What The Hell Is a Hostel?
And Why Should St. Pete, Florida Have One?
When most Americans hear the word “hostel”, their imagination immediately goes to one of the many brutal images scorned into their brains from the horror flick in 2005, like the one below.
When, in all reality what you’ll see at a hostel is something more like this:
“Hostels provide budget-oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen.” — Wikipedia
At all the hostels I stayed at along my recent road-trip across America, I found groups of eager travelers looking to meet new people and experience new things. The majority of them chose to stay at a hostel because they preferred to save money on lodging and allocate it to exploring the town they were visiting, rather than spending it on an overpriced hotel.
Travelers vs. Tourist
If you walk into a hostel, you can immediately tell what type of people you’re going to meet. Backpackers, globetrotters, wanderers, nomads. All-in-all travelers. They are much different than the tourists you will find wandering around the lobby, looking to attach themselves to any creature comforts they can find at some chain hotel. They are going to explore the town and try to experience what the locals experience. Do the things the locals do. They are able to spot tourist traps a mile away, and they intend to stay as far away from them as possible.
These are the people who don’t need to be told to support local, but do so anyway, no matter where they go. If you put a Starbucks next to a Brew D Licious, they’ll choose Brew D Licious, an Outback next to an Engine No. 9, they’ll choose Engine No. 9, a Macy’s next to an All Sewn Up, they’ll choose All Sewn Up, and a hotel next to hostel, they’ll choose a hostel.
Want to know if you are a traveler or tourist? Here’s 21 signs your a traveler, not a tourist by Huffington Post.
Why Should St. Pete (and every other up-and-coming town) Have A Hostel?
I recently had my car driven back from Seattle using a service called Auto Driveaway who pair a car that needs to be driven with a certified driver to make the trip. Dennis was the person who drove my car, along with a traveler he picked up in Pheonix, Arizona named Anders. One of the first things we covered when he arrived in St. Pete was where they would stay for the few nights they was in town. His response was, “We’ll probably just find a hostel to crash in.”
Ugh.
I told him St. Pete has no such thing, and he said, “That’s fine, we’ll just go find a spot on the beach to sleep.” They would rather sleep on the beach, under the stars, than to pay for an overpriced hotel room.
“That’s fine, we’ll just go find a spot on the beach to sleep.”
That isn’t to say they were cheap. In fact, over the few days they were in town, we spent almost every night exploring the local bar and restaurant scene, with no expenses spared.
I’ve had the pleasure of watching the city I grew up in expand exponentially. So much so, that it seems it’s growing quicker than the people in it. Not many people like change, but it seems a select few of Pinellas County’s residents are willing to fight to keep things they way they are. Fighting to keep things like chain supermarkets, chain restaurants, and chain hotels and oppose progression in things like transit, architecture or restoration of historic landmarks.
With more and more attention being shined on St. Pete, both nationally and internationally, it’s time we start to think about who we should be accommodating. I’m not saying to demolish all the hotels and replace them with hostels, but let’s start thinking about the people that pass on coming to St. Pete because they don’t want to spend $150+ on lodging and have no alternative.
Instead of spending $150 on lodging, if they spend $30 on a hostel, that’s $120 they have to spend on lunch at a local cafe, dinner at a local bistro, drinks at a local brewery and shopping at a local boutique.
Let’s support local from within, Let’s bring a hostel to St. Pete.
