It has been a tough summer for all accommodation businesses, but the worse effected are hostels and bunkhouses. This unique style of accommodation needs support from the Government to get them though the winter. There is a motion in Parliament and we need your help now. Read on to find out how.
Hostels and bunkhouses offer unique accommodation with shared self-catering kitchens, gardens and social areas. Their traditional guests come from multiple households, sharing the joy of holidaying together.
Walkers, cyclists, independent travellers and families meet at hostels. They share spaces, ideas and their experiences of the outdoors and heritage.
Clubs, schools and groups of friends & family book hostels for the sole use of their group. Drawn by the large communal spaces, the rural setting and the low cost.
This has made re-opening in the New Normal a real challenge for hostels and bunkhouses. Often previously flourishing accommodation suddenly became uneconomic to run. Not to be kept down, over two-thirds of hostels in the UK reopened this summer. Occupancy was reduced to allow social distancing and restrictions introduced on group sizes and households. You can read about the economic impact on these small independent businesses in Independent Hostels UK Covid-19 Report.
Hostels and bunkhouses now need support from the Government to get them though the winter and to ensure that this unique form accommodation will be around to provide low cost accommodation for healthy outdoor holidays in 2021.
Liz Saville-Roberts MP has tabled a motion in Parliament which any MP can add their signature to. The motion says that parliament should note that :- ” hostels are often used by people who intend to take part in outdoor activities and that ensuring that people can still access healthy outdoor holidays at accessible prices will be important after the covid-19 outbreak” and asks “the Government to underpin health measures with economic support and urgently put packages of support in place for the hostel sector”
You can support this vital form of accommodation by:-
Shareing our facebook and twitter posts.
Emailing your MP and asking them to support the Early Days Motion 1100 Support for Hostels.
In the words of Anita Kerwin-Nye from the YHA “Hostelling is a movement based on sharing. Sharing spaces, sharing ideas and sharing joy of nature, outdoors & heritage. Affordable travel is needed now more than ever.”
