It looks like a really worthwhile project, and perfectly in line with YHA’s charitable objectives. Of course, as with all government-funded activities, the future of this one may be uncertain. However, with its David Cameron-esque “big society” ethos, it’s better placed than many to survive.

Let’s hope so anyway.

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The latest Network Bulletin sent out to Hostel Managers contains the following section:

Pricing and Concessions

YHA will no longer offer concessions to members who are students, single parents or on low income from 1 October. We aim to offer all our customers the best possible price. Non-members will continue to pay a supplement (£3.00 for adults or £1.50 for U18’s)

This instruction now supercedes [sic] the note from Duncan Simpson dated 14th August.

Some managers have already stopped offering concessions in good faith based on previous communications and the introduction of the new pricing strategy, and this instruction aims to ensure that we all deal with the withdrawal of concessions in a consistent manner.

Any complaints from customers about the withdrawal of concessions should be reported to Natalie Mann, Head of Contact Centre, to ensure that the process of change is carefully managed and that we keep an oversight on the levels of concession refused.

We should explain carefully to any customers asking for concessions that:

• We offer the best possible prices to all with a particular focus on young people
• We support young people through our Breaks 4 Kids fund, which has been expanded sixfold this year

Alan Hopley, Director of Marketing and Corporate Affairs

Unlike the first time this was tried, YHA have remembered to remove the page describing the discounts available from the web site. Never mind, it can still be found in the Internet Archive:

Concessions for Members

YHA is happy to offer members who are young people, people of limited means, carers, or those aged over 60 years a concession of up to £3 on overnight prices.

Just bring along the relevant evidence and id if you’re a member and belong to one of the following groups:

• Students and young people not travelling as part of a group. You’ll need to show a valid ISIC, Euro<26, NUS, Connexions or a valid student identity card from their university.
• Adults not travelling as part of a group, who claim Unemployment Income Support or Job Seekers allowance.
• Disabled people claiming Disability Living Allowance, Disabled Persons Tax Credit and Severe Disablement Allowance.
• Carers who are in receipt of Carers Allowance.
• Older members over the age of 60 who are in receipt of Pension Credit.

One Parent Families
Our family rooms come at a range of prices, but the price is always lower for single parent families.

The timing of this decision could not be more bizarre. Just a few scarce weeks ago the Board proposed, and the AGM unanimously passed a motion stating: “This AGM calls on all parts of the YHA community to renew their commitment to the YHA’s charitable object”. The management have chosen to renew that commitment by charging people of limited means an extra three quid a night.

How one earth could they justify such a decision? There was no public statement about it at all, board members I’ve been in touch with were mystified, so I asked the YHA press office. Press officer Paul Fearn was able to enlighten me:

I’ve checked things out and you are correct in that YHA has ceased offering concessions for members who are students, single parents or on low income from 1 October. This is has been carried out for three main reasons:

1. There has been a switch to a new flexible pricing policy within YHA which is aimed to ensure that all customers get the best possible prices we can offer at all times.
2. The concessions were clumsy and complex, were not widely understood by customers and proved tricky to administer. For example, how do you get proof someone is a single parent?
3. In a concerted effort to operate more closely in line with the YHA Charitable Object – which begins to help all, particularly young people of limited means – we are offering more and more financial assistance to young people from low income households through Breaks 4 Kids. This fund has been increased six-fold in the past 12 months and pays for up to 50 per cent of the cost of accommodation and food at YHA locations, ensuring these youngsters can join their friends on group trips.

I have to say, I find these arguments unconvincing. The YHA has offered concessions to its less well-off members for as long as I can remember. Why should the introduction of a supposedly “flexible” pricing policy make them “tricky to administer”? Surely you’d expect the opposite. Similarly, the concessions have only become “clumsy and complex” following the obfuscation of prices resulting from the new policy. In the old, inflexible days it was perfectly simple: hostels had two prices – full price and child/concession price. That was really easy for the hosteller to understand, and I don’t suppose it was all that difficult to administer either. If the new system really can’t cope with the idea of concessionary rates, let’s go back to the old system!

