Newsletter April 2007
Welcome to the April 2007 edition of the European Hostel Cooperation Newsletter. As always we have a load of information for you, and a lot of it has to do with the 6th European Hostel Meeting in Interlaken, as well as the 7th which will be taking place next year in Barcelona. We also have a round-up of some of the results from the European Hostel survey, plus other news from the EHC and the European hostelling scene.
6th European Hostel Meeting Round-Up
Overview
Well we all made it back from Interlaken in one piece, and we hope you did too. Once again the European Hostel Meeting was a great success, and as always it was great to catch up with old friends as well as making new ones at the party, on the ski slopes, and during the meeting itself. Over 230 delegates from Europe and around the world attended the 6th European Meeting, and we would like to thank all those that joined us for making at a wonderful couple of days in Interlaken. You can find a full round-up and review of the meeting here: Go to the pages...
Thanks
Of course, we have some more formal thanks and acknowledgements to make, so in true Oscar style we would like to wipe away a tear, and thank the following folks that made it all possible…
Many thanks to our Platinum Sponsors: GOMIO.COM & Scottish Newcastle. More specifically, thank you to Verity Gale & Morgan Zuill from Scottish Newcastle for their ongoing help in everything from venue scouting… to of course plenty of beer & cider throughout the weekend! Silver Sponsors: Online Systems, thank you Andrew Guzowski & Christopher Guzowski for braving the overseas flight, Casino Kursaal & Interlaken Adventures & Hostels.
Every step of the way, we had the expertise & help of the Swiss Backpacker Network – from help with venues, to stuffing envelopes – this meeting was undoable without them. Special thanks to Catherin Quirin & David Buehler from Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof for their constant efforts & work this year.
For their hospitality during the welcome drinks – further thanks goes to Erich Balmer, Sandy Bolland, Brad Shepheard and all the superb staff at Balmer’s Herberge. Bart Stapel from Happy Inn Lodge/Brasserie 17 was key in keeping the party spirit going with his staff on Saturday night in the Kletterhalle K44,. Rounding off the weekend would not be possible without the help of Martin & Pitsch Buhler from Mattenhof Resort/Funny Farm for the brightest location around for the European Hostel Trade Show.
For increasing our knowledge base, a HUGE thank you to all those who hosted workshops & presentations during the meeting; Guy Verlinde (Inside Out/ i-Hostels), Morgan Zuill (Scottish&Newcastle), Romain Veinnois (St. Christopher’s Inns), Rod Macrae (Macrae Media & Communications), Katrin Stuessi (Grisch Consulta), Gerald Reisecker (Packed Magazine), Urs Graf (Mayor of Interlaken), Urs Kessler (Jungfraubahnen), Stefan Otz (Managing Director, Interlaken Tourism), Erich Balmer (Balmer’s Herberge), Rene Klopfer (Hotel Association, Interlaken), Tobias De Pessemier (USE-IT Europe), Susann Koschmeider (GOMIO.COM), Massimo Solofria, Fabio Belli, Pepe Castello & Exequiel Tiscoma (all from Home Hostels & movingslowly.com)
Workshops
As with previous Hostel Meetings, the workshops were some of the highlights of the weekend, from a discussion on how to apply for EU funding, via an exploration of how breweries can help hostels, through to possibilities for a European-wide Hostel Association, PR and Marketing tips, and how to brand a destination. There is far too much information to list it all here in the newsletter, so once again we would like to point you in the direction of the Hostel Meeting page itself, where you will find a blow-by-blow account of the weekend’s activities, including an overview of the workshops and presentation downloads.
6th European Hostel Meeting Review: Go to the pages...
Sponsores
The 6th European Hostel Meeting would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Silver sponsors Online Systems have asked if they could include the following message in this edition of the EHC newsletter, and we obliged…
“The EHC did a breathtaking job organizing the 2007 European hostel conference in Interlaken, Switzerland. Their crystal clear communication with the weather gods, well in advance, produced the best snow conditions of the season for all of us overworked and extremely stressed "hostel people" to enjoy. To add to that, the EHC managed to evict all those annoying backpackers out of Interlaken so we could enjoy the snow all to ourselves – not to mention the sun, the scenery and all the rest!!!
I think everyone will agree that the EHC’s newfound co-operation with the "beer people" is a stumble – I mean step - in the right direction. Great work guys – we loved the Australian liquid gold and must admit that the Bulmers, unexpectedly, hit the spot – we wish it every success!
From everyone at OnLine Systems, we wish every hostel an absolutely fantastic European Summer! We always welcome your enquiries regarding how Online and our most technologically advanced Hostel Management Software, "Charts Backpacker" can streamline and simplify your business's operations! Shoot an email to us at info@onlint-int.com.au or call us on +612 9906 3900, we are at your service!
