the.com/hostel
capitalism's answer to making lifelong friends with strangers who snore in eight languages
means A budget lodging offering shared dormitory beds and communal spaces, popular with backpackers and traveling students.
from From Old French 'hostel,' a place that lodges and feeds guests, descended from Latin 'hospitale' (a guest-house) and 'hospes' (host, guest, stranger — all one tangled word). The same root branches into 'hotel,' 'hospital,' and 'hospitality,' so the snoring dorm and the five-star suite are quite literally cousins.
- origin
- first opened in 1912 in a German castle
- bunk law
- top bunk loses; no ladder, no dignity
- founder
- teacher Richard Schirrmann invented them for school trips
- global reach
- over 70,000 hostels operate worldwide today
- common kitchen
- where labeled food still mysteriously vanishes
the loft hostel budapest — backpacker hostel in budapest's jewish quarter, known for parties and social atmosphere since 2000s
cat house hostel krakow — hostel in krakow with resident cats, popular budget accommodation in poland's old town
the flying pig amsterdam — legendary hostel in amsterdam's red light district, operating since 1986