Hostelworld, in collaboration with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), recently launched a new sustainability framework called the ‘Staircase to Sustainability’. The framework introduces a universal measurement system tailored for hostels.
According to new research, hostels emit 82% less carbon compared to hotel counterparts, making them a more sustainable accommodation option. However, hostels face challenges in communicating their sustainability efforts effectively. The ‘Staircase to Sustainability’ framework emphasises hostels’ inherent sustainability benefits and their role in promoting local experiences and community engagement.
It includes four levels, aligning with GSTC criteria, to guide hostels in enhancing their sustainability practices and gaining formal recognition. Hostels signing up for the framework will undergo third-party auditing from level two onwards, and they can also achieve badges on Hostelworld’s website, indicating their sustainability level, thus aiding travellers in making informed choices.
We caught up with Caroline Sherry, CFO and ESG Lead at Hostelworld, to delve into the workings of the ‘Staircase to Sustainability’ framework as well as new trends driving the hostel industry.
Q: What gaps in the hostel industry does the Staircase to Sustainability framework address?
Firstly, we wanted something that wouldn’t deter hostels from beginning their sustainability journey. Existing frameworks were very much aimed directly at certification. Whilst this is the end goal for our framework too, the idea of different levels reflecting every stage of the journey was deemed a much more appropriate approach for a smaller, largely independently run subset of accommodation.
Secondly, we wanted to acknowledge all of the great initiatives hostels were already running that you might not perhaps see so frequently in other accommodation types. This is reflected in a lot of the criteria descriptors, particularly under the socio-economic and environmental pillars.
Thirdly, and probably most importantly at the point in time when we set out on this journey was the cost associated with preparing for certification. The sector had been decimated by the pandemic so paying for expensive reporting tools or allocating a skeleton staff to complete lengthy forms was understandably well down the list of priorities. We wanted to support all of these pain points by providing a free tool written in a language determined by the hostels themselves which will hopefully make life measurably easier for those completing it.
Q: In that case, how much input did the hostel community have in the ideation of this framework?
Currently, almost all regulatory requirements are designed with the broader accommodation sector in mind. This was a key concern for Hostelworld when we approached the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (‘GSTC’) over two years ago to broach the subject of building a framework, which took the unique attributes of the sector into account. In fact, it was these nuances that are behind the ‘staircase’ notion that eventually informed how the framework was structured.
We also worked closely with our partner hostels globally to ensure that anything we built took their specific needs into account. It was critical that anything we built resonated with hostels of all shapes and sizes across all markets. 18 months of analysis within the sector, coupled with the fact that a framework of its kind hadn’t existed up to now, has resulted in very positive feedback from our partner hostels.
They are acutely aware of the need to document, measure and work on continuous improvement. They see the value of the framework when it comes to both showcasing the inherent sustainable benefits of the sector putting it in a much stronger position on the global stage. But moreover, they see the invaluable role it plays in surfacing the specific sector needs when it comes to future regulatory discussions.
Q: In terms of success metrics, what sort of adoption rate would it take to label ‘Staircase to Sustainability’ a success?
Whilst we deliberately haven’t set ourselves a goal for adoption, the positive welcome the framework has received from the sector post launch is very encouraging. We have strived to make this as seamless as possible for the hostels, a largely independently owned sector run by small teams, freeing up their time to do what they do best – allow the connection of like-minded travellers in a safe, social and sustainable environment.
As the regulatory requirements for all travel providers evolve and expand, so too will the demands of hostels. Hostels themselves will eventually be held accountable and submissions to a recognised framework will become non-negotiable.
A final consideration regarding the ultimate success of the framework is the power of peer-to-peer inspiration and motivation which is unrivalled in the hostel community. We can already see an uptick in community-run initiatives on the back of seeing what other hostels have achieved. We see this sharing of sustainable practice further increasing adoption rates.
Q: What are some challenges that arose due to so many moving parts in an initiative like this?
