When somebody talks about hostels, you might not think that there are a lot of advantages over hotels. The truth is that there are actually a couple. The main reasons are that you’ll save money, get easier in contact with other people and help the environment. I would recommend you, especially as a solo traveler, to stay in hostels. There are many reasons why hostels are better than hotels.
Why are hostels better than hotels: You save money
When you are traveling you might want to save some money in order to try traditional culinary products in a restaurant or buying some souvenirs for your family and friends. We all know that flights and transport are the most expensive part of a trip. So why not try to save some money when it comes to picking the place where you’re going to stay. Usually, the cheapest accommodations are hostels. Mostly, they offer you a shared kitchen and shared bathrooms, or even shared bedrooms. That’s why normally hostels are way cheaper than hotels.
Meeting new people
The next reason, why hostels are better than hotels, is that hostels are the best place to get in contact with other people. A lot of solo travelers are staying in hostels because they are searching for people that want to explore the country or city with them. It’s always a good idea to have somebody to talk about experiences and to help each other with all different types of issues. While meeting people from all over the world, you also learn something about different cultures and their habits.
Another reason why hostels are better than hotels: Sustainability
Nowadays sustainability is more important than it was before. People care more about the environment and hostels normally provide an eco-friendly way of traveling. For instance, using things like solar power and promoting local food. In contrast to that, hotels usually waste a lot of power and water with their big swimming pools and kitchens. With all the environmental problems that we have on our planet at the moment, it’s really important to support places, or companies in general, that take care of the environment in the things they do. That’s why hostels are better than hotels.
Get to know the culture
The cultural aspect gives us some reasons why hostels are better than hotels. Hostels are the perfect place to get to know the culture of the country where you stay. As already mentioned in the previous paragraph, hostels are usually promoting local food. If this should not be the case, you can just cook your own food in one of the shared kitchens with local ingredients. Apart from that, you can also go out and try typical local food while supporting local people. Eating out, surrounded by local people, will give you a good impression of the culture of the country. In contrast to that, if you are staying in a hotel, you probably won’t get the chance to try traditional and local food.
Final reason why hostels are better than hotels: You support locals
Usually, hostels are owned by locals, whereas hotels are normally part of big franchise companies. The hostels provide exclusive tours with local companies. As already mentionted, in addition, they are using locally produced food. So your stay in a hostel doesn’t only help the owner of the hostel, it also helps the suppliers.
