European Hostel Cooperation Newsletter – OCTOBER 2008

Welcome to the October 2008 edition of the European Hostel Cooperation Newsletter. As always we have a bunch of good stuff for you, including news from the EHC on the 8th European Hostel Meeting to be held in Dresden in March 2009, some more information on the new and improved GOMIO.COM, as well as a round up of what’s new in the hostel scene and other travel and tourism titbits that we thought were of interest. As always, if you have suggestions, or something that you would like to see in a future edition of the newsletter, please do not hesitate to drop us a line at info@gomio.com.

European Hostel Meeting in Dresden on March 28th and 29th, 2009

In 2009, the European Hostel Meeting will be held for the first time in Germany - in Dresden and is organized by the Hostels of Dresden and the Dresden Tourist Board. The first day of the EHM will feature presentations and workshops as it has been in previous years in the past years. One new element will be some Best-Practice workshops, where we would like to encourage hostel owners to discuss and work on different topics and issues. On the second day the successful Trade Fair will once more be held. All participants will be given the opportunity to set up a stand, marketing their products and actively interact, focusing on partnerships and sales opportunities. As the success of the last meeting showed, we will be providing a direct possibility for hostel owners and partners/agents to establish relationships and deals beneficial for both sides.

If you are interested in holding a workshop or a presentation, please get in touch now with Michael Lottes at office@lollishome.de.

Sponsorship Opportunities

There will be once again opportunities for valued companies to sponsor the European Hostel Meeting.

Sponsoring the EHM will give your company the following opportunities to communicate and trade:

• You can get in direct contact with your clients – free from their daily distractions – from all over the world and all in one location.
• Meet a group of leaders in their market who are always seeking new products and improvements to maintain their position.
• Exposure to more than 2200 hostel owners in their daily accessed online management system, as well as a continual exposure through the EHC
• bi-monthly newsletter with an active subscription base of over 4000 hostel owners, managers, agents, tour companies and industry professionals
• A chance to get your product information directly into the delegates hands
• The foundation of an exclusive contract with the European Hostel Meeting and opportunities for further cooperation and work with the EHC
• During the EHM itself you will have an exclusive table on the Trade Fair with a prominent spot – everyone will find you!

More Details

There are a number of different sponsorship options available, from exclusive to partial sponsorship, plus the chance to sponsor the legendary hostel party on the Saturday evening. If you would like more information, or to receive the “Sponsorship Pack” with details of all possibilities, please do not hesitate to contact us in the office at wenke@gomio.com or call us on +49 30 2462 8500.

Following the launch of the new design for GOMIO.COM, we have received many positive responses for which we are extremely grateful. As always, we welcome feedback, and if anyone has further comments or suggestions about the new-look GOMIO.COM, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

One thing that is very important for you to check is the position of your hostel on the Google maps which now feature prominently on the website. If you find that your hostel is NOT in the right place, please use the following page to find your correct position: you can find it here

Then send up the geo date (latitude and longitude) and we will happily make the changes to make sure your hostel is marked in the correct spot.

We are also pleased to announce that we have a new logo, and we kindly ask you to include this in your own website to help keep the bookings flowing. The new logo is here:

For your next booking
around the globe we recommend

Free Hostel Bookings - by the Hostels, for the Traveler

To add this to your website, please put the following line of code into the <head> section of your HTML Site:

<!--[if lte IE 7]><link href="http://www.gomio.com/css/gomio_ie.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/><![endif]-->

Now put the code below next to the logo into the section of your HTML Site.

<div class="gomio-backlink"> <a href="http://www.gomio.com" title="Free Hostel Bookings" target="_blank" style="color: #000; text-decoration: none; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; width: 237px; text-align: center; padding: 0 10px 3px 10px; width: 233px; display: block;"> <b>For your next booking<br> around the globe we recommend</b> <img class="trans1" src="http://www.gomio.com/images/linklogos/gomio_res.png" alt="Free Hostel Bookings" border="0"> <div style="font-size: 9px; color: #7a9b1d;"> Free Hostel Bookings - by the Hostels, for the Traveler </div> </a> </div>

To choose from a wider range of logos, please follow this link: http://www.gomio.com/logos.htm

Another new feature that we are launching are TOP RATED Hostels. We decided that we should honour the great work that goes on in hostels around the world, and so we will use the guest’s ratings to find who the TOP RATED Hostels are. They will then receive a banner which they can place on their own website. We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the first recipients of this new feature…keep up the good work!

