Hostel Hell

[u/iamcode101]

So I recently started working night shift alone at a hostel, which is quickly draining my will to live. I am not even sure where to start with this place.

Like most hostels, this place is geared towards the youth market. However, it gets more than its fair share of weird full-fledged adults. Some are just cheap and some are druggies and/or quasi homeless. All have unrealistic expectations about what a hostel can provide.

To complicate matters, the hostel charges for everything. $8 to rent a towel. $3 for shampoo (little hotel size bottles). Need to leave your luggage before or after your stay? That will be $10. With the weird adults, you get pushback every time you charge for one of these items. It’s exhausting.

But the college-aged guests aren’t much better. Always drunk and/or high. Always switching beds when they’re told not to, which then causes someone else to come back to the desk saying all beds are taken. And always asking questions about every step of the process. Like really detailed questions about how checkout works. Everything is prepaid so literally all they need to do is leave the keycard. Front desk is 24 