HOSTELING, U.S. STYLE

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Like hotels and motels, hostels provide weary wayfarers with clean places to relax, wash, eat, and sleep. However, unlike the more expensive accommodations, hostels stress the value of meeting and conversing with folks of different nationalities and backgrounds, whose outlook and experience may vary from your own.

A typical hostel consists of separate washrooms and dormitories for men and women ... as well as a communal kitchen, dining area, and living room. However, the travelers' hotels range in luxury from simple "shelter" hostels to "superior" accommodations that offer such amenities as laundry facilities, separate sleeping quarters for families, game rooms and music areas, saunas, swimming pools, canoe liveries, bicycle rentals, riding stables, cross-country ski trails, and the like.

A hostel building might be a log cabin, an old farmhouse, a suburban split-level, or a city high-rise. Many of the structures are on the national or state registers of historic places, and there are working farms, lighthouses, dude ranches, and even an old fire station to choose from. All of the dwellings offer the same basic services, yet—by virtue of each hostel's location and particular setup—every one is unique.

Furnishings in the low-cost retreats tend toward the simple and functional. Each bed will sport a mattress and several blankets, and guests are expected to bring (or rent) their own linens (see the accompanying sidebar on making a hosteler's sleeping sack). Most of the lodges have large, fully equipped kitchens available for travelers to use. (It's customary to bring along your own food, eating utensils, plate, bowl, and dish towel.) And, by preparing meals yourself, the way you like them, you can beat the high cost—and often dubious quality—of run-of-the-mill restaurant fare. (Some hostels do offer hearty, home-cooked breakfasts or dinners for an extra fee.)

Hosteling also differs from motel living in that, rather than employing desk clerks, most hostels have "houseparents"—living on or near the premises—who register guests, see that the building and grounds are kept clean and in good repair, assist travelers with information and directions, and make visitors feel welcome.

RULES OF THE HOUSE
As is the case in most group housing situations, hostels must impose certain rules in order to preserve individual rights in a community environment. Every visitor is, for example, expected to pick up after him-or herself, and to participate in general chores for a few minutes each morning. Taking out the trash or mopping the kitchen floor are typical of the duties assigned. Since all guests contribute some labor to the upkeep of the hostel, prices can be kept at a minimum without sacrificing standards of cleanliness.

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