Has the YHA gone bonkers?

[Davidc]

The YHA lost its way decades ago.

When I used them, in the 60s and 70s, often with friends, rarely with adults present, they provided what was wanted at an affordable price. That in many cases included what I often wanted, being able to camp in the grounds and use the hostel's facilities.

By the time my children wanted to go walking and cycling in the 1990s the YHA no longer provided what was wanted. They still went off on their own, normally camping using the by then available very light weight tents and kit.

The irrational, tabloid fuelled, paranoia over abuse of children hasn't helped, the compensation culture hasn't helped, but most of all it's a management failure. A failure to understand what the organisation existed for and develop it from that starting point

 

[Danny]

I believe you can still camp in the grounds of many hostels.

Also my teenage son and his mates have been to stay in hostels on their own and have had a great time - though I suspect the other guests may have suffered a bit.

 

[Danny]

Not particularly, but I know my sons recent school trip to Stow on the Wold was greatly increased in size. As it was a school party they had to take the entire accomodation whether they used it or not, so they increased the number of children to about 100. I don't know whether that was a school or hostel policy but my impression is hostel, but I suspect a bit of both.

I suspect this is less to do with health and safety and more to do with the fact that large school parties can be pretty rowdy and it is probably easier all round if they are not trying to share the hostel with other guests.

 

[Danny]

The YHA lost its way decades ago...

The irrational, tabloid fuelled, paranoia over abuse of children hasn't helped, the compensation culture hasn't helped, but most of all it's a management failure. A failure to understand what the organisation existed for and develop it from that starting point

What do you, or others, think the YHA should have done instead?

I'm not happy with many of the hostel closures and the higher prices, but on the other hand I think most potential guests now expect better accommodation, food, and facilities than they got in the past. In an era of cheap package holidays I don't think there would have been a future for the YHA in just staying as it was.

 

[Cush]

They are called Youth Hostels yet most if not all have a fully stocked bar, is that a good example to set for youths? Esp when you see teachers knocking the drink back as if it was water.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

By the time they (financially) woke up, they actually had nowhere to go. Nearly every part of their customer base had been targeted by someone else with a more clearly defined product.

Since the peak of their popularity the amount of budget accommodation on offer, both in rural and urban areas has mushroomed. Not just B&Bs and private hostels, but Travel Lodges, camp sites, camping barns, mobile homes and cabins, couch surfing, etc.

 

[hubbike]

I suppose why this is being discussed here is because many of us would like the YHA to offer good facilities for cyclists (and walkers). Their infrastructure puts them in an excellent position to do this. However many of the prerequisites are missing.

I posted in a previous thread things I wanted from my dream hostel when biking...how many are provided by YHA?

I stayed in Alston YHA recently and noticed it had a very different character from many YHA hostels. very relaxed, friendly staff, a garden full of flowers, nicely painted, a friendly Labrador, a more homey feel, and a few interesting things on offer (you could buy frozen portions of home cooked food for example). We got chatting to the warden and she explained that she had bought the hostel from the YHA so she was free to run the place how she wanted. The difference was like night and day.

Perhaps this is the answer. To let individuals put their own creativity and ideas into something they need to take ownership of it. Probably literally. If I were a warden of a place, and I didn't expect it to be a job for life, why would I care?

The issue of youth not being able to use youth hostels really agitates me.

"The latest Health Survey for England (HSE) data shows us that nearly 1 in 4 adults, and over 1 in 10 children aged 2-10, are obese."

The last thing we need to do is put up more obstacles to fresh air and the outdoors.

 

[Danny]

I suppose why this is being discussed here is because many of us would like the YHA to offer good facilities for cyclists (and walkers). Their infrastructure puts them in an excellent position to do this. However many of the prerequisites are missing.

I posted in a previous thread things I wanted from my dream hostel when biking...how many are provided by YHA?

I stayed in Alston YHA recently and noticed it had a very different character from many YHA hostels. very relaxed, friendly staff, a garden full of flowers, nicely painted, a friendly Labrador, a more homey feel, and a few interesting things on offer (you could buy frozen portions of home cooked food for example). We got chatting to the warden and she explained that she had bought the hostel from the YHA so she was free to run the place how she wanted. The difference was like night and day.

Perhaps this is the answer. To let individuals put their own creativity and ideas into something they need to take ownership of it. Probably literally. If I were a warden of a place, and I didn't expect it to be a job for life, why would I care?

The issue of youth not being able to use youth hostels really agitates me.

"The latest Health Survey for England (HSE) data shows us that nearly 1 in 4 adults, and over 1 in 10 children aged 2-10, are obese."

The last thing we need to do is put up more obstacles to fresh air and the outdoors.

To be fair I think there are still many hostels like Alston - I couldn't fault my recent stay at Malham YHA for example.

The YHA policy on youths staying in hostels is actually as follows:

Families with children under the age of 5 will need to book a private room. Children aged 5-15 can only stay when accompanied by a parent, guardian or as part of an organised group and when staying in shared accommodation the parent or guardian must be of the same sex.

Personally I don't think this sounds unreasonable.

