Literally this private hotel in the form of a dormitory, equipped on the site of a former apartment or other premises.

Accommodation prices are 4-5 times lower than in a regular hotel. But this does not mean that torn wallpaper and worn linoleum await you. It's cozy, clean, safe here. It’s also interesting because people who are passionate about traveling prefer to stay at the hostel. Such mini-hotels are popular abroad and only among Russian tourists, who do not quite understand how it works, they are associated with housing for the homeless.

Rooms can be for women, men, shared or individual. Traditionally, there are two types of hostels:

The former serve as a cheap hotel.
The latter are designed for long-term accommodation of students, specialists or workers of certain categories, and people who have temporarily lost their housing.

One room can accommodate up to 15-20 people. Such rooms are called dorms. But there are also rooms designed for one, two or three people. Women's rooms are called Female Dorm, and general rooms are called Mixed Dorm. As a rule, a mini-hotel has a common common room where guests can gather for communication.

Advantages of hostels

Hostels have significant advantages over other accommodation options:

Abroad, capsule hotels and hostels are gaining popularity. Their only difference is a capsule instead of a bed. Thus, the guest receives his own isolated space.

Cons of hostels

But there are also disadvantages. Among them are spartan conditions in some hotels, because the gentleman's set is simple: a bed, linen and a locker. A significant drawback is the shared bathroom. There is always a chance of getting into bad company.

Despite the fact that most of these establishments offer their guests luggage storage, theft in hostels is not uncommon. The more people in the room, the more dangerous it is to leave your belongings unattended.

Another disadvantage is the limitation of personal space: a shared bathroom, a line in the kitchen, the inability to sleep due to the late return of roommates, etc.

The hostel is not very convenient for families with children to stay, unless they are offered to stay in a 3-4-bed room.

How it all began

The first hostel hotel appeared in Germany in 1909. It exists to this day. The idea of an inexpensive and small hotel for unpretentious guests was born in the head of school teacher Richard Schirmann. On weekends, he took his students out of town. Almost all the children were from poor families and did not have the opportunity to pay for hotel accommodation. Schirmann negotiated with colleagues from schools located along the travel route to accommodate the students in classrooms for the night.

After some time, he opened a hostel in his native school. After classes, schoolchildren took out their desks and brought in makeshift beds - bags of hay. And the next morning everything was repeated the other way around. Over time, the hostel moved to Alten Castle, where it still operates today.

Regulatory regulation of hostel operation

In Russia, the operation of hostels is described in GOST 56184:2015. The document obliges the hostelier to establish rules for staying in the hotel and inform guests how to live in it. Hostels are not allowed to be located in basements or basements. If the mini-hotel building is separate, there is a parking lot next to it. If they are located in an apartment building, they may not have a separate entrance.

How to live in it - conditions or what to expect

What is the difference between a hostel and a hotel?

There are several features that distinguish a hostel from a hotel:

The price is 4-5 times lower and this is the main advantage
The room can sometimes accommodate up to 15 people; in order to save space, the beds are usually bunk beds.
The bathroom and kitchen are common to all rooms.

But the main difference is the restrictions for residents, due to the desire to ensure a relaxing holiday for guests. For example, they may not allow you into the premises after 1 am.

You should reserve a place in the hostel in advance. This is especially true for peak periods of the year: summer and new year holidays. As for wi-fi, it is provided by default in all hotels as a mandatory additional service. But in order to avoid force majeure, you should clarify this point when booking a bed.

Hostels - unique mini-hotels with rooms for several people - are extremely popular today. They are especially common in European countries, but recently they have been gaining popularity in Russia. Mini-hotels have long been loved by tourists and business travelers for their practicality. But how do hostels differ from regular hotels and what are their advantages? Let's find out!

Modest conditions and low price

If hotels are luxury and comfort, then hostels are simplicity and convenience. Mini-hotel rooms are designed to accommodate several people at once; the sleeping places are often comfortable bunk beds. Showers and toilets are shared. Such modest conditions may not appeal to those who are used to traveling on a grand scale, but they will be an ideal choice for lovers of fun and inexpensive holiday in company. In addition, despite the large flow of people, hostels are often very clean, and all equipment is fully operational - after all, a small room is much easier to keep track of.

Geographical location

Hotels are usually located in expensive central regions, hostels offer their clients a greater variety of choices. The traveler can decide for himself where to stay - in a comfortable residential area city, or in the center - close to city attractions. In addition, hostels are more often than hotels located in areas with developed infrastructure, thanks to which amateurs economical holiday There are always budget minimarkets and convenient transportation nearby.

Social communication

Hotel guests usually keep to themselves - they hardly communicate with their neighbors. Hostels are a social place, where you can easily find pleasant communication and make new acquaintances. In addition, people often stay in mini-hotels interesting people with an active lifestyle: travelers, musicians, artists, students. In such a company you definitely won’t get bored and you will learn a lot of new things.

In addition to socializing with roommates, hostels offer pleasant stay in common areas. Such places are usually furnished in a homely manner - soft armchairs and sofas, coffee tables with board games and books. Therefore, the hostel is an excellent choice for people who like a sociable holiday.