Michael from Lollis Homestay in Dresden wants us to announce that there is a completely new software for the flyer exchange program.  Despite it is much faster then the old one, it has a couple of new features.  For example you can now block other hostels from sending their flyers to you.  This feature is open for everyone, also if you don't send flyers out.  Also there are now discounts possible for networks and many other improvements..  You can have a look at the new system: www.flyerexchange.net and login with user: test, password: testtest  For any more detailed questions ask Michael office@lollishome.de  If you want to mail your brochures out with this centrally organized flyer exchange you should know the next closing-date is October 13th."

There have been some exciting changes at the Independent Hostel Guide.   We have launched a new website www.IndependentHostelGuide.co.uk which features loads more European Hostels and has great google maps.

In the past all hostels paid for a page feature on the website and in the guide book.  But from 2009 hostels outside the UK will only pay for website feature and will get a line listing in the guidebook for free.   We think you will like our new prices and to get your hostel onboard we are offering three years on the website and three listings in the guidebook for only 63 Euros. Wow !

If you would like to grab this offer while it’s still around email sam@backpackersPress.com +44 1629 580427

As always in the EHC newsletter we like to welcome new hostels to the scene, and this time around we would like to let the folks from the Jazz Hostels in Montreal, and the Zaragoza Hostel introduce themselves. Please remember, if you have a new hostel opening, or have anything relating to your place that you would like us to announce in a future edition of the EHC newsletter, then please let us know.

Jazz Hostels Montreal: Jazz Hostels has gone international with our new hostel in Montreal open for business on August 3, 2008! Located on rue Ontario at the corner of rue Saint Denis, we are located in the heart of the Latin Quarter that is known best for its cafes, bars, theatres, boutiques, and artistic atmosphere. Just outside and surrounding the hostel are a wide variety of restaurants and bars, frequented by travelers as well as students from the many colleges and universities in the area. Everything is in walking distance including the Red Light District, the Gay Village, McGill University, and Sherbrook, St. Laurent, and St. Catharine Streets.

The hostel itself is a charming building with antique décor and an intimate feel. Half of the building is still operating as the VIP Loft Hotel, a well-known 3-star boutique hotel. Now under new management, Jazz Hostels has opened some of the VIP rooms to travelers seeking the hostel experience – clean and inexpensive accommodations, in the center of town, with a terrific staff to make your stay the best it can be.

More Information: http://www.jazzhostels.com/jazzstdenis.php

Zaragoza Hostel: We just open a new Hostel close to the International Expo Zaragoza 2008. The hostel is an unbelievable medieval building that we completely refurbished keeping the original style of the great palace it used to be! We are located right in the city centre and next to the great views of the river. We are inside the historical neighbourhood and next to the great “Cathedral La Pilarica”. Zaragoza Hostel places you right on the spot to enjoy of the most authentic Spanish fiesta and take vibes of the mysterious city ready to be explored. Welcome travellers!

More Information: http://www.zaragozahostel.com

It is always great when we see positive articles about hostels and hostelling in the mainstream media, and a couple of pieces that have appeared recently were brought to our attention and that we would like to share with you.

The Observer newspaper carried a short piece on “luxury hostels” back in June, with mentions for Plus Florence, and the St Christophers Inn in Paris. You can read it online at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jun/08/hotels

The Observer’s sister paper the Guardian featured a long article on the Hostel Celica in Ljubljana, titled “Everything a hostel should be.” You can find the article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jul/05/budget.slovenia

Finally, there was a nice review of Rick’s Causeway Coast Hostel in the Times. Rick’s Causeway Coast hostel is in Portstewart, Northern Ireland, and you can find the article here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/where_to_stay/ireland/article4463858.ece

If your hostel is featured in the media, and you would like us to include a link in a future edition of the newsletter, please get in touch.

The Rise of Eco Hotels

There has been much talk over the last decade about eco-tourism projects, but for the most part they have been focussed in rural and other out of the way areas. An article in the Independent however took a look at the rise of urban eco-hotels, and it includes some useful information as to how hotels have been finding ways to be more sustainable and ecologically sound, such as how hotels have become carbon-neutral, have implemented waterless urinals and energy saving devices, and other interesting ideas.

You can read the article online, and there is plenty of food for thought: http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/the-rise-of-the-urban-ecohotel-921460.html

That’s about it for the October edition of the EHC Newsletter, but remember: we love to hear from you, and if you want to get in touch with us at the EHC for any reason at all, here’s how to do it:

European Hostel Cooperation
Schwedter Str. 227
10435 Berlin
Germany

Telephone: +49 30 2462 8500
Fax: +40 30 2462 8501
Email: info@gomio.com.

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