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Welcome to the January European Hostel Cooperation Newsletter, the first of 2005!
We have finalised the information for the Hostel Meeting in Prague, and collected
together some other interesting things that we have been made aware of over
the last few weeks. Also, we are looking for new shareholders for the European
Hostel Cooperation, information about which can be found in the EHC news...
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| 4th European Hostel Meeting - Prague 2005 |
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It’s getting closer, and we are getting closer to the final schedule, but the
most important details as to what will go down in Prague in April has been decided.
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Date and Location
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The 4th European Hostel Meeting will take place from the 8th - 9th April in Prague,
Czech Republic. The exact venue is still to be confirmed, but we will let everyone
know before they arrive!
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Schedule
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The Hostel Meeting will combine lots of information with the chance to socialise
and catch up with old pals, or make new friends in the hostel scene. The schedule
for the meeting is roughly as follows:
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Friday 8th April
Evening: Welcome Drink - a nice and easy evening to start off the meeting, with
a chance to say hello to everyone and catch up. We would recommend that people
coming from further afield arrive on Friday evening to minimise the stress of
trying to get to Prague in time on Saturday morning.
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Saturday 9th April
Morning: Arrive at the meeting venue and wake up with coffee, tea and soft drinks
(that will be available throughout the day), and an introductory ‘welcome talk’ about
what has happened over the last 9 months since Rome.
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Lunchtime: A lovely buffet to give everyone energy for the afternoon.
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Afternoon:
Fair: Throughout the afternoon there will be space for flyer exchange and other
hostel-related businesses to talk to each other and share their information
and material.
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Workshops: The workshops will take place throughout the afternoon and
will be optional to those that are interested, so you only have to sit through
what interests you! We have put together five workshops with the help of our
friends, and although the running order is yet to be decided, the topics that
they will explore are as follows:
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Workshops
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The workshops will take place throughout the afternoon and will be
optional to those that are interested, so you only have to sit through what
interests you! We have put together five workshops with the help of our friends,
and although the running order is yet to be decided, the topics that they will
explore are as follows:
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Regional Hostel Networks - This workshop will look at regional hostel networks
and what the advantages are for independent hostels to get involved. Three European
networks - Swiss Backpackers Network, Scottish Independent Hostels, and the Backpacker
Network Germany - will introduce themselves and their work, and can answer questions
relating to what they do.
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Working with National Tourist Authorities - Working with National Authorities
can be very frustrating for independent hostels, often being treated lightly
or even ignores. Sion Llewelyn (Cardiff Backpackers Hostel) has succeeded in
his patient work with the Welsh Tourism Board and will host this workshop to
share his knowledge and experience in how hostels can win over and work with
their relevant regional or national tourist authority.
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Hostel Market Developments: A Comparison - This workshop will compare and contrast
two very different hostel markets, the established, big city market of Berlin,
and the emerging markets of Poland. Andreas Becker (Circus Hostels, Berlin) and
Nathan Gendreau (Nathan’s Villa, Warsaw, Krakow and Sighisoara) will introduce
their respective markets and answer any questions people might have.
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European Hostelling Research - In writing these newsletters it has become apparent
that there is a lack of information about the hostel market and hostelling scene
in Europe. This workshop is aimed and bringing together anyone who is interested
in helping to undertake a research project to collect information surrounding
our industry. The workshop will look at some of the research already undertaken,
what issues are important to explore, and how we can progress.
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Reservations Software Introduction - Increasingly reservation software is important
for hostels, and so we decided to invite all the different reservation software
suppliers to present their products to give everyone as close to possible overview
of the market. The providers will introduce their software and answer questions,
and will be around at the fair as well so you can check it all out. So far Charts,
DormProject and the GOMIO software will be present, and we are waiting on the
replies of some others.
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These are only the workshops we have finalised. If there is anything else that
you think is important to be discussed, or issues you would like raised at
the meeting, please get in contact with us. We want the meeting to be both
a social event and interesting for the participants, and so any suggestions
are gratefully received. The person in the office who is looking after the
meeting is Katrin, and she can be contacted at katrin.schoenig@gomio.com.
