Newsletter February 2007
Welcome to the European Hostel Cooperation Newsletter for February 2007. Below you will find the latest news from the European hostel scene, as well as from the broader travel and tourism community, plus we have further details on the 6th European Hostel Meeting that takes place at the end of March in Interlaken. So read on, and remember; we love to hear from you, especially comments, criticisms and suggestions for future editions of this newsletter, so drop us a line at info@gomio.com.
6thEuropean Hostel Meeting
Interlaken in 2007
The 6th European Hostel Meeting is coming up soon, and Conference Manager Danielle Brumfitt (danielle@gomio.com) has all the latest news…
With January behind us, the 6th European Hostel Meeting is now just around the corner. March 24th & 25th will see the most vibrant and exciting hostel owners/managers and industry members descend on the gorgeous town of Interlaken, Switzerland. If you haven’t yet registered, better do so while there are still spaces… Registration is found at:
www.europeanhostels.com.
Workshops
Besides the infamous Welcome Drinks & European Hostel Party, the gang at the European Hostel Cooperation have been busy setting up a relevant & informative set of presentations & workshops. Topics covered will include:
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PR – a Communications/PR specialist whose clients include eurolines.co.uk will be providing insight into how you can gain extra marketing through the wonderful FREE world of Public Relations.
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EU Funding – there’s more to go around – hear how hostels have found ways to work with the EU, winning grants to better round out their hostels & activities
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Associations Meeting – this will be a time for associations around Europe to meet and share successes & ideas. Demonstrating the power in numbers.
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Backpacking & Your Official Tourism Marketing Branch – hear from a Gov’t Tourism branch on how this industry can better work with their officials to promote hostels & backpacking.
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International Events – how did Germany prepare for the World Cup? What’s on the books for London? Hear how cities prepared for and dealt with world events.
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Breweries & Hostels – how they can better work together – come meet the guys from Scottish & Newcastle and hear first hand from hostel owners as to how they have turned relationships with breweries into profitable ones for their hostels.
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GOMIO.COM – what’s coming up next with this portal, and how you can benefit by being part of it.
These topics and more will be on the agenda – keep an eye on
www.europeanhostels.com for a full list by the end of the month.
We are also pleased to introduce you to this years sponsors: GOMIO.COM, Scottish & Newcastle & Online Systems. GOMIO.COM you are all familiar with (and will be able to find out even more information in their workshop). We are happy to introduce you to our Silver Sponsor, Online Systems (www.online-int.com.au) an interesting solution to all your reception management questions. Make sure to check out their booth at the Trade Show on the 25th. And for those thirsty among you… Scottish & Newcastle, will be quenching that thirst not only with some tasty products, but with information on how you can better profit from working closer with breweries in your own hostels.
Scottish & Newcastle - Building the brands that people love to drink
The Youth Hostel industry has already proven itself an interesting area for breweries in the UK, and Scottish & Newcastle, the seventh largest brewing company in the world, is looking to explore opportunities in other markets too. The young, international, open-minded hostel culture fits perfectly to S&N’s international brand portfolio - that’s why we’re so excited that S&N has been accepted as the platinum sponsor of this year’s European Hostel Meeting.
S&N has market leading positions in 15 countries across Europe and Asia, and key positions in major export markets, including the USA. Our portfolio includes three of the top ten beer brands in Baltika, Foster’s and Kronenbourg 1664 as well as many national market leaders.
Teams from local markets, including S&N Germany, will represent the company at the Meeting. The international team will introduce participants to the S&N brand portfolio, answering questions about the company that ‘builds the brands that people love to drink’ and promoting discussions on how youth hostels and breweries can work together to build mutually beneficial business. Selected brands will be available to taste on several opportunities throughout the meeting: FOSTER’S - Australia’s famous beer represents the laid back lifestyle from Australia and is sold in over 150 countries; Strongbow is a clean and crisp cider which leads the UK cider market; Bulmer’s is a natural and refreshing cider served traditionally over ice; Newcastle Brown Ale, ‘The One and Only’, is a full-flavoured yet easy to drink ale, recognisable by its distinctive Blue Star, and K1664 is France’s best loved beer and no.2 premium Lager in UK. We look forward to seeing you in Interlaken!
