Youth hostels – a meeting place to relax and engage in dialogue
A German educator had the vision of a youth hostel more than a hundred years ago. Today there are more than 400 such facilities in Germany.
Youth hostels offer more than just affordable accommodation. In addition to organising joint activities, they provide opportunities for travellers to gain deeper insights into the country and its people. An interview about the youth hostel experience with Professor Günther Schneider, president of the youth hostel umbrella association.
Youth hostel – that sounds like accommodation for young people. At what age would somebody be too old for to stay at one?
You’re never too old. We now have more and more families and single adult guests staying with us. It’s an affordable way to spend the night for anyone who wants to experience a sense of community. We see ourselves as offering a place to meet, relax and socialise. People who’ve never met before get together to play basketball, go hiking, collect herbs or take part in democracy role-plays.
Youth hostels can accommodate people from all over the world. Why is it so important for something like this to be available for international travellers?
The youth hostel concept is all about cultural openness, so it’s hugely relevant to society today. Regardless of people’s origin, it’s important for them to get to know the country and its people, and also engage in dialogue with each other. We maintain close-knit international exchange with our partner organisations in countries such as China, Poland and Japan, too. The IOU Respect programme alone involved 1,000 people.
You need to be a member to stay the night at a hostel. How do you get membership?
You can take out membership online at jugendherberge.de or become a member directly on site at the youth hostel. We currently have 2.4 million members and 9.4 million overnight stays per year. What’s great for us is that we hardly have any fluctuation in terms of membership numbers. Even during the COVID-19 period when hostels had to close, our members remained loyal.
The DJH is one of the biggest public service associations in Germany. Where did the concept of the youth hostel originate?
A teacher called Richard Schirrmann had the vision of a youth hostel in 1909. He went on an eight-day hiking trip with his class and had problems finding places to sleep. So he thought: how nice it would be to be able to hike from one hut to the next.
This idea took hold in Germany and then spread all over the world. Today there are 2,500 hostels in 60 countries. Every two years, the representatives of our global association Hostelling International meet for their international conference – this year the meeting is due to take place in Berlin in September.