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Price and Registration
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The price of the conference includes the meeting itself, a welcome drink on the
Friday night, tea, coffee and soft drinks throughout the meeting, a lunch buffet
on the Saturday and, of course, the infamous Hostel Party on the Saturday night.
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Price
For European Hostel Cooperation Members: €40
For non-members: €50
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To pre-register please click on the link to send your details to:
katrin.schoenig@gomio.com,
or use our registration form.
Please also have a look at the conference page.
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Accommodation
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Some of our lovely friends in Prague have offered the participants in the 4th
European Hostel Meeting a discount on accommodation on Friday and Saturday
nights. Please, in emails or on the telephone when you are making your accommodation
bookings, mention that you are coming for the Hostel Meeting.
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These are the hostels that have already offered to give participants a discount,
but we are also contacting other hostels and hotels for deals, and as soon
as we know we will let people know details of these as well.
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Sir Toby’s Hostel - have kindly offered those coming to the hostel meeting a
25% discount
Address: Delnická 24,170 00 Praha 7
Telephone: + 420 283 870 635
Email: info@sirtobys.com
Website: www.sirtobys.com
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Travellers Hostel - have kindly offered those coming to the hostel meeting a 30%
discount
Address: Dlouhá 33, 110 00 Praha 1
Telephone: + 420 224 826 662
Email: hostel@travellers.cz
Website: www.travellers.cz
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Pension Unitas - have kindly offered those coming to the hostel meeting a 20%
discount
Address: Bartolomejska 9, 110 00 Praha 1
The Pension Unitas has asked that people book through their website www.unitas.cz,
and that people should mention the phrase ‘European Hostel Meeting’ in the contents
section of the reservation form.
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Miss Sophies Hostel - have kindly offered those coming to the hostel meeting
a 25% discount
Address: Melounova 3, 120 00 Praha 2
Telephone: +420 296 303 530
Email: reservation@miss-sophies.com
Website: www.miss-sophies.com
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If you want to come to Prague but are having any problems finding accommodation,
please let us know!
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Transport Tips
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For those of you further than a train ride away from Prague, here are some of
the budget airlines that fly into the city - although most of you probably
already know this!
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| Copenhagen (Kastrup) - SmartWings |
Copenhagen (Kastrup) - Snowflake |
| Copenhagen (Kastrup) - Sterling |
Paris (Charles De Gaulle) - SmartWings |
| Cologne-Bonn - Germanwings |
Dortmund - easyJet |
| Friedrichshafen - Intersky |
Thessaloniki - SmartWings |
| Dublin - SmartWings |
Rome (Ciampino) - SmartWings |
| Amsterdam (Schipol) - SmartWings |
Oslo (International) - Norwegian Air Shuttle |
| Oslo (International) - Sterling |
Trondheim (Vaernes) - Norwegian Air Shuttle |
| Warsaw - centralwings |
Kosice - Sky Europe |
| Madrid (Barajas) - SmartWings |
Palma (Mallorca) - SmartWings |
| Gothenburg (Landvetter) - Sterling |
Stockholm (Arlanda) - Snowflake |
| Stockholm (Arlanda) - Sterling |
Stockholm (Bromma) - Snalskjutsen |
| Geneva - Flybaboo |
Zurich - helvetic |
| Belfast (International) - Jet2 |
Birmingham (International) - bmibaby |
| Bristol (International) - easyJet |
Cardiff - bmibaby |
| Doncaster - Thomsonfly |
Durham Tees Valley - bmibaby |
| Glasgow (International) - FlyGlobespan |
Kent (Manston) - EUjet |
| Leeds (Bradford) - Jet2 |
London (Gatwick) - SmartWings |
| London (Gatwick) - easyJet |
London (Stansted) - easyJet |
| Manchester - bmibaby |
Newcastle - easyJet |
| Nottingham East Midlands - bmibaby |
Nottingham East Midlands - easyJet |
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| Hostelling and Tourism News |
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Hostels in the Media
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Some hostels in Europe have been visited over the last few months by the Guardian
newspapers ‘netjetter’, who is attempting to travel to all the destinations
offered by the budget ‘no frills’ airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet. The
hostels that he has mentioned in his regular articles to the newspaper from
across Europe include the Cat’s Hostel in Madrid, the Hostel Celica in Ljubljana
and the Heart of Gold Hostel in Berlin. You can see the netjetter’s articles
on the Guardian website at:
travel.guardian.co.uk/netjetters
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We were also sent in the last week an article that appeared in the Korean website ‘Oh
My News’ which featured the Swiss Alp’s Retreat in Gryon, and gave it a very
positive review, describing it as a "serene environment to laze away the day".