What Else?
Don’t forget all the incredible experiences that the Jungfrau region has to offer. Opportunities will exist all day on the 24th to test your adrenaline and book some adventure at the Adventures Interlaken booth. Why not spend an extra day to relax, or excite.
We look forward to welcoming all of you in Interlaken.
Register Now
Further details on the 6th European Hostel Meeting, tales of meetings past, and the all important registration form can be found online, and just a click away, at:
http://www.europeanhostels.com/
EHC and Hostels News
New Address for the EHC
On December 1st the European Hostel Cooperation and GOMIO.COM moved to a new address in Berlin. Email, fax and telephone numbers will remain the same, so from the beginning of December our contact details will be as follows:
The European Hostel Cooperation
Schwedter Strasse 227,
10435 Berlin
Germany
Telephone: +49 30 2462 8500
Fax: +40 30 2462 8501
Email: info@gomio.com
European Hostel Survey
For those of you that have been reading the European Hostel Cooperation newsletters over the last year, you will know that we have been undertaking a survey on the guests of hostels across Europe. As we would like to present the numbers in Interlaken (and again, online) we would ask any of those hostels that agreed to take part to send back any completed surveys that they have. If you have any questions, please drop us a line on info@gomio.com.
And to those hostels who have already returned their completed surveys, a great big thank you, and we are sure that the results we get will be both useful and interesting for everyone in the European hostel scene.
Backpacker Network Meeting Review
The EHC’s Helga Jäckel was at the German Backpacker Network 2006 meeting in Oberhausen, and wrote the following report. Check out www.backpackernetwork.de for more information on the German Backpacker Network.
"The annual meeting of the German Backpacker Network 2006 took place between November 23th to 26th in Oberhausen and was hosted by the 'In Hostel Veritas'.
The Ruhrpott area in the West of Germany - where you will find Oberhausen - was the theme of the program surrounding the actual meeting. The participants drank Ruhrpott beer, ate Ruhrpott food and were carried to industrial monuments and of course other Ruhrpott hostels.
Around 60 hostel people took part and it was a reunion of friends old and new, discussing hostel issues in Germany. Ronny (Sleepy Lion/Central Globetrotter Leipzig) provided retrospective on the World Cup 2006 in Germany and how the hostels dealt with it. The overall financial result was positive and none of the hostels had problems with aggressive fans.
Peter (Odyssee Globetrotter Hostel Berlin) spoke about off-line bookings: a system the German Backpacker Network invented which offers free bookings within the network. The customer staying at one of the member hostels can go to reception and they will arrange and confirm the stay in another member hostel: no booking fee, no credit card, no permanent checking of emails. Later on two different back office programs for hostels were introduced. Michael Foltz from the Stranger Hostels in Poland presented hostelpower.com which is still in the process of being developed. The other software shown was Dormproject by Alixon it from Switzerland.
Lolli (Lollis Homestay Dresden) came up with an idea for a system of quality assurance for hostels. He pointed out that sociability should be the main interest that hostels shall work on. He made a list on how to ensure the highest possible sociability in the common area. This index could be included on the German Backpacker Network homepage.
The topic started a vivid discussion. At the end of the day Carolina (German Backpacker Network) spoke about other regional networks in Europe (Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland) and that it should be an aim to cooperate more on a European basis.
On a personal note I want to thank the 'In Hostel Veritas' Hostel for doing an excellent job!" – Helga.
Property Offer in Prague
We received an email from the guys at Private Property in the Czech Republic, who asked if we could introduce them in the newsletter. As we are an obliging bunch we agreed, mainly because we think it is of interest for anyone thinking of opening a hostel or expanding their existing business in Prague.
They are a “boutique developer” who specialise in niche accommodation projects, and currently have a number of sites in the pipeline that they think would be perfect for budget accommodation. If you are interested in more information you can check out their website (http://www.privateproperty.cz) or send them an email at info@privateproperty.cz.
