Do big hostels need a bar to create a good atmosphere?
August 13th, 2008 by Tim Uden
I recently read a post on the forums at hostelmanagement.com (a great site if you want the inside scoop on hostelling from the hostel manager’s perspective) that says that a large hostel without a bar is a large boring hostel and the kitchen/common room scene only really works in small hostels.
This made me think about hostels – both big and small – that I have stayed at and what makes them tick. Are small hostels always better and does a big hostel need a bar to not be boring.
I hadn’t really considered that before although it makes sense. However on reflection I don’t really think it is the bar that gives the hostel atmosphere, but the decor of the common areas. It just happens that most hostels pay more attention to the interior design of a bar because it is a revenue producing area.
I’ve been to a lot of large boring hostels, but there are also plenty of big hostels without bars that manage a good atmosphere. The good big hostels without bars pay more attention to design and have the common areas in warm colours, with interesting furnishings and some art to give it a cosy feel. Even a big hostel can have a warm atmosphere if the right attention is paid to design.
Being big doesn’t mean being charmless and impersonal and being part of a big chain shouldn’t mean that either. A lot of big hostels buy the cheapest furniture to fill their vast common areas and they end up looking as cosy as a hospital cafeteria. Those that put thought – and a little money – into their business have a better atmosphere.
As a non-hostel example, let’s compare multi-store chains like Burger King and Starbucks. One feels cold and plastic and the other is warm and inviting in comparison. They are both chains with thousands of almost identical outlets; the difference is that one has darker warmer colours, dimmed lighting and comfortable seating and the other has bright colours and cold and plastic furnishings.
Sure Starbucks doesn’t have the atmosphere of a small independent cafe, but it is a lot better than if might have been with a different interior design.
If good design can make even a big corporate outlet feel welcoming and that means that design can transform any retail or hospitality business and that includes hostels.
Now back to the question of whether a bar improves a hostel. Well it comes down to how the bar is incorporated into the hostel and how it is run.
Wake Up! (Sydney, Australia) has a bar, but it doesn’t really add any atmosphere to the hostel because it is downstairs away from the main ground floor common area. Likewise the bar at Nomads Capital (Wellington, New Zealand) doesn’t add to the hostel’s atmosphere because it isn’t in the hostel, you have to go next door for the bar.
However a bar is a more central feature of Nomads Industry (Melbourne, Australia) as it incorporates the main ground floor common area, making it a top choice of Melbourne’s flashpackers’ hostels. On a smaller scale, Kimberley Klub (Broome, Australia) wouldn’t be the same without its poolside bar.
For a bar to improve the hostel’s atmosphere; it has to be integrated with the common area and it has to have the right atmosphere so guests who don’t want to drink will feel comfortable hanging out there as well.
A bar can detract from the atmosphere if it is poorly run. For instance Globetrotters Inn in London and Edinburgh have bars but they just feel depressing and you have to pay for everything at the bar and elsewhere in the hostel using a prepaid smart card. It just shows that the management don’t trust their staff with money and the lack of trust creates an unwelcoming and uncomfortable atmosphere.
Big hostels can’t rely on the owner’s personality so they have to try harder to create the right atmosphere, but it can be done. However having a bar is not always the answer.
One Response to “Do big hostels need a bar to create a good atmosphere?”
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September 19th, 2008 at 8:32 am
a lot of the time, a bar can pull the resources away from the common areas of the hostel because a nice comfy (and possibly expensive) tv lounge area might draw you away from spending money in the bar……its like spending money to lose money