You can read the whole article in English at:
eng.ohmynews.com
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Please remember, we love to include articles about hostels, hostelling and backpacking
for others to read in the EHC newsletters, so if you see any, or indeed your
hostel or organisation is featured in any, please send them in to us so we
can include them in the next newsletter. They do not have to be in English,
though we might have to ask for a translation if it is beyond our areas of
expertise!
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American Travellers and Railpass Prices
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There have been a number of scare stories in the American newspapers about
the strength of the Euro versus the Dollar, and the effect that this
might have on the numbers of Americans visiting Europe in 2005. 2004 was
the first year that the number of tourists from the United States reached
somewhere near the pre-September 11th figures, but the worry is that this
recovery may be short lived for economic reasons. One article that explores
the impact of the falling dollar, as well as looking at American tourism
to Europe in general can be found on the Seattle Times website at:
seattletimes.nwsource.com
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Some good news that might persuade the tourists from the United States that Europe
is not that bad value after all is the announcement from Eurail that for the
second year in a row the rail passes they offer will remain at 2003 levels,
increasing the discount for travellers and, in effect, reducing the price for
backpackers travelling on Europe’s trains. Details of the price freeze can
be found on the website European E Travel.net at:
www.europeetravel.net
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Australian Hostel Fire
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A fire in a backpackers hostel in Tasmania over the Christmas holiday period
led to the death of one of the guests staying there, a backpacker from Scotland.
This tragic news highlights again the importance of fire safety in hostels,
something which we covered in the October edition of the EHC Newsletter following
a fire in a hostel in Edinburgh. Thankfully in that situation the hostels equipment
and procedures were in place and excellent, and a tragedy such as the one that
happened recently.
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For information about the fire in Tasmania there is an article that appeared
in the Scotsman online at:
news.scotsman.com
To read Stuart Waddell’s entry about the fire in Edinburgh and the importance
of fire safety in hostels, go to:
www.gomio.com/newsletter/en/index0410.htm
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New Hostel in Berlin
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There’s a new hostel coming to Berlin! Just down the road from the European
Hostel Cooperation offices the CityStay Berlin is opening on April 1st 2005.
If you want to check out pictures of the new hostel, visit
www.citystay.de
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Remember, if you know of any hostels opening, or are opening a new house yourself
that you would like to introduce to the rest of Europe, please let us know
so that we can include the details in future European Hostel Cooperation newsletters.
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Tourism News Round - Up
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There are a few more little things that we found on travel and tourism in Europe that might be of interest.
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For those of you in the United Kingdom it was a record year for international
visitors in general, with big rises coming in visitors from long-haul destinations
and Eastern Europe. You can get all the details at
newsflash.europeetravel.net,
and we would be very interested in the opinions of those hostels in the UK
as to whether the general upsurge in tourism to the UK was mirrored within
the hostelling scene.
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Something which is understandably interesting for us, and anyone else who uses
the internet as part of their business, is the new figures that were released
recently showing the 34% increase in online travel sales in 2004 as opposed
to 2003. The research was done by the Centre for Regional and Tourism Research
in Denmark, and a full overview of their findings, and the impact that the
internet is having on European tourism can be found at
www.crt.dk
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Finally some more news from the European budget airlines. Dutch airline Basiqair
has changed its name to ‘Transavia’ (www.transavia.com), whilst German carrier
Germanwings has announced new routes from Cologne to Verona, Athens and Helsinki
that will begin in summer 2005 (www.germanwings.com). Easyjet will launch some
new routes from Belfast, to Rome and Berlin, starting in the summer (
www.easyjet.com).