Possibility of group travel

Travel large group with hotel stops - possible, but not entirely convenient. Participants in a large, cheerful company are unlikely to want to separate and go to each other’s rooms. And in a hostel you can rent a room for the whole group at once - it will be both comfortable and economically profitable.

Shared kitchens

Hotels usually have their own restaurants and cafes with a large selection of dishes. However, food prices there are very high. The hostel offers its guests a shared kitchen, which is very convenient and economical. Moreover, with good neighbors, a shared kitchen becomes a real gift - you can learn new interesting recipes, borrow the necessary ingredients and share cooked dishes, providing yourself and your neighbors with a delicious full dinner.

Additional services

Hostels have a well-developed practice of free additional services. The resident may be offered the use of various household appliances, possibility of washing and ironing clothes. Some mini-hotels may also offer you interesting map city or an experienced guide.

Homely atmosphere

In hotels, a guest is a client to whom services are provided. In hostels, travelers are guests who are taken care of with the warmth and comfort of home. Hostel workers quickly cease to seem like just service staff - communication often begins between workers and guests.

A good hostel with pleasant employees becomes a cozy, almost native place for a traveler, to which he wants to return again. In addition, many hostels offer discounts to regular guests, which is not only profitable, but also very nice.

Hotel or hostel for daily rent - what's the difference?

Each of us, when the time comes to go on a work trip or vacation, thinks about where he will spend the night. If this is a trip on a voucher, then of course there are no problems in this case: the place is determined in the voucher itself. But when we ourselves have to make a choice, then, as a rule, we take into account two criteria - price and quality of housing. Not many of us want to pay extra for an overnight stay. But our travel budget is almost always limited. So how can you save on housing without losing comfort?

A good option might be to choose a hostel rather than a hotel. Currently, hostels are an inexpensive alternative to hotels and apartments for daily rent all over the world, thanks to which travel has become more financially accessible for young people, students and those whose earnings can be considered “average”. They allow you to save on your trip by providing very acceptable living conditions. In this article we will try to understand the difference between a hostel and a hotel and how

The main difference between a hostel and a hotel is that guests live in shared rooms, and all amenities in the form of bathrooms, showers and a kitchen or dining room are shared. It is more like a hostel, but unlike the generally accepted understanding of a hostel, the size of a hostel is much smaller. Most often in Russia there are hostels ranging in size from 25 to 50 beds.

The hostels are quite comfortable. Even in Russia, where this area is not yet as developed as in the West, most hostels provide you with a clean bed, a locker for storing things, free WiFi, and the necessary amenities for common use.

Hostel cost

The cost of a night in a hostel largely depends on the number of beds in the room. More often the price starts from 300 rubles in an 8-10- or 12-bed room. The location of the hostel also affects the price. For example, in Moscow, it is important whether the hostel is located in the center and how close the hostel is to the metro. Rent in the center and near the metro costs from 500 rubles per place per day. Hostels of the highest category with designer renovation and high quality services and additional services can be offered by places costing up to 1500-2000 rubles per day.

Neighbours

Just recently, many in our country had not even heard of such institutions or imagined them as a reception for the homeless. Thanks to the widespread dissemination of information and popular programs on television (the most famous “Heads and Tails” on the STS channel), knowledge and opinion about hostels began to change. Now we know that a hostel is not a social institution and, moreover, has nothing to do with a “hospice”. The owners usually value the reputation of the hostel and carefully monitor its work and the number of residents.

A hostel in Moscow can be considered more of a temporary overnight stay for budget travel in the company of friends or single tourists and business travelers. In addition, many consider a hostel as an option for initial accommodation in Moscow, since even just renting an apartment or room is not easy. Therefore, if we do not take into account dormitories and hostels with an extremely low cost (less than 300 rubles per day), in which, as a rule, work teams live not only from Russia, but also from countries near and far abroad, then the contingent becomes quite decent and even interesting.

Hostel as culture

Hostels have been popular throughout Europe for half a century precisely as a budget option for traveling. The standards of detention there have long been regulated and correspond to the necessary standards for economical stay. Over the years, a certain culture has developed regarding hostels. Today we are not talking solely about saving money. Small size hostels, unlike dormitories, allow hostel guests to feel not like they are in a hostel, but like in a large apartment, and often like a member of a large family. After all, living together in hostels encourages people to get to know each other and communicate. Many people make friends here. Tourists from all over the world are specifically looking for vacation and accommodation in the company of like-minded people, and find it among hostel guests.

Of course, hotels have a whole range of advantages over hostels. First of all, this is an isolated residence, your own bathroom, bath or shower, TV, and so on. In addition, hotels offer many services that you cannot find in a hostel: restaurant, Gym. But, as always, everything has its price and you have to pay for it. And here the hostel with its budget efficiency completely outperforms the hotel.

In conclusion, it can be noted that both the experience gained in a hostel and in a hotel is valuable. Which is better: rent a bed in a hostel or book Double Room at the hotel only you can tell after trying both of these options.

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