A Brief History of Hostels

Hostels, bunkhouses, backpackers, inns, you may refer to them in different ways and it’s hard to imagine a world without them. Today hostels cover the globe; one can locate them on every continent, in most cities as well as along romantic countrysides. During their humble beginnings, hostels were little spaces for budget accommodation. But they have evolved beyond providing shelter. The modern backpacker hostel now stands as a social stage for the exchange of ideas, friendships, travel support, belonging, reflection, and personal identity discovery.

The youth hostel movement worldwide was one of modest origins. Here is a small story about the endearing history of hostels and how one man sowed the seed for a worldwide movement.

A Humble Beginning

1909

The concept of a hostel dates back to 1909 when a German teacher, Richard Schirrmann, realized the need for overnight budget lodging for his students during short trips. In August 1909, during one such trip, the group was caught in a storm, leading them to seek refuge in a school building. The dean of this school permitted them to use a classroom and a farmer helped them with some straw to make beds. This stormy night led to the conception of a unique idea — it was the concept of converting schools in Germany into private accommodation during the school holidays.

In 1910 Richard published an essay setting out his ideas for “Volksschülerherbergen”. In this essay, he wrote, “Two classrooms will suffice, one for boys and one for girls. Some desks can be stacked away, thus freeing space to put down 15 beds. Each bed will consist of a tightly stuffed straw sack and pillow, two sheets and a blanket. Each child will be required to keep his own sleeping place clean and tidy.” By participating actively in daily chores like cleaning and cooking, students could sleep together in the dorms while earning some money on the side.

Youth hostels were considered a place to build character and develop a sense of independence, as the inhabitants got a chance to see how other people live. They were warm, inviting spaces, with no class divisions. Young inhabitants came together in warm camaraderie, pitched in to complete chores and left with a renewed sense of purpose/new learnings.

The Evolution
1919–1930

The youth hostel movement multiplied as Schirrmann built on his idea, and by 1919 he had founded the German Youth Hostel Association. This concept is still in wide use in Germany and Europe. The movement continued to expand, and by 1921 the number of overnight stays reached almost 500,000. By 1930, there were more than 2000 hostels in Deutschland alone. (Wunderbar!)

1932–1960

Things began to pick up in the nascent “hostel business”. By 1931, there were twelve different youth hostel associations in Europe, with combined operations of 2,600 hostels. However, a communication gap resulted in a disconnect between different hostel associations. To fix this problem, an international convention was held in October 1932 in Amsterdam. Representatives from eleven hostel associations were invited to attend ( Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Switzerland, Belgium, and the former Czechoslovakia). Collectively, The International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF) was created, and Schirrmann was aptly the first president. For obvious reasons, many hostels in Europe were sealed temporarily during and after World War II.

Today, youth hostels are a minority in Europe. The nature of the tourism industry has evolved, with backpacker hostels flourishing around the world. Some youth hostels still function in certain places with the same rules such as a fixed curfew or a lockout for part of the day.

The counterculture-groovy 60s

Freak Hotels

The 60s Hippie-Hashish-Trail was a turning point in backpacker history. The youth didn’t just seek freedom but also spiritual and wholesome experiences. While the cost of air travel was still unattainable, wanderlust still forced young travellers and students overseas. Groovy budget travel involved local transport, hitchhiking or walking trails. Young people/youth travelled from Europe through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Nepal right down to Thailand. They shacked in spaces referred to as ‘freak hotels’ — essentially the humble backpacker hostels. These freak hotels acted simultaneously as lodging, gathering spaces and eating spots for youngsters to share information, anecdotes and even exchanged belongings. As most of these travellers stayed off the grid, they immersed themselves in local experiences around these hotels. Eventually, these hotels evolved to cater specifically to backpackers, albeit with modified infrastructure, inexpensive connected transportation, psychedelic shops, local eateries, and coffee houses.

Peace, love, and the 70's-80's

Recession and stagnation in the West led to the decline of the backpacker culture in the 70s. However, the ’80s saw the reappearance of the lifestyle. The term ‘freak hotels’ was finally replaced by backpacker hostel.

Simultaneously, independent, profit-orientated, businesses sprung up as competition for official youth hostels. This new, competitive entity extended service further to include double rooms, mixed dorms, swimming pools, discos and affordable meals. Some expanded their business by selling alcohol, while others grew their patronage with travel concierge bookings, tours and packaged trips. The official youth hostel associations from yore took heed and invested and reinvigorated themselves.

Them 90s and early noughties

Hostels developed further with the dawn of affordable travel. From being a part of the alternative lifestyle, the 90s allowed hostels to increasingly appear in ‘backpacker’ films, TV shows, popular culture and high art. Hostels were beginning to find a way into everyone’s life story.

“Base Hostel” opening in Melbourne in 2004 turned out to be a pivotal moment in the evolution of hostels. Their key innovations included allocating a female-only floor and providing a hotel-esque experience through private rooms (with TVs, toothbrushes, towels, and some of the other nice hotel stuff). This turned out to be a game-changer, and the Melbourne hostel rapidly grew into a large chain of hostels across Oceania. The reform sparked new ideas of structural growth of hostels within the hostel community. At the same time, the deficiency of standardized service quality across hostels was unveiled.

Now

Beyond the noughties, the hostel landscape has changed dramatically and while travellers in the nineties were content with plain budget accommodation, current travellers prefer something a bit more Insta-worthy. Infinity pools, sunny roof terraces, colourful artwork and quirky furniture are par for the course and are not difficult to find! Meanwhile, independent chains have mushroomed globally — Che Lagarto has numerous properties across South America and the Generator is all over Europe. Some of the common categories one can find are city hostels, party hostels, themed hostels, adventure hostels, hippie hostels, designer hostels, chain, hipster, flashpackers, budget hostels and non-profit hostels. As of 2020, there are over 37,000 hostels worldwide. The most exciting change of our time is that there’s no particular template being followed by this new breed of hostels. As a traveller, one can seek the kind of experience they want to gain through their stay. Despite all these changes in the tourism industry, the aim of most hostels is still the same: uniting people from different backgrounds and countries, for a brief encounter to create shared experiences.