1) Upto and including 1944 the overnight price was the magic 1/- per night. But hiring a sheet sleeping bag was 4d for up to 3 nights use.

2) 1945-47 Still 1/- per night but SSB hire now 6d hire

3) 1948 - 1950 Overnight up to 1/6 per night and SSB hire 9d.

4) 1951 - 1952 SSB increased to 1/- hire (still for upto 3 nights).

5) 1953 - 1955 The first flexible price. Overnight fees went up to 2/- per night April 1st - September 30th but 1/6 outside this period. SSB remained 1/- , however a 2d a night charge was made to ‘hostellers who have meals prepared in the members kitchen or use any of the kitchen facilities’!

6) 1956 Flexible pricing stopped and a flat 2/6 per night all year round (a 67% for the off season!). Other charges as 1955

7) 1957. As 1956 but use of the kitchen now 3d per night.

8) 1958 - 1959 Overnight now 3/- per night. Other charges as 1957 (In 1959 meal prices were standardised having been different at different hostels/regions until this point)

9) 1960 - 1961 As 1959 but one important difference. Until now juvenile fees were 50% of senior/junior fees. In 1960 although the senior/junior overnight remained 3/- the juvenile fee went upto 2/- per night.

10) 1962 As 1961 but SSB hire now 1/3

11) 1963 - 1964 Seniors/Juniors 3/6, Juveniles 2/-, others as 1962

12) 1965 Seniors/Juniors 4/-, Juveniles 2/6, other charges as 1964.

13) 1966 - 1968. Another big change introduced in 1966. Firstly separate rates are quoted for Seniors (21+), Juniors (16 - 20) and Juveniles (under 16) whereas previously Senior/Junior prices had always been the same. The new prices for 1966 were 5/-, 4/-, 3/- respectively. Secondly higher prices were applied to the two central London hostels (Holland House 7/6, 6/6, 4/- & Earls Court 6/-, 5/-, 3/6) This is the first record I can find of this. The third London hostel (Highgate) used the nationwide prices. Other charges remained as 1965.

14) 1969 Another increase to 6/-, 5/-, 4/-. (I’m not listing the London charges) Other charges as before. The Juvenile membership changed from to Young.

15) 1970 Prices as 1969 except kitchen use raised to 6d per night. 1970 also saw the first car parking being allowed at some hostels. Parking charges being levied at those hostels (2s per night for a car or minibus)

16) 1971. As well as decimalisation, this was also the year that hostels started to be graded as simple, standard and superior with different prices for each. SSB hire also went up to 10p (2/-). The hostel prices were simple 30p, 25p, 20p (no change from 1970), standard 35p, 30p, 25p, superior 40p, 35p, 30p

17) 1972. Yet more change as the charge for the use of the members kitchen was abolished but strangely all the overnight charges went up 5p per night. Also a fourth category of hostel was introduced Special. Each of the hostels in this category Earls Court, Highgate, Holland House, Patterdale and Pen-y-Pass had there own prices.

18) The introduction of VAT (at 10%) meant that all hostels as well as coming into the four categories previously listed (actually divided in to the previous 4 plus London) also had to be categorised as VAT or non VAT giving a total of 7 different prices for a senior member depending on which hostel they stayed at! (Sorry but my brain is starting to fry here so I’m not going to list all the separate prices) But of course there was only one price per hostel dependant on your age.

19) Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more complicated, in 1974 the VAT threshold was introduced for virtually all simple and most standard grade hostels. This meant that some hostels were VAT exempt and therefore there were two prices to stay at a simple hostel, A VAT price and a non VAT price. 1974 also saw the first £1 per night charge (for seniors at Holland House) this was more than double the price for seniors at simple grade hostels where it was 46p (or 42p if the hostel was non VAT).

20) This stayed the general pattern but with annual increases in overnight charges & SSB hire until 1984 when the different charges for VAT and non VAT hostels were scrapped and car parking fees were also abolished.

21) 1988 starts to lose me. Inside each grade of simple, standard, superior, it appears there was a lower and a higher rate so a hostel could be simple 1 or simple 2 etc. All special graded hostels were one price and London hostels had their own ranges. This gave 8 different price ranges.

22) In 1990 the eight ranges was increased to nine.

23) 1993 was the next set of changes when the membership categores were reduced to two, adult and under 18 and SSB hire charges were discontinued.

24) 1996 sees the first room pricing structure introduced for certain hostels.

That’s about it until the current regime was introduced in 2006. As a summary I hope this is of interest. Obviously there are oddities like the 3d per night charge at some hostels in the post war period for the oil used in lighting etc but I think I’ve captured the main points.

Finally if anyone has any of the following handbooks they are prepared to sell (give me? :) ) to complete my collection please email me at nepperATtotaliseDOTcoDOTuk. I’m after 1931 - 1934, 1940, 1941, 1944 and 1992 to finish the set off.

much of me itches for an argument but frankly I can’t be bothered. Instead I’d like to here what these ex hostellers would like YHA to be. By that I don’t mean nice little one liners like ‘how it used to be.’ but things like what price would they, on their middle class professional salaries, be prepared to pay, what sort of ethos there should be and how is that achieved etc. Oh and is it actually possible without YHA going bust.

I don’t like everything about YH, in fact of the six things you list I agree about three (b&b pricing, ensuites & luxury hostels - although I don’t recall where YHA has ever made claims about this) but the lack of specifics by the critics about how they would do it were they running the show irritates me.

Elsewhere on this site Chris has posted about the opportunities for YHA members to get more involved, why don’t some of those who like to snipe get along to these events where among other things they can question and talk with the people who run YHA?

The main reasons for this were:

1. Hostels are too expensive now (this was by far the main reason stated for not using them);
2. Flexible pricing is perceived as a rip-off, and Bed and Breakfast pricing (where you have to pay for the breakfast whether you want it or not) is a disincentive;
3. The ethos has changed; there is a sense of rejection among hikers and cyclists (plenty about this on the CTC’s website, incidentally);
4. En suites - these were considered all right for use by family groups but not when sharing a dorm with strangers;
5. The emphasis on ‘luxury hostels’ (which is an oxymoron!) rather than on clean, inexpensive accommodation.

I shall now wait for Neil to come out of hibernation!

Sadly those pressures are more economic than social which is where my intolerance of those who think YHA can ignore economic factors comes in.

There is some stuff on uk.rec.youth-hostel about Travel Lodge’s Winter promontion which may or may not be a loss leader effort. I’m sure there are any number of us here who would like YHA to offer similar prices but I think it would be pretty silly to offer places at a loss. Loss leaders only work when they generate a growth in sales elsewhere (supermarket alcohol prices being a case in point), for YHA I don’t see this working, more customers in winter doesn’t necessarily relate to a significantly higher number of customers in summer.

I think you are confusing too expensive with flexible pricing. I’d bet that even if hostels reverted to a single price all year round there would be complaints that it’s too expensive and there would be suggestions that prices should be lower in the off season. I’m sure we would all love to see prices lower but I suspect the current economic climate won’t allow it.

I apologise if my tone upsets you as I have no intention of shooting the messenger but I have little tolerance with those who pontificate without bothering to check the validity of what they spout without checking why the situation is what it is or bemoan the good old days through some sort of rosy eyed spectacles which society today cannot support.

Incidentally variable pricing rates are nothing new in YHA. Go back to the 1950s and you’ll find different prices for high summer, spring/autumn and winter (if the hostel was open). The current position is still the same but just has more effort put into identifying when the peaks and troughs of demand are.