The biggest challenge was building something that catered for all the aforementioned nuances of the sector. We work with hostels in 180 countries globally and they range from an 1,800-bed behemoth in Copenhagen to a 10-bed retreat in Tayrona National Park, and everything in between. We have hostels on boats and in planes. We have hostels in castles, churches and prisons. We have hostels in yurts, tents and treehouses. We have hostels in sprawling cities and on tiny islands. You get the picture!
We went back to basics to an extent. We spoke to our hostels and our customers – we surveyed, we interviewed, we workshopped, we interviewed again. Hostels, by design, offer a highly sustainable accommodation option for travellers. Their shared accommodation set up results in reduced water and electricity consumption, while their use of shared kitchens means there is considerably less food, plastic and packaging wastage. Hostels also play a vital role in acting as community guardians, actively promoting authentic local experiences, working with local suppliers and organising volunteering opportunities that contribute to the betterment of the local community.
Q: What are some important checkpoints in a hostel’s sustainability roadmap that are often overlooked by industry players?
The very first tip for any hostel is to self-assess. It sounds extremely obvious but often the thought of starting on a sustainability journey is so daunting it eventually becomes off-putting.
Another valuable and often overlooked checkpoint is checking-in with industry peers. Hostels love to share when they see something working. We had several examples of this at our recent global conferences where hostels were queuing up to tell us how they think about inclusion, or how they established their volunteering program, or how they work with their local indigenous communities…the list goes on. These are often small, family-run businesses with single digit teams who just see an opportunity to make a difference in their community and in the world and they want to talk about it.
Q: What are some interesting trends that you think will drive demand in the hostel space this year?
Overall demand year-to-date is encouraging, with consumers prioritising travel. We are trending particularly well in Asia, building on a very strong 2023 for the region. Asian destination bookings now represent 25% of our overall bookings, second only to Europe. Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia represent 23% of our total Asian bookings, all more than doubling year-on-year. Top cities are Bangkok, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Ho Chi Minh, Phuket and Koh Samui, again all more than doubling growth in 2023. Outside of South Asia we are also seeing strong growth in Japan and South Korea. And in a firm nod to the importance of the region, we are also very much looking forward to hosting our APAC conference in Thailand next month where we will host our hostel partners from right across the region.
In other jurisdictions that were earlier to reopen to international travel, we are seeing pricing growth moderate after significant inflation in 2022 and 2023 and expect continued stabilisation there.
At a broader macro level, the trends we are seeing reflect the continued growth in demand for experiential travel amongst the millennial and Gen Z population. This favours Hostelworld’s social strategy aimed at enabling opted-in travellers to connect and interact with like-minded people. These social attributes have resulted in strong growth in solo travel and the role they play in our booking mix. This is also reflected in our growth in social members of our network, in bookings from social members and the growth in the usage of the social features.
Q: Switching over to market sizing – how has the market for hostels changed recently and what do you think are some reasons for notable shifts?
The category grew +8% in 2023, which was great, off the back of a difficult couple of years for travel due to the pandemic. We are seeing some exciting new openings in key markets. Some of this is expansion by some of the larger hostel chains but we are also seeing a lot of new entrants to the market too which is very encouraging. It remains a very fragmented space however, with a strong bias towards independent properties.
Q: Younger travellers are said to favor alternative accommodation. Does your own market research support this, and how is Hostelworld reaching out to newer demographics?
Our 18–35-year-old customer base is widely regarded as the travel cohort most likely to consider sustainable travel options. Our customers want to travel as sustainably as possible: 70% pack carry-on luggage only, 67% travel overland where possible and 60% choose dorms instead of private rooms. In fact, 82% of respondents stated that they believe hostels are more sustainable than other accommodation types.
When asked why they think hostels are more sustainable than other accommodation types, the top 3 responses were the number of travellers sharing a room, the shared social spaces and less electricity and water is used by hostels.
Moreover, the publication of reports like the one we have just worked on in collaboration with Bureau Veritas showing that hostels produce 82% less carbon than their hotel counterparts allow us to further build our outreach to those interested in travelling more sustainably, regardless of the demographic.