Hostels

In fact, hostels have become more popular lately due to the more varied travel styles of modern tourists. Some deliberately pick the places because of the low prices. On the other hand, others love the idea of the places that allow them to meet fellow travellers using facilities inside, like a bar or kitchen.

What are hostels?

Hostels are one of the types of accommodation that provide comforts for sleeping in warm environments at low prices. These places for resting usually attract travellers with a low budget, either solo or in groups. Backpackers, students, digital nomads, and families make use of these options, too. Besides the price factor, they love staying here because of the social and cultural atmosphere.

They have more chances to meet like-minded travellers when using common rooms, such as kitchens, bars, or lounges. As they have lunch or sip a cup of coffee, they can talk to each other and learn about cultural differences. You can find dorm-style concepts in most hostels. However, there are some that offer private rooms and a range of amenities.

Hostels are different from hotels. They target different classes of tourists. Hotels usually welcome travellers who don’t mind paying high fees per night, thanks to the full and top facilities. Hotels offer more privacy for their guests through private bathrooms. Amenities in hotels are more diverse, from swimming pools, gyms, to restaurants.

Strong performance of global hostels in 2024

Hostels have made more people eager to travel. Back then, travelling was exclusive to those with big budgets. This perception was true because of the relatively high price of booking a hotel room. But now, with the low accommodation prices, people have more options to adjust their travelling budgets.

This is reflected in the 2024 data from Cloudbeds, a global cloud-based hospitality management platform. During the year, the occupancy rates of all hostels grew strongly. The percentages varied per region, with some, like the Canary Islands of Spain, recording huge numbers of travellers. Both of the lodgings in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas provinces saw a 75% rise in the occupancy rates.

Moreover, solo female travellers have changed the demographics of the occupants. Based on the 2024 State of Hostels Report, the number of solo female bookings has gone up by 88% since 2025. This shows that more individual women love to explore on their own. The trend should suggest that the operators of the accommodations cater to their needs in terms of comfort and safety.

Construction skills to build unique hostels

The hostel industry is predicted to rise in the future. It continues to adapt to the more personalised travelling style of global tourists. At the moment, there are already some types of accommodations, including adventure and party ones. The adventure type stands tall near tourist attractions. It offers bunk beds and communal kitchens. Some tours are provided for the occupants.

The party hostels, on the other hand, target those seeking a vibrant ambience with nightlife and partying activities. As such, the operators open bars and organise events, like pub crawls and drinking games. With the rising trend in this accommodation sector, construction skills will be more useful for designing and maintaining more unique buildings. Check the details of the abilities below.

• Designing

Your designing ability will transform a hostel into a functional, aesthetic, and fun place to stay. Moreover, more customised designs will be presented in the future to align with the market's dynamic preferences. In this regard, as an architect, you must create a suitable design for meeting the needs of family travellers or female backpackers, for instance.

• Structural aspect

Typically, hostels occupy small areas and consist of just a few storeys. As a civil engineer, your job is to ensure the sites are safe and long-lasting. The tasks are crucial because each of the buildings will take up many travellers at once. Every room within the structures has to meet the safety standards, hence they won’t collapse in the case of natural disasters.

• Quantity surveying

The key tasks for this aspect cover the financial and budgeting factors. You have to determine the price of each building material and labour. This will serve as a budget estimation. Besides, you will have to select and contact the right vendors and negotiate the contracts. The result is purchasing the best materials that are within the budget range.

• Construction

This skill covers a lot of job roles, such as carpenters, plumbers, and construction managers. In essence, they work in tandem to ensure that the construction process of the hostels fulfils the deadline and are within budget. This broad goal falls into smaller tasks, from putting bricks and stones to installing electrical systems and wiring.

• Maintenance

Physical upkeep is important to ensure that the hostels function well after construction. The key duties include checking all of the building components, like electricity and plumbing. Tracking the budget and identifying possible problems are part of the list of tasks. There are multiple matters, including those that may occur in the facilities, such as the backyards and kitchens.