Accommodation

Types of accommodation

Move over luxury hotels! Backpackers' accommodations of choice vary from homestays to hostels, guesthouses to tents, budget hotels to roadside motels. Your daily choice of home-away-from-home can enrich your experience and should be easier on the pocketbook. My personal best find yet was a double room with balcony in a Nepali village for a mere 14 cents per night!

Of most interest to those Europe or Australia bound, there is a world wide network of economical youth hostels called International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF), also commonly known as Hostelling International (HI). With affiliated hostels numbering over 5000, the association boasts an international computerized reservations system which members can access in HI hostels within major gateway cities, or via the telephone or internet at www.hihostels.com. Travellers can buy a one-year membership with HI which will afford them discounts at member hostels and may in some cases be required to be allowed to stay. All but a select few are open to travellers of all ages. Some hostels have dormitory style rooms as well as single and double rooms, family and couples rooms. Locations often boast some combination of kitchen facilities, common rooms, games, television, laundry, lockers and behind the desk safes for valuables. They also offer opportunities to network with other young travellers and are generally great sources of information for budget travellers. Best of all, depending on where in the world you are, your local HI hostel could be located in castles, caves, treehouses, boats and old jailhouses! One drawback to hostels is that some hold a lockout period during the day, in which time you can not check in or out, or even be in your room. This precludes siestas and returning to your room for items you have forgotten during the day. Some hostels also have curfews. If you have not prearranged a key (sometimes possible) and you miss curfew, you might as well settle in for sweet dreams on the nearest park bench or stretch of cobblestone. Also note that many hostels require patrons to have their own sheet bags (as opposed to sleeping bags which can harbour lice and bedbugs), or to rent one from the hostel. Independent (non HI-affiliated) hostels are becoming more popular and equally competitive these days. For a listing of 'all' hostels world wide, check out www.hostels.com, www.hostelworld.com and/or www.hostelz.com. These three sites differ in the amount and nature of information (and services!) they offer - check out all three!

YMCA and YWCA lodging centres with beds for men and women exist in many locales as well. Another option is universities and colleges which may open their residences to travellers of any age during the Christmas and summer holiday periods. Local homestay programs, where you stay in a room in the house of a local family, may be available in certain regions and are great for getting an authentic taste of local culture and personality. And even if you don't have a tent, check out local campgrounds which may have inexpensive cabins or trailers available for rent. Camping in your tent is, of course, a cheap alternative, and in some countries you can legally pitch your tent anywhere as long as you are a minimum distance from private dwellings. Finally, there is generally a local abundance of guesthouses (under various nomenclature), motels and hotels from dirt cheap to exorbitant in price, negative star to five star plus. Check out your options in your guidebook, by word of mouth and in local non-partisan tourist information facilities.

Finding your room

You will want to arrive earlier in the day to find your accommodation if there is any chance that vacancy may be an issue. Keep in mind that the best sounding places to stay in your popular guidebook are very likely to be the busiest thanks to that guidebook. If one place is full, try asking the desk for recommendations for another place. Beware too that if you are on the once daily bus or train into town, competition for available rooms might happen quite quickly.

Touts aren't always a bad thing in the traveller's world, but exercise a little awareness. Touts are locals who generally search out travellers who look to be in need of a service (tour, place to stay, place to eat), or more honestly, travellers who look to be simply alive and breathing. It is their job, either as proprietor or commissioned employee, to direct you towards a certain provider of this service you, ahem, so desperately need. Sometimes, they can be a pain, but other times they can direct you towards gems that aren't presented in your guidebook. They may just save you time and trouble but beware of the rates you should be paying - find out what others are paying so that you don't simply end up padding the pocket of the tout. Avoid so-called deals where you commit to multiple nights of stay, or ones that involve a cheap taxi ride to a guesthouse you have not yet seen. Finally, be aware of invisible touts. They could be your friendly tourist information desk staff, an innocent-seeming passerby, or your very own cab driver. They may tell you the guesthouse you are inquiring about is closed down, or full, and then suggest another place for you to try. You can bet they'll be getting a commission if you end up there. It's not necessarily a bad thing to go with a tout that you have a general trust for, but it is best to be able to recognize there vested interests.

See the room first

Find out about your potential room. Private or dormitory? Number and size of beds? Are there mosquito nets if applicable? Electricity or not, and at what times of day does the generator go on and off? Heat, air conditioning or fan? Shared or private bathroom? Hot water? Shower or tub? Dormitories are generally cheaper but have more inherent risks and cons. Access to the room - and your belongings - is virtually unguaranteed with multiple inhabitants each with key. Not to mention that thievery among travellers can be prevalent too. You may also find yourself sharing a small space with travellers whose gender as well as snoring, teeth gnashing, partying, early bird and odourous habits are not compatible with your own preferences. If you consider a dorm stay, find out how many people the room holds and if it is gender specific, and also if there are lockers available for your use. If a curfew is in effect, you won't need to worry too much about late comers, but you may want to have those earplugs handy in case of snorers or early risers. A flashlight is nice to have in a dorm room too.

Always ask to see a room, private or dorm, before committing to it. Check out the location of the room - is it near noisy common areas, bathrooms, stairwells, fans or generators or hot boiler rooms, laundry rooms or kitchens? Rooms near stairwells are better for emergency exits but are also, for that reason, more thievable. Are there accessible emergency exits in case of fire? Are there smoke detectors? Check out the cleanliness of the beds - make sure there are fresh sheets and if you are a fussy sleeper, you may want to test out the bed. Does any promised electricity, fan, heat or air conditioning actually work? Do the doors and windows open and close and lock and unlock? Women especially should look for any holes in the wall or two-way mirrors through which they can be spied on (spot a two-way mirror by placing your finger nail against the mirror - you should be able to see a gap between it and its reflection - if there is no gap, it is a two way mirror). Have a look at the bathroom - shared or private. Does the water run clean and hot? How many people share the bathroom? Can you cope with the squat toilet or the pour-the-bucket-of-water-over-your-head style shower facilities?

Checking in

If the room doesn't meet your needs, don't be afraid to move on. If you are happy to stay, compare your quoted rates with any posted rates, and find out what is included in your stay (i.e. breakfast?), or more importantly what extra costs and taxes might arrive on your final bill. It is not unheard of for accommodations to charge extra for the use of kitchen facilities, laundry, hot showers and compulsory meals.

Avoid committing monetarily or collaterally to multiple night stays - you never know what circumstances might arise mid-stay that will make you want to leave (noisy neighbours, poor plumbing, bad weather, attractive travel offers).

Security in your home-away-from-home

You can often secure your private room from the inside or from the outside with your own personal combination lock - this may in fact be your only door locking option. Remember though that any method you use to keep marauders out may also keep out help in case of fire or other emergency. If there is a chance your room will be made up while you are out for the day, consider using the Do Not Disturb sign on your door to minimize exposure of your possessions to any hotel staff.

If you expect to arrive in later in the night after a day or evening out, find out if a curfew applies and if you can get a key. Find out at what time the main door locks and if there is a bell or buzzer for someone to let you in. If you choose to leave valuables (money, passport, etc.) with the desk or in a keyed safe, place them in an envelope and sign your name across the seal - that way you will be able to tell if they have been tampered with.

If you are staying in a dormitory, consider carrying your valuables with you to the bathroom (in a plastic bag), and sleeping with them in the bottom of your sleeping bag. This will simply reduce the risk of your hard earned travel money being spent by another traveller.

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