Keep up the great work, EHC! We will see you all in Barcelona in 2008! All the best from the whole OnLine team!”
Special Offer from Packed Magazine
Meanwhile, the guys from Packed Magazine enjoyed the meeting so much that they want to make a special offer for all those who joined us in Interlaken…
Exclusive "Packed" Hostel meeting offer!
Book an ad/advertorial for the May/April edition of Packed Magazine now and we DOUBLE your adspace for FREE. Every 6th European Hostel Meeting participant gets a free UPGRADE. So you pay for a 1/8th page and get a quarter page or pay for a ¼ page and get a half page…
Deadline for this offer and next issue booking is April 15th 2007. The May/June issue is released in early May.”
You can get more information by contacting the guys at Packed directly: office@packedmagazine.com
7th European Hostel Meeting – Barcelona 2008
Although we have only just recovered from the adrenaline of a high-altitude weekend in the Alps we are already busy planning for the 7th European Hostel Meeting which will be taking place somewhat closer to sea-level…in Barcelona. The meeting will take place from the 1st - 2nd March 2008 and as always, if you have any suggestions or requests for things you would like to see included, then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us here at the Head Office: info@gomio.com.
European Hostel Survey
Introduction
One of the subjects that had been brought up in previous European Hostel Meetings was that of a European Hostel Survey. Well, as regular readers of these newsletters will know, we carried out such a survey of hostel guests over the last six months, and we felt that it was unfair that only those who made it to Interlaken got the chance to see the results. So here is a re-down of some of the interesting things we discovered…
The European Hostel Survey was a questionnaire created by the EHC, in consultation with the participating hostels, and was intended to find out various information from hostel guests that could be useful for hostel owners, managers, and the EHC ourselves. It took place in the last six months of 2006, and up to February 2007. Altogether there were 327 respondents, in 10 different hostels. These hostels are located in Prague, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Dresden and Barcelona. The following results offer a glimpse of European hostel guests in 2006-7.
What Best Describes You?
We asked the respondents which of the following – backpacker, traveller, tourist or working holidaymaker – best represented how they saw themselves. Surprisingly, “Backpacker” came third behind “Traveller” and “Tourist”
| Backpacker |
21.7% |
| Traveller |
39.5% |
| Tourist |
30.3% |
| Working Holidaymaker |
7% |
Budget
We asked the respondents to tell us how much money, on average, they budgeted for each day of their trip. This included nightlife, accommodation, food and activities, plus local transport, but not inter-city train and bus, railpasses or airline tickets.
| 0-20 Euros |
1.3% |
| 21-40 Euros |
17.3% |
| 41-60 Euros |
39.4% |
| 61-100 Euros |
34.6% |
| Over 100 Euros |
8.7% |
Research
We wanted to know how people researched their travels before they left, and asked the respondents to rank a number of different options in order of importance. Of those that they ranked number one, the Internet was the most often listed at 44%, with Word of Mouth second (23%) and Guidebooks third (19.5%).
To get a wider idea of what people used, we collected the top three answers of each person to get a better sense of what was important when researching their trip…within this websites were in the top three research options of over 80% of those questioned.
| Word of Mouth |
57.8% |
| Websites |
81.3% |
| Guidebooks |
63.6% |
| Travel Agencies |
10.7% |
| Magazines |
7.9% |
| Tourist Boards |
5.5% |
| Others |
4.9% |
Hostels
Choosing Hostels – What’s Important?
We wanted to know what was important to people when they choose a hostel, and from the consultation with hostels themselves, we decided not to offer any options for this question. Each respondent had space to list three most important reasons for choosing hostels, although some wrote more, and others less. We then collected these results into common groups.
Three quarters of all respondents had price as a factor in choosing a hostel, whilst just over half cited location. There were many different responses, and here are the main groups…
| Price |
75.2% |
| Location |
54.7% |
| Opportunity to Meet People |
16.2% |
| Atmosphere |
14.7% |
| Cleanliness |
14.1% |
| Facilities |
13.1% |
Researching Hostels – How did you discover this hostel?
To get an idea of how travellers find hostels, we asked them to tell us how they discovered the particular hostel they were in whilst they were filling out the survey. Unsurprisingly the internet was a major factor, with 57% finding the hostel online. This was much more than the next two answers, Word of Mouth with 19.9%, and the Guidebooks, with 10.4%.
