Hostel Essentials in 2022
A hostel no longer has to provide the backpacker with just a safe and comfortable bed.
All I ever wanted was a quiet place to lay my head. Away from the noise of traffic, a bed that didn't sag in the middle, a bunk that didn't creak.
A place that didn't break the bank.
And didn't have bed bugs.
And now, how things have changed. For me, an essential requirement of a hostel, is free drinking water and free coffee.
Here in Latin America most (not all) hostels and guest houses provide free drinking water.
It has become one of life's requisites. I have become accustomed to free drinking water.
To go to a hostel or guesthouse that doesn't provide drinking water is like going to a hostel or guesthouse that doesn't provide Wi-Fi. It just shouldn't happen.
Imagine you are in a hot country, sweating your ass off, day in day out. You should be drinking upwards of 3 litres of water a day.
If drinking water isn't provided, you will be forking out 2 USD, or more in certain places, on drinking water. That's a lot of cash. That's a lot of plastic.
Sometimes you can get free refills at restaurants or shops, or you can buy your own 20 litres. But if you are only in town for a few days, you just gotta buy the 1.5-litre bottles.
2 USD a day on water, when your hostel bed only costs 8 USD, is criminal
Free water is a Godsend.
Free water can save you 2 USD a day. Imagine!
2 USD a day. 14 USD a week. 60 USD a month. 700 USD a year.
***
Another thing I have become accustomed to here in Latin America is the free coffee provided by hostels (not all).
In my day as a young backpacker, hostels would provide free tea and coffee, Nescafé at best but sometimes it would run out and nobody bothered to get any more. Then hostels stopped offering free tea and coffee as everyone would steal the tea bags.
In Asia, where you mostly lodged in cheap hotels, nothing was offered. You carried a mug, a water heater and made your own. Or you went to a café. Chinese hostels always provided hot water for making tea.
A decent coffee here in El Salvador will set you back 2 USD. In Mexico, 1.5 USD.
I need 2 coffees in the morning. That's 3 to 4 USD on coffee.
3-4 USD a day on coffee when your hostel bed only costs 8 USD, is criminal.
Free coffee is a Godsend.
Free coffee can save you 3-4 USD a day. Imagine!
3-4 USD a day. 21-28 USD a week. 90-120 USD a month. 1095-1460 USD a year.
Free drinking water. Free coffee. Hostel Essentials 2022
A place that didn't break the bank.
And didn't have bed bugs.
And now, how things have changed. For me, an essential requirement of a hostel, is free drinking water and free coffee.
Here in Latin America most (not all) hostels and guest houses provide free drinking water.
It has become one of life's requisites. I have become accustomed to free drinking water.
To go to a hostel or guesthouse that doesn't provide drinking water is like going to a hostel or guesthouse that doesn't provide Wi-Fi. It just shouldn't happen.
Imagine you are in a hot country, sweating your ass off, day in day out. You should be drinking upwards of 3 litres of water a day.
If drinking water isn't provided, you will be forking out 2 USD, or more in certain places, on drinking water. That's a lot of cash. That's a lot of plastic.
Sometimes you can get free refills at restaurants or shops, or you can buy your own 20 litres. But if you are only in town for a few days, you just gotta buy the 1.5-litre bottles.
2 USD a day on water, when your hostel bed only costs 8 USD, is criminal
Free water is a Godsend.
Free water can save you 2 USD a day. Imagine!
2 USD a day. 14 USD a week. 60 USD a month. 700 USD a year.
***
Another thing I have become accustomed to here in Latin America is the free coffee provided by hostels (not all).
In my day as a young backpacker, hostels would provide free tea and coffee, Nescafé at best but sometimes it would run out and nobody bothered to get any more. Then hostels stopped offering free tea and coffee as everyone would steal the tea bags.
In Asia, where you mostly lodged in cheap hotels, nothing was offered. You carried a mug, a water heater and made your own. Or you went to a café. Chinese hostels always provided hot water for making tea.
A decent coffee here in El Salvador will set you back 2 USD. In Mexico, 1.5 USD.
I need 2 coffees in the morning. That's 3 to 4 USD on coffee.
3-4 USD a day on coffee when your hostel bed only costs 8 USD, is criminal.
Free coffee is a Godsend.
Free coffee can save you 3-4 USD a day. Imagine!
3-4 USD a day. 21-28 USD a week. 90-120 USD a month. 1095-1460 USD a year.
Free drinking water. Free coffee. Hostel Essentials 2022
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