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21st CENTURY “YOUTH HOSTELS”




I just lifted a quote from a Backpacker’s Website called: “Travel Advice: The NAKED Traveler”.

The article was penned by a former editor of a Backpacker Magazine in Australia and New Zealand. She is, as you might expect, very knowlegable about hostels and hostel life. She writes about it very well.

Nonetheless, I think she is a little (make that far) off-base in one area. This is what she wrote:

Aren’t you, like, old?
“No matter how much you like Bruno Mars or enjoy reading the Twilight series, people over a certain age shouldn’t stay in hostels. Conventional wisdom says anything over 35 is the cut-off point – no exceptions.  Think this doesn’t apply to you? Just Google the scene in Basic Instinct where Michael Douglas goes to a nightclub… in a jumper.  That’s what you look like”

That one statement is just plain wrong for many hostels in North America today.

Alright, perhaps that is the demographic of most of the hostels in her experience in Australia and New Zealand; but, here in Canada and the United States, more and more hostels are “Family Friendly”.

That describes our Toronto Hostel. At Canadiana Backpackers Inn, we have hosted guests from infants to eighty (plus) year-olds.

We are providing a link to ther whole article because it really does contain some pretty good advice for anyone new to backpacking and staying in hostels.
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It is here: http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advisor/the-highs-and-lows-of-hostel-living/story-fn6ry5me-1225998123129
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Backpacker’s Hostels did, indeed, begin as “youth only” establishments. But in these days of economic austerity, older travelers can take advantage of lower-cost accomodations once reserved solely for the young.
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If you are a family or an older traveler and stay with us here in our Toronto hostel, we can assure that you won’t feel uncomfortable, unwelcomed or out-of-place.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 24th, 2011 at 12:27 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “21st CENTURY “YOUTH HOSTELS””

  1. Geoffrey Campey says:
    March 20, 2011 at 1:58 am

    I agree 100% Bill, and she’s not even on the money here in Oz. Sure, there are hostels that cater pretty exclusively to the 18-30 market, and that’s a good thing, because it leaves the other hostels as places where other travellers, both young and old, can meet up, share stories and a couple of beers. :)

    Cheers,
    Geoffrey

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