Now, Breaks 4 Kids is a wonderful initiative, I yield to nobody in my admiration for it. However it’s not the be-all-and-end-all of the YHA’s mission. It’s not enough to subsidise a few kids going on school trips, and then to screw as much money as possible out of everybody else. What about those children who don’t (for whatever reason) get the chance to go on a school trip? What about those who go, love it, and want to go again on their own? The YHA’s object is to help people “by providing Youth Hostels or other accommodation for them in their travels”. Note that – travels – that’s multiple trips though which you might develop “a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside, and appreciation of the cultural values of towns and cities”. Breaks 4 Kids can only open the door to that kind of process, it’s not the whole deal.

Whatever the merits of this decision, I’m equally dismayed by the way in which it has been made and publicised (or rather not publicised). The only indication of this change in policy has been the quiet removal of the concessions page from the web site, and a few paragraphs in an internal document that members will not see (or at least they wouldn’t have done if I had not leaked it above!). YHA management clearly hope that nobody who was not entitled to these concessions will notice or complain about their passing. Well, sorry gents, but I’ve noticed and I’m complaining about it!

If, as a reader of this site, you feel the same way, you have a ready made opportunity to make your views heard. YHA Regional Councils will be having their AGMs over the next few weeks. Representatives of the Board of Trustees and of the management team will be there, why not go to quiz them about this issue? (Heck, why not go anyway?!). The meetings are taking place as follows:

• Northern Region AGM: 20 Oct in Newcastle
• Central Region AGM: 20 Oct at Lee Valley YH
• Wales AGM: 10 Nov at Conwy YH
• Southern Region AGM: 10 Nov at Bristol YH

Remember to take your YHA membership card along if you want to be able to vote.

Many tourist businesses and organisations offer a concessionary rate to those that need them, why should a charity specifically aimed at people of limited means fail to do so?

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Partly as a result of my prompting, the matter was raised at a meeting of the YHA Board of Trustees. Apparently, Marketing supremo Alan Hopley said that the discount was “too small to be worth bothering about”. It was pointed out to him that people on low incomes might depend on such small sums!

At any rate, the end result is that the discount is to be reinstated. If anybody reading this site who is entitled to such a discount is unable to get it, please get in touch (or comment below) and I’ll make sure the BoT hears about it.

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Back in the olden days it was simple: if you were a student, unemployed, disabled or a pensioner you paid the under 18’s rate for your overnights as set out in the handbook. Now it’s a lot more complicated.

For a start, the handbook gives only a rough indication of what it might cost to stay at any given hostel, and says nothing to indicate that concessions are available to anybody over 18. If you dig around long enough, there’s a really well hidden page on the YHA website that says

YHA is happy to offer members who are young people, people of limited means, carers, or those aged over 60 years a concession of up to £3 on overnight prices.

So that’s OK then, those on limited means may be able to get £3 off, if the warden’s in a good mood when they ring. They have to ring the warden – central booking isn’t able to offer any concessionary rates to anybody, nor can you get them when booking online. If you’re trying to book yourself into a hostel early in the season when the warden’s not there, tough. If you can get free internet access at the library, but have to pay for phone calls, that’s tough too. No warden, no discount (and you won’t necessarily get one even then).

So, what if you’re prepared to jump through those hoops, but want to reduce transport costs by travelling in a group – maybe a group of similarly disadvantaged people, maybe your local YHA group. Well, you could be out of luck – Students and unemployed adults are explicitly denied a discount if they travel as part of a group. I suppose one or two young, poor people is OK, but start attracting groups of them and they might get the idea that the Association was set up especially for their benefit.

Hostels are losing their attraction to those on a tight budget. Self catering seems to be under continuous pressure. More and more hostels make you buy a breakfast from them rather than make your own. You can no longer bring a bottle of cheap plonk with you to enjoy with your meal, but must buy it from the YHA at inflated prices. Independent hostelling never looked so good.

We may soon have a governing structure that has quotas of young people at every level to keep the Association to its purpose. Will they be strong enough to get the executive to put some money where its mouth is?

Stop Press

Since posting the above, I’ve been sent this extract from the Spring 2007 Volunteer Warden Bulletin:

Yha has developed a new pricing policy for all its accommodation, which is based on the basic price of an adult overnight and the demand for the Hostel. In 2007 the new prices will be gradually introduced and the existing prices (holding rates) will remain in place until then. Prices will fluctuate within the year depending on forecasted demand, but these will be set for the year ahead and you will not have to calculate them yourselves. Please note there are no longer any discounts for students etc.

The last sentence (bolded by the YHA, not me) is a flat contradiction of the statement on their website already quoted above. So which one is true?

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