New Hostel in Krakow
As always, we like to introduce new hostels to the European scene in the EHC newsletter, and this edition is no exception, with news from Krakow as the Tutti Frutti Hostel recently opened its doors for this first time. You can check out the new place (and their "juicy staff") online at http://www.tuttifruttihostel.com.
Remember, if you are opening a new hostel, or a new location, or are re-opening after renovation, or you have any news whatsoever from your hostel that you would like to share with the European hostel scene then let us know so we can include it in future editions of this newsletter.
Travel and Tourism News
TNT Reader Survey
TNT Magazine, the "bible" for Aussie, Kiwi and South African travellers who wind up in London (as well as expats in Australia and New Zealand) have just published some of the results from their readers survey, which as many of their readers are the same Aussie, Kiwi and South Africans that wind up on hostel doorsteps across Europe, we thought it might be interesting to highlight some of their findings here.
They found that their readers have more money than ever before, with 15% earning over GBP 30,000, in comparison to only one in ten a year before, whilst their digital activities were also documented, and they found that nearly 60% have internet access at home, and over a third have a blog or use community networking sites such as MySpace.
You can read more on the TNT reader survey on their website, at: www.tntmagazine.com
Ryanair Announce New German Base
Ryanair’s bid to dominate the low cost skies over Europe continues apace, as they announce the opening of the 19th European base at the amusing named Düsseldorf Weeze airport. There will be ten new routes launched from Weeze, bringing travellers both to and from Germany and the following destinations:
Alghero /Alicante / Barcelona / Glasgow / London / Palma / Rome / Shannon / Stockholm / Venice
You can read more on the Ryanair expansion plans online at: http://www.finfacts.com/
More Brits Abroad
No doubt related to the explosion of low cost carriers such as Ryanair, some more recent news is that there are more people heading abroad from the United Kingdom than ever before. Over the final three months of 2006, 17.2 million overseas trips were undertaken by British residents, and the total for the year was 68.4 million (roughly one for every man, woman and child in the country).
Trips to Europe increased by 2%, whilst to the United States they fell by 8%. Overall the increase was 3% compared to the year before. Meanwhile, more foreigners were visiting the UK than ever before…no wonder the skies above Britain are crowded!
More information: http://travel.guardian.co.uk
Latest Tourism Trends
We also found some further tourism trends in time for this edition of the European Hostel Cooperation newsletter. The following information comes from www.tourmis.info. You need to register to get access to their statistics, but registration is free, and it is a mine of information for anyone interested in latest market trends and tourism figures for European destinations.
For some of the major tourism destinations there were some interesting figures when it came to the percentage increase or decrease in the number of arrivals. Please bear in mind that the period measured varies for the following destinations, as not all countries had complete figures for 2006.
Total foreign arrivals, in comparison to 2005: Austria +1.2%, Bulgaria +6.6%, Croatia +2%, Germany +9.2%, Greece +6.2%, Hungary –5.8%, Ireland +9.5%, Latvia +24%, Lithuania +9.6%, Netherlands +13%, Slovakia +12.3%, Spain +4.9%, Switzerland +7.9%, Turkey –8%, United Kingdom +7%
And Finally…the Art of Slow Travel
You might have heard of Slow Food, the movement devoted to real cooking and local produce, in response to the spread of uniform fast food establishments around the world. Now there is a new movement for travellers, called “Slow Travel”, that involves avoiding the aeroplane and swapping it for, well anything else. Trains, boats, canoes, bicycles, skateboards and your trusty feet…anything that doesn’t involve taking to the skies.
The aim is not just environmental. As with Slow Food, quality is key for the Slow Traveller, and the quality of experience that comes from making a steady transition from one destination to the next, as opposed to one air-conditioned antiseptic airport to the other.
An article in the Observer newspaper (see link below) explores the topic in more detail, and includes details of Ed Gillespie’s round the world trip which his in undertaking under the principles of Slow Travel. He says; “'I want to spark the fires of imagination. The enjoyment can start the minute you leave the front door.” Which is surely the whole point of travelling in the first place.
More on Slow Travel from the Observer: http://observer.guardian.co.uk