To Hostel or not to Hostel

After many years working in the hotel business...at some really nice Marriott hotels and a Ritz Carlton, I suddenly decided to do some quick research on the concept of hostels. So, a few clicks on the web lead me to search on whether or not the pricing is so affordable that one would have to consider sharing a common sleeping and washing space with strangers while on travel. So I did quickly find a "dorm bed" in Washington DC for forty bucks....yes, definitely cheap. So my next concern is are they safe...of course, the websites I found said beyond the very uncommon infrequent occurrences of small theft, they are indeed safe...and some of them offer lockers if you bring your own padlock.



I am still not going to be a hosteller. It's just not for me. I'll search the hotel sites for affordable rooms when I have travel on the horizon, I'm not twenty and I just require privacy. I am probably spoiled, too, by many years of visiting so many great hotels with great service and accomodations. Actually for me, the great hotel, is part of the whole reason I travel at all. Now, given the chance to do some mission work, I will have to accordingly make the adjustments and see the bigger picture.

I remember meeting a group of American and Dutch hostellers several years ago when I was vacationing in Nicaragua. I was curious about what was at the time a very newly formed concept, as far as I knew. They made it sound so "hippie" with quite a bit of inuendos about weed smoking. I think this experience fits some, is a cheap way to see the world, but does not make my list. If my nieces tell me they plan to stay in a hostel I'd be a little worried about letting them go.