Limited Means Discount Reinstated
Back in April I reported that the discount available to students, OAPs and other people of limited means had been quietly abolished by YHA management.
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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Thank you so much for this article, Chris. I have two disabled children (one is autistic and one has Down’s syndrome), and we have benefited in the past from the reduced overnight fee. Some months ago a hostel manager, who I believe was new to the role, queried the discount when I asked for it, so I checked and was able to refer them to it on the YHA website. A month ago I booked another hostel and checked the website in advance - but couldn’t find any reference to it. I telephoned the YHA - and yes, the discount had been QUIETLY DROPPED. No fanfare over that one! The woman to whom I spoke said that they would be introducing reduced rate memberships for disabled people instead, which would be a fat lot of good to us as I am a life member. We really valued this discount as I had to give up my job to care for the children. As I pointed out to the YHA, my children are just as deserving as those who take part in Breaks 4 Kids - but they will never be able to take part in these schemes because their disabilities prevent them from doing so! The comment from Alan Hopley beggars belief. Maybe the YHA is paying its executives too much!
Comment by Hosteller — 3 Sep 2007 @ 8:17 pm
I’m sorry to report but YHA management has changed its mind again on this issue and has given the instruction that as of the 1st of October “YHA will no longer offer concessions to members who are students, single parents or on low income…” They also state that “We aim to offer all our customers the best possible price.” This is issued only 6 weeks after the notice sent out stating “…final decision has not been made and in the meantime YHA continues to offer overnight concessions…”!
Comment by GrahamB — 28 Sep 2007 @ 12:00 am
the we aim to give all our customers the best possible price statement from the yha is a total untruth. since around 2004 they have set out on a total profiteering policy in all areas of the associations business. with the flexi pricing for example they charge the equivalent of what they would have charged before the flexi pricing policy for off peak times and then wack 2 or 3 pound on for peak times to maximise profit. it is no different to the policy of travel companies that increase their prices during school holidays to fleece families.
so the actual truth would have been we have removed the £3 concession to maximise our profits further. now if a normal business providing a service did this people would kick up a fuss but this is being done by an organisation that is registered as a charity. they should be ashamed of themselves.
dont get me started on the at least 80% increase on evening meal prices since 2004.
Comment by mark wallis — 7 Jan 2008 @ 4:00 pm