Hostels are growing up and keeping pace with the people who grew up with them – travellers who now seek sophisticated social areas, curiosity-driven bonding opportunities and sustainability-focused properties that feel hip, modern and stylish. Across Australia and the world, hostels are transitioning to a hybrid model, with private rooms and smaller scale dorms replete with local makers, quality bedding and elevated gathering places punctuated by art and genuinely exciting design. To keep pace, traditional hotel-style operators are creating communal options to match the social buzz.
Opting for a shared stay is increasingly less about the price of the bed (although, with rising travel costs, that doesn’t hurt) and more about the chance connections and insider knowledge. LA Collective launched in New Zealand and Australia this year and Generator Group – behind the Generator and Freehand hostels and hybrid hotels in the US and Europe – announced a partnership with Duxit, a Thai hotel chain, to expand into the region. Bounce has bought two sites in Victoria and one in Magnetic Island, and are adding them to an existing portfolio that includes Noosa, Cairns, Airlie Beach – and, to open shortly, Surfers Paradise and Brisbane.
Expect the best bits of social travel – with smart design, better itineraries and fewer headaches. Every room at this island-bound and warehouse-born hostel has a view of the city’s waterways. Bunks are stacked beneath original timber beamed ceil.
