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‘A better experience than an Airbnb’: how hostels are going upmarket, offering hotel-like experiences at much lower prices

  • From private rooms to heated rooftop pools, some hostels are transforming to appeal to a broader demographic of traveller
  • Hostels can combine the best of hotels and holiday rentals, often offering central locations, on-site staff and a more social experience

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Travellers enjoy the cafe at HI San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel, where a private room costs less than US$100 on some nights and the rate includes Wi-fi, breakfast and luggage storage. More travellers are considering hostels as alternatives to hotels and Airbnbs.

Once a niche market for frugal, globetrotting young people, hostels are becoming a popular form of alternative lodging.

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No longer just rows of bunk beds, some hostels now offer private rooms and amenities like rooftop pools and spas.

Take the Selina Boquete hostel in Panama, Central America. Guests are served an evening welcome drink. While there’s a shared option called a community room, the hostel offers hotel-style private rooms and the unique option of a pod-style room made from an “upcycled” concrete cylinder.

Some nights, guests are treated to live music.

“It honestly felt like a resort and was a better experience than an Airbnb,” says Melissa Middlestadt, a Canadian travel blogger who runs the website My Beautiful Passport, about her stay at Selina Boquete.

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