They have stopped forcing guests to do chores, abandoned curfews and even started serving booze at some of their ritzier establishments. Now, in the latest stage of its modernisation programme, the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) is considering whether to finally allow men and women to share a dorm.
The strict gender division has existed since the YHA was formed 80 years ago, with no exceptions made for married couples, families or platonic friendship groups.
But amid increasing competition from antipodean-style backpackers' hostels that cram anyone and everyone into gargantuan dormitories where anything goes, the YHA has had to think about the hitherto unimaginable in order to stay in the game. By the end of the year, the association hopes to have started a pilot scheme offering mixed dorms in some of its inner-city hostels, a YHA spokeswoman said.
"We are obviously aware that a lot of people come to us and do want to share with members of the opposite sex, whether friends or partners," she said. "At the moment we don't offer it, but it's something we are looking into. One of our corporate managers is going to put a proposal together to suggest trialling it at one or two of our inner-city hostels, most likely in London.'
The move is sure to polarise opinion among those seeking a cheap bed for the night, said Tom Hall, travel editor of Lonely Planet. "Some people like segregated dorms because they don't want to feel uncomfortable getting undressed, and there is also the chance of being disturbed by potential naughtiness – I know that has happened to me," he said. "But I think that is probably cancelled out by people travelling more and more in mixed groups, or couples going on city breaks, who all want to be in the same room. These places are often now treated more like budget hotels than traditional hostels."
Plus, said Hall, British customers' expectations are very different nowadays. "Most young people's first experiences of hostels now are in New Zealand or Australia, where mixed dorms are the norm," he said. Among the backpacking community, opinions vary, with women most likely to oppose any change, fearing an increase in snores and smells from sleeping men, as well as worrying about security.
But outside the Journeys hostel – a non-YHA establishment – in King's Cross in London last week, some backpackers welcomed the move. Student Hannah Adler, 21, said: "It'd be a good thing, because it'll change the atmosphere for the better, and it certainly wouldn't make me feel unsafe. At the moment, the YHAs are too strict, and when you stay there, it sort of feels like you're back at school."
Martin Balaam, 40, said: "I think it's a great plan, because mixed dorms are the best things about independent hostels. Conversation is much easier in a mixed dorm – you get to meet both men and women, and so there's a much friendlier and more social atmosphere. I'm surprised they're thinking about it, though, because the YHA have always wanted a different sort of clientele."
But Jennifer Ridge, 65, was more wary. "I don't like the idea initially, because I think it'll be bad for the atmosphere," she said. "But if it helps the hostels stay open, if it helps them financially, then I think they've got to do it." Currently, all dorms in the YHA's 200 hostels in England and Wales are single sex, though an increasing number of hostels offer twin or double rooms for couples, as well as family rooms.The Observer: 12-4-10
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