Booking Your Hostel
Unsurprisingly, we were also interested in how travellers book their hostels, and if indeed they do. It was interesting that in this era of cheap phone calls and free internet, nearly a quarter of respondents did not book their hostel in advance of arrival.
| Did not book in advance |
24.9% |
| Direct with hostel |
40% |
| Website (not the hostel’s) |
31.9% |
| Travel Agency |
2.4% |
Also interesting was in the following question we asked where the traveller made the decision for this particular hostel, with 42% deciding at home.
Advance Booking
We asked the respondents to rank in order of importance what matters when it comes to making a booking in advance. We then took the top three answers from each person to get an overview of the main factors that matter to people when it comes to advance booking. As with choosing a hostel in general, price appears to be the main factor.
| Best bed prices |
69.1% |
| Low booking costs |
56.8% |
| Unbiased information |
30.5% |
| Personal Assistance |
27.4% |
| Flexible Cancellation |
23.8% |
| Broad Choice |
16.5% |
| Supporting Local Business |
7.7% |
Why Travel?
We wanted to know what the main motivations for travelling were amongst hostel guests, and recorded the top three answers from each respondent. Unsurprisingly, the desire to explore other cultures came out top; with nearly three quarters putting it in the top three…which shows that the motivation for travelling is the same in 2007 as it ever was…
| Explore other cultures |
71.9% |
| Sightseeing |
45.3% |
| Adventure |
42.1% |
| To meet new people |
35.1% |
| To learn |
29.1% |
| Relaxation |
16.1% |
| For the challenge |
15.1% |
| To improve language skills |
10.9% |
Impact of Global Events
To test (theoretically at least) the resilience of the hostel market to global events such as SARS, Terrorist attacks or Bird Flu, we asked whether such an event would have an impact on people’s travel habits. Here are the responses…
| Stop travelling completely |
1% |
| Change Destination |
37.9% |
| No impact at all |
58.3% |
More Information
If you would like to know any more information about the European Hostel Survey, then please do not hesitate to get in contact with us at the office on .
Other News
New General Manager for the EHC
We would like to take the opportunity with this edition of the EHC newsletter to welcome Susann Koschmieder as the new General Manager of the European Hostel Cooperation. Not only would we like to welcome her, and wish her all the best for the future, but also to take the chance to thank her predecessor Katrin Schoenig for all her hard work over the last couple of years. If you would like to contact Susann at the office you can do so on: susann.koschmieder@gomio.com.
New Hostels Opening
A number of new hostels have opened or are opening across Europe at the moment, and we would like to welcome them to this scene of ours. Already opened is the new Plus Village in Prague (www.plusvillages.com), the Sofia Guesthouse (www.sofiaguest.com), and the Ad1 House in Rome (www.adonehouse.com). Opening in May 2007 is the Center Valencia (www.center-valencia.com) and the Hostel Moscow (www.hostel-moscow.com), whilst in June the Carpe Diem in Zagreb will be opening its doors for the first time.
Best of luck to all new hostel projects, and if you are opening a hostel yourself, re-opening after a renovation, or adding a new house to your hostel empire then let us know and we will include it in future editions of the EHC newsletter.
Moving Slowly
The guys behind the Moving Slowly project were in Interlaken with us, and their story is so interesting that we wanted to give them a bit of free publicity in our newsletter. In 2005 four guys from the Home Hostels in Valencia packed up their Citroen and began a trip that took them from Spain all the way to South Africa. On the way they broke from the backpacker bubble, and began to immerse themselves in the places they visited, supporting humanitarian projects and learning from their hosts and what they saw and experienced as they went.
They are about to embark on a second journey, this time to Central and South America, and if you want more information on the Moving Slowly project, or would like to lend your support to their worthwhile aims, then check out their website on www.movingslowly.com.
Travel Trends from the United States
An interesting article about Americans travelling to Europe caught our eye just before this newsletter was sent out. Appearing on the USA Today website, it discusses the steady increase in numbers of travellers from the States to Europe, and some of the trends involved. In 2006 13 million Americans crossed the Atlantic on their travels, an increase of 4% on the year before, and the predictions are for another 2 – 3% increase in 2007.
Interestingly, it seems as if Americans are now as likely to travel to Europe for a short visit as much as a month long “Eurotrip”, with Paris and London being two of the favoured destinations for a quick getaway. The article explores a number of different trends, plus the destinations and activities that seem to be the most popular for our American guests, which might be useful for hostels trying to attract more guests from the USA.
The whole article can be read online at: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-04-05-europe-travel-trends_N.htm
Contact Us
We always love to hear from anyone who wants to contact us with suggestions, ideas, criticisms, or things they would like to see in future editions of the EHC newsletter. You can always email to info@gomio.com, call on +49 30 2462 8500, or send us a letter or postcard to…
European Hostel Cooperation GmbH
Schedter Str. 227
10435 Berlin
Germany