 

[andym]

I suppose why this is being discussed here is because many of us would like the YHA to offer good facilities for cyclists (and walkers). Their infrastructure puts them in an excellent position to do this. However many of the prerequisites are missing.

I must admit I've heard a lot of criticism of the YHA on this thread but I'm not sure how much of it is actually justified. Much of it seems to illustrate how the organisation is caught between conflicting demands. I'm sure that there are some people who would love hostels to be restricted to remote rural locations, walkers and cyclists only, no members of the general public, definitely no chavs, no drinking etc etc but I doubt the YHA would have much of a future on these terms.

The wikipedia article on the YHA has an interesting list of the hostels that the YHA has sold - quite a few (OK unfortunately by no means all) have become privately-owned and run as affiliates/franchises whatever you might call it under the YHA's Enterprise programme. Travelling in Italy, the AIG hostels I've stayed in seem to be privately-owned or operated in property owned by the local authority but leased out. As you say this may well be a better way to run hostels than a 'warden' who isn't likely to stay very long.

... but I'm equally sure you'll find plenty of GOMs who would moan about friendly Labradors.

The YHA policy on youths staying in hostels is actually as follows:

Families with children under the age of 5 will need to book a private room. Children aged 5-15 can only stay when accompanied by a parent, guardian or as part of an organised group and when staying in shared accommodation the parent or guardian must be of the same sex.

Personally I don't think this sounds unreasonable.

Me neither. Thanks for that.

 

[Davidc]

What do you, or others, think the YHA should have done instead?

I'm not happy with many of the hostel closures and the higher prices, but on the other hand I think most potential guests now expect better accommodation, food, and facilities than they got in the past. In an era of cheap package holidays I don't think there would have been a future for the YHA in just staying as it was.

The hostels were nearly always full before they moved away from their basic accommodation model, but like many other organisations in the 70s and 80s their management felt they should modernise for the sake of it. I stopped using them when they allowed people to arrive by car, as did many others, because it instantly destroyed much of what had made them a great place to stay. From then on commercial small campsites were to me and many others a much better place to stay.

The whole issue of children not being encouraged, in fact being discouraged, from becoming indpendent and learning to look after themselves is one that comes down to perceptions, in the same way that cycling safety is, but isn't really a part of this thread

 

[andym]

The hostels were nearly always full before they moved away from their basic accommodation model, but like many other organisations in the 70s and 80s their management felt they should modernise for the sake of it. I stopped using them when they allowed people to arrive by car, as did many others, because it instantly destroyed much of what had made them a great place to stay. From then on commercial small campsites were to me and many others a much better place to stay.

And the vast majority of people at campsites small or otherwise arrive by car, or motorbike, or campervan.

 

[Davidc]

And the vast majority of people at campsites small or otherwise arrive by car, or motorbike, or campervan.

Yes, but once the same applied to YHA hostels the campsites became preferable. There were then books as there are now websites where you could find farm based camping with water a loo and a shower and 3 or 4 pitches, which were more enjoyable to stay at than what had become a cheap general purpose dormitory.

And I got a 2 person tent which only weighed 1.5kg - very low at the time.

 

[Bromptonaut]

Families with children under the age of 5 will need to book a private room. Children aged 5-15 can only stay when accompanied by a parent, guardian or as part of an organised group and when staying in shared accommodation the parent or guardian must be of the same sex.

Personally I don't think this sounds unreasonable.

Where did you find that? My first year as a Member was 1977 when this sort of stuff would have been crystal clear in the handbook. When Bromp junior had the 'go hostelling' idea I found diddley squat on the website so rang National Office. I was told unequivocally that he was not allowed in dormitory accomadation as a minor. While dismayed by that advice it was consistent with booking messages I'd had previously from SYHA (re a pre Stornoway ferry stay at Ullapool).

On checking however it did seem possible to reserve 16-18 bednigts sans restriction via the YHA website.

 

[Danny]

Where did you find that? My first year as a Member was 1977 when this sort of stuff would have been crystal clear in the handbook. When Bromp junior had the 'go hostelling' idea I found diddley squat on the website so rang National Office. I was told unequivocally that he was not allowed in dormitory accomadation as a minor. While dismayed by that advice it was consistent with booking messages I'd had previously from SYHA (re a pre Stornoway ferry stay at Ullapool).

On checking however it did seem possible to reserve 16-18 bednigts sans restriction via the YHA website.

It is not all that easy to find, but it comes up if you try and book beds for children.

 

[Danny]

The hostels were nearly always full before they moved away from their basic accommodation model, but like many other organisations in the 70s and 80s their management felt they should modernise for the sake of it. I stopped using them when they allowed people to arrive by car, as did many others, because it instantly destroyed much of what had made them a great place to stay. From then on commercial small campsites were to me and many others a much better place to stay.

The whole issue of children not being encouraged, in fact being discouraged, from becoming indpendent and learning to look after themselves is one that comes down to perceptions, in the same way that cycling safety is, but isn't really a part of this thread

Given the appalling public transport in most rural areas, I don't think there would ever have been a future for the YHA if it had continued with its ban on people arriving by car.

It has also made hostels much more accessible to families with young children.