As far as YHA is concerned in the Lake District business is good, and we have the highest concentration of hostels in the country. There is a national trend that fewer people are staying in the hostels-this could be down to a number of factors-cheap flights on to the continent, poor weather, down turn in economy etc, also due to some poor decisions by the YHA but these have been difficult decisions reached after much deliberation. If they were to stay old school we would have very little business and there would very likely be no network at all, but we have alienated a lot of life members and the senior section of the population to much grumbling. But they have had to move with the times and the main users are middle class families so hostels have to reflect this use. Between a rock and a hard place. If you value the network then you must use it otherwise before you know it it will be gone.
John, in the case of Coppermines, I can't explain this at all and I will apologise on behalf of YHA-if there wasn't a sole use group in then beds should be sold to all. However school groups are a great source of business and in most cases keep a lot of hostels alive. Our hostel is busy most of the year but if it wasn't for the group business we would have a lot of quiet times through the year. Once again business is business and if we didn't have this then the network would really struggle, forcing more closures. Would you deny the opportunity for children (most the same age as your son) to see our precious countryside-many for the first time in their lives seeing livestock, open countryside, mountains and the chance to become a little more aware of the environment around us? Sole use is essential in this day and age for schools as we all listen to the media in one form or another and know the horror stories-we want to provide a safe place for the kids to relax and enjoy their experience. In most cases-no sole use then no trip! Mostly this is down to the board of school governors which tend to be made up with the parents of the kids in the school. It's a fine balance. Staying in YHA hostels made an impact in my young life and I know for fact that of the many hundreds of kids we have in our hostel it is the same for them too-multiply this over all the hostels in the country and we make massive changes to childrens lives!
Thanks for your comments and I take and accept the points you've made.
Have you noticed the proliferation of Independent Hostels? I'm pretty sure they're not registered charities yet they seem to exist profitably.
The YHA is in a difficult situation, but I feel quite alienated by it now. Gone are the days when a couple of beds would be held for those arriving on foot or by bicycle. OK the way they worked was a little archaic, but it provided an excellent service for old farts like me who like to wander the countryside and just want a bed, a drying room, a shower and a kitchen (or hostel meal) for not a lot of dosh - and you would almost certainly be in the company of like-minded people. Happy days!
Yes I have noticed a lot of independent hostels springing up including bunk barns, camping barns etc.... and yes of course I'm fairly sure they are making a tidy profit-in time I want to be doing the same with my own little place. Unfortunately for the YHA the fact is they are buckling under their own weight-a massive portfolio of properties, a lot of which are old and need investing in to keep them standing upright and fit for us to be in-there is a current program of refurbishments which our hostel is part of this winter-no one likes staying in damp bedrooms or leaks springing up all over the place and old showers and toilets. People want high standards which in this day and age don't come cheap to maintain. Years of mis-management in the YHA, usually decisions made by members of the YHA councils have ensured a heavy debt which we are paying for now and will do for many years to come but I can assure you the YHA is firmly in the 21st century.
YHA comes with a good standard that really can't be matched by many of the independent hostels-especially ones I have stayed in over the last 15 years or so which are dirty, often smelly with tired facilities.
I'm sorry you feel alienated by the new YHA, and I hope that one day you will give us chance to impress you and regain your custom-maybe you could come and give our hostel a try when we re open next May?
I remember once staying at Treyarnon YHA whilst walking a stretch of the SWCP, I had booked ahead and when I arrived in the afternoon there was a notice on the front door saying that they were full for that night. Anyway when I checked in at 5 o'clock I asked the receptionist if they really were fully booked (there was no other guests around) and he replied, yes they were, and that people would be arriving later.
Nobody else turned up, except for a group renting a separate room adjacent to the hostel and I had the whole of the main building of the hostel to myself. I still can't understand why that notice was on the door and even the receptionist saying that they were full when they were almost empty, the YHA really do themselves no favours sometimes.
Wanderlust - In the YHA's defence, the same sort of thing happened to me once on the South West Coast Path some years ago. I phoned to see if there was space at a remote clifftop hostel (Elmscott), and was told that there was only one bed left, and I'd have to get there by 6pm to claim it. That meant walking over 30 miles! Anyway, I made it, and there were only two other people in the hostel... all night long! Turned out that rather a large number of Australian 'backpackers' (meaning they drive around in hire cars), had been booking beds in every single hostel across huge swathes of the country. That leaves them free to drive wherever they like, for as long as they like, and generally please themselves, in the sure and certain knowledge that there will be hostel beds somewhere with their names on them. Did they ever bother to cancel the umpteen excess beds they were booking every night? Nope! I don't know if this sort of thing still goes on, but it was a pain in the ass at the time I was aware of it.
I hear what you're saying Paddy about the Backpackers and other folk who make reservations and don't turn up and even bother to cancel if they don't end up staying, but almost 70 no shows on that one night that I stayed at Treyarnon - I'm not having that!
The problem of no shows and late cancellations is going to get a good deal worse as YHA has just got rid of its cancellation penalties you can now book and pay for beds in all of the hostels in an area, keep only one booking cancel all the rest and only loose 10%. It has always been this way for dorm beds but now families of six can do the same.We own an Independent hostel which also doubles as a YHA it is not dirty or smelly it is immaculatly clean well equipped and modern. We dont take escape 2 (sole occupancy) as we are on the Pennine Way and try whenever possible to keep at least a couple of beds in case someone walks up without a booking or is just sick of camping in the rain and needs a bed and a meal. Youth hostels are to encourage people to enjoy the countryside, not for middle class families on Nanny`s week off. Please try to give youth hostels another chance because there are lots of us who are investing all of our time and money to keep them open and as Bob says if you dont use them they will close.
