News & Views for Local YHA Groups
In an effort, no doubt, to attract more cash-strapped scots through their doors, SYHA have produced a funky new TV ad:
Something I find interesting is that they brand themselves as “Hostelling Scotland” rather than anything to do with youth hostels. Is this a new thing?
Personally, I think it’s a good idea and reflects the age profile of the people you meet in hostels better than the Y word does. Maybe we can come up with something similar south of the border.
Groups currently arranging their summer programmes may wish to take advantage of the latest special offer from the YHA.
Thanks to their Wales Early Bird Offer, you can save up to 25% at Borth, Bryn Gwynant, Conwy, Newport and Brecon hostels during August if you make your booking by the 27th February. All good hostels for a group weekend, and if you pick Conwy you’ll be able to take advantage of the refurbishment it’s currently undergoing.
Last month I reported that the old Accommodation Guide will not be replaced this year. Now there’s been a post on the YHA forum giving (briefly) the latest state of play:
An update to the last issue of the Guide will be mailed in early March. Meanwhile, [the YHA] website is the best way of getting up to date information about Youth Hostels, and YHA more generally.
It’s not clear, but I assume that “an update to the last issue of the guide” will be a slim supplement to that document listing hostels which have closed and detailing ones that have opened since 2007.
This is better than nothing, but a long way short of ideal. We need a new handbook!
However, if we have to wait for one, let’s put the hiatus to good use and give YHA a steer as to what should go into it when (or if) it comes out. Let’s hear your thoughts, either on the YHA forum or in the comments here.
Here’s the latest rumour to emerge from Matlock: YHA are considering returning to the Simple – Standard – Superior – Special classification scheme for hostels last used in 1988.
The 21st century marketing term for this is “segmentation”, but the purpose is the same: helping hostellers know what to expect at any particular hostel. Is it a plush place full of private rooms and en-suite facilities, or a cottage with toilets and showers at the bottom of the garden? Since the YHA network includes both extremes and everything in between, it makes sense to have some way to identify which is which.
Plans to reintroduce frizzy perms, acid-washed jeans and Bros have been denied…
The “Crunch Buster” sale started in December is to continue into the new year. There are 35 hostels where you can stay for £12 a night, and a further 33 where the overnight price is just £8!
Of course, the scheme is beset by YHA marketing’s beloved “from” prices, so you’ll need to stay midweek to take advantage of the lowest rates. Still, even at weekends the prices are pretty low. So why not take the opportunity to blow out some post-Christmas cobwebs? Just remember to stay safe out there.
Two years have passed since the publication of the last YHA handbook, so you might be expecting to see a new one hitting your doormat amidst all the other Christmas post. Well, you’re going to be disappointed as YHA have decided not to issue a new guide, at least not yet, as they deem it too expensive.
Hostellers will have to make do with the website (due for an overhaul in the near future) or with old copies of the book. That’ll be no change for many seasoned members, who use old handbooks for bits of information dropped in more recent editions – such as maps to help you find each hostel.
It has not yet been decided whether to permanently abandon paper in favour of electronic publication. It would be a brave decision. The internet is a marvellous thing, but it’s a lot less convenient to shove into a rucksack, pannier or glove compartment.
Does a paper hostel guide have to be a glossy, full-colour, perfect bound behemoth? Scotland get by with a 36-page booklet (pictured left), some countries just issue a road map with the hostels marked on it and with their addresses on the back. Admittedly, YHA has a big network to publicise, but could this be a way forward?
Just this week, an email was sent to this website asking:
Is there a book which lists all the youth hostels in the UK, so that I know where to go when I get to town?
Setting aside the issue of the UK being covered by three HI associations, is that really a ridiculous thing to ask for?
There’s good news on the YHA web site for those is search of a Christmas bargain – the Association’s “Crunch Buster Sale” is offering beds in 60 hostels around the country for just £10 or £15 a night throughout the month of December.
It’s a shame that, thanks to flexible pricing, the sale price is sometimes less than the “from” price. For example, if your thrilled at the prospect of staying at Minehead for only £10 a night, the shine may be taken off when you discover that the normal price promoted on the hostel’s web page is £9.95.
That’s the problem with flexible pricing – if the only price you show with any prominence is the lowest price ever charged, anything above that mark looks like a rip-off, especially if it’s a “sale” price. Oh well, at least you can now find out the correct price for any given night if you can access the web site and know where to look. If you don’t know where to look – try clicking the “Check Availability” box on a hostel’s page. As well as availability, it also has the prices!
Even more buried on the site is even better news about pricing:
The Government’s decision to cut VAT from December 1st 2008 gives a much needed boost to YHA and will now enable us to freeze our price bands at 2008 levels throughout 2009.
So, for once, there won’t be anybody grumbling about excessive rises in overnight prices next year – because prices aren’t going to change at all!
STOP PRESS: A post in the uk.rec.youth-hostel points out an interesting case. Thurlby YH was already being promoted with a £9.95 per person per night midweek winter offer. Now, as a result of this “sale”, the midweek price has gone up by 5p!
It’s official – affiliated groups are still part of YHA’s life. Well, actually they’re part of YHA Life, the four-page news sheet currently hitting members’ doormats around the country.
With such limited space available it’s great to see Groups getting a mention. Here’s what they have to say:
YHA Groups – A great way to hostel
The YHA network is alive with different groups of people who share a love of YHA and travel. These groups are spread over England and Wales and provide opportunities for members of all ages and from many walks of life.
If you like travelling, enjoy the countryside, want to meet new people and love Youth Hostels then YHA Affiliate Groups are for you!
These are groups of like-minded people, who may be from the same locality or simply share the same hobby, who meet regularly to enjoy Youth Hostelling trips and other social activities. Have fun sharing everything from barbecues to slide shows, plus badminton, pub trips and much more!
If you would like more information on YHA and Affiliate Groups, call the Membership Department on 01629 592771 or email membership@yha.org.uk
Let’s hope this advert yields a few new members for groups around the country.
Incidentally, are barbecues, slide shows, badminton and pub trips still a representative sample of groups’ non-hostelling activities? It doesn’t sound too far off target for my own group (though we tend more to the pub than the badminton court), but what about yours? What do you get up to when you’re not at a hostel?
It’s not exactly mass media, but the Borehamwood & Elstree Times has just published an article extolling the many virtues of YHA hostels. They make a pretty good job of pointing out the benefits of hostelling – the variety of buildings, the facilities available at today’s hostels, the fact that they welcome people of all ages.
I don’t know whether this article came from Matlock, or if some Borehamwood journalist just likes youth hostelling, but the good press is to be welcomed. Groups might find this article useful in their own publicity.
It’s just a shame they didn’t mention nearby YHA Local Groups in Barnet and St Albans…
The latest edition of Discover magazine (pictured left) is winging it’s way towards members’ doormats. Launched as a replacement for Triangle earlier this year, Discover is more like a glossy brochure for YHA properties and services than a conventional magazine. In this issue, the areas of YHA life to get this jazzy treatment include Affiliated Groups!