SYHA Generates Boom from Bust
As our new chancellor prepares to plot our way out of the economic crisis, there’s one organisation that may be hoping he’s not too successful. Whatever pain the recession may be causing, it’s doing wonders for the SYHA, according to a report in The Herald:
Scotland’s largest youth hostelling association increased its membership by a third in May, taking the roll from 20,000 to nearly 26,500. The SYHA also reported it is receiving more bookings from within Scotland, suggesting that exchange rates, recession and flight disruption are influencing people’s holiday choices.
They’d already seen a similar effect last year, but this really is startling – membership up by a third in a single month? What I don’t understand is why have we not seen anything like the same effect south of the border? I know people will say that SYHA is cheaper, both to join and to stay at, but the difference isn’t really all that marked. Could it be that the alternative – flying to mainland Europe – is sufficiently more expensive when you start from Scotland to form a tipping point? No doubt the truth is more complicated than that. What do you think YHA could learn from its northern neighbours?
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Well – it is both cheaper to join and cheaper to stay (a significant factor if away any length of time). Prices in Scotland seem to be just that little bit further away from B & B (in the English Midlands we recently ‘slummed it’ in a B & B that cost less than self catering at a hostel). Also from our personal points of view we like the greater emphasis on self catering in SYHA hostels(facilities for this are often better than in E & W).
Also, importantly, SYHA manage to produce an annual and attractive hostel guide / handbook with USEFUL information in (map, photos, opening dates,precise location etc) that can easily be taken on tour and is widely available to visitors. In contrast, YHA has been unable or unwilling this year (& I write this on midsummer’s day) to produce even a basic map /hostel listing – something particularly useful for those visitors from overseas who don’t keep thei laptops in their backpacks!. Nothing at all to look at while planning the next stage of your journey. Last year was little better. SYHA can do it, the UK independents can do it – why not YHA??? Better advertising might attract further growth for YHA Enterprise.
And then there’s the websites. Game, set and match to Scotland – clear, easy to use and designed with hostellers’ needs in mind. Too often with YHA one needs to use the site map facility to dig out functions which should not be so secret. Also, often out of date, with poor communication with members.
SYHA membership booming? Seems very odd, does this reflect a student or armed forces free membership promo or a new method of counting? Last year they boasted of a very busy spring with record levels of bookings, yet by the year end the trend was reversed and their overnights were down. Maybe this is just PR hype again……