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| European Hostel Cooperation News |
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European Hostel Cooperation Partnership Offer
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As we informed everyone in a previous EHC Newsletter, our Irish software partners
TravelFAT left the company, and so a substantial percentage of shares in the
European Hostel Cooperation are available. To broaden the basis carrying the
EHC, and to finance the ongoing work of establishing a fully hostel-owned,
commission-free booking portal, the EHC is looking for partners to join the
existing 14 hostel partners in the company.
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If you run, own or manage a hostel in Europe, and are interested in becoming
a shareholder, please contact Andreas Becker in the head office any time between
now and the hostel meeting in Prague. We will be repeating this offer in the
next few EHC newsletters. So, for more information, email: andreas.becker@gomio.com
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Tsunami Appeal
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Thanks to all of you that responded to the European Hostel’s Tsunami Appeal,
and to all the hostels that contacted us to let us know what different things
they were doing to help the relief effort in South Asia.
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As we told the hostels that are helping with our appeal, we had to change the ‘cause’ for
which we are collecting as only a few days after the appeal email was sent out,
Medecins Sans Frontieres contacted us to tell us that they were no longer taking
any donations for the Tsunami relief effort. So in the end we decided that we
would collect money for Care International, a humanitarian organisation that
not only operates as part of the international relief effort, but will also stay
on in the region to assist in the re-development of the region in the long term.
We felt that this was important as too often following disasters, lots of money
is given for short-term emergency relief but the organisations struggle in the
longer term re-building and re-development. We will collect the money from the
hostels involved at the end of January and forward it to Care International then.
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If anyone would like more information about the Hostel’s Tsunami Appeal they
should contact Paul in the office at paul.scraton@gomio.com
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Everyone at the EHC would just like to say thanks for the response of Europe’s
hostels to the appeal, and also to all the hostels that sent us information about
appeals that they are working for which we have summarised below:
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The guys at Pilgrim’s Hostel in Valencia sent us an email to tell us that they
are working with the non-profit organisation Spes Maris in order to open up an
orphanage for the children of the fishermen of Phuket. If anyone is interested
in getting more information or helping out in any way they should contact them
at yhi@ctv.es.
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Robyn at the Swiss Alps Retreat in Gryon also sent us an email about the work
done by Wholistic World Vision in Sri Lanka, which you can get more information
on at www.wholisticworldvision.org.
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New Booking Process on GOMIO.COM
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For those of you working with the GOMIO.COM portal we have launched some new
developments to the booking system that we hope will increase the options for
the visitors of the site and therefore the number of bookings for the hostels.
The system that we have created allows the guests to book different numbers
of a guests on different days (if, for example, a friend is coming a day later)
and also beds in different room categories on the same day - i.e. 2 beds in
a dorm and also a double room (for the travelling couple!).
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The visitor to the site can now see what beds are available in what room types
for the duration of their stay, and so allows them to be a little more flexible
in their requirements if they really want to stay in a particular hostel. This
means that allocations can be used more efficiently and hopefully we can create
more bookings for the hostels.
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At the same time that we uploaded the booking system we also uploaded some changes
to the management system as well, to make viewing the new bookings either and
navigation simpler. If you have any questions about these changes, any problems
or any suggestions for how we can continue to improve, please do not hesitate
to get in contact.
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Advertising Opportunities on GOMIO.COM
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There are still spaces available for anyone who might be interested in advertising
on GOMIO.COM, and if you send us an email we can send over the advertising
pack which shows the different options available. Advertising space is
available on the country and city pages on the website, and the email address
for questions and more information is, predictably enough, advertise@gomio.com.
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Contact the European Hostel Cooperation
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So that’s your lot for January. Please let us know if you have any information
that you would like us to include in future EHC Newsletters, and if you want
to get in contact with us, with suggestions, criticisms, questions or comments,
here’s how you do so ...
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The European Hostel Cooperation GmbH
Johannisstrasse 2
10117 Berlin
Germany
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Telephone: +49 (0) 30 2462 8500
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Email: info@gomio.com
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All the best from your European Hostel Cooperation Team.
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