Hostel vs hotel: what’s the difference?

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Hotels offer luxury, private rooms, and services, while hostels are budget-friendly with shared rooms and facilities. Hostels may offer meals and discounts for work, but have curfews and require guests to bring their own linen. Both provide shelter, but hotels offer more amenities at a higher cost.

Both hotels and hostels offer accommodation to travellers, but while the two provide a dry place to stay, the similarities end there. In most cases, hotels are the more luxurious of the two and, therefore, the more expensive. In a hotel, a traveler can have his own room and bathroom, as well as cleaning and other services. Hostels are generally used by younger travelers with less money to spend, and those who visit one will most likely need to share a room as well as toilets and showers. A person staying in a hotel will have their bags delivered to their room, clean towels and bed made daily, but none of this is likely to be included in a hostel stay.

Hostels are often associated with backpackers looking for inexpensive, temporary shelter as well as a place for a shower and a meal. Some will include a hot meal or drink in the accommodation price and most will provide a kitchen area where guests can cook their own food. During a hotel stay you are alone when it comes to finding places to eat, unless a meal is included in the package. In the past, the rooms were set up in a dormitory style, with shared showers. In recent years, however, some have begun to offer single rooms and the bathrooms, while shared, could accommodate only one guest at a time.

Some hostels will allow guests to work in exchange for a discount or even a night’s stay. When staying in a hotel, on the other hand, it is best for visitors not to try to check in without cash or a valid credit card. Also, management may turn away guests who are unclean, while hostel owners are used to backpackers and long-distance cyclists showing up in need of a shower.

A hotel often provides guests with mini-refrigerators, wet bars, cable television, wireless Internet service, telephones, irons, and hair dryers. Hostel accommodations, on the other hand, while minimal, aren’t unpleasant and rarely include any extras. People who stay there often have interesting stories to tell and there is often a common room available where guests can socialize and play pool or watch television. In a hotel, visitors will likely not know the person staying in the room next to them, and privacy and quiet are typically the goal.

Some hostels do not provide linen, which means guests are required to bring their own. Also, many, especially youth hostels, require their guests to abide by their own rules, which include curfews. This can also include not drinking or smoking. As lodging is more common, travelers may need to hold their property and may want to sleep with their cash and credit cards.

Both hotels and hostels offer a bed and a roof over weary travellers. Extra services are at the discretion of the individual, therefore, it is important to note that visitors usually get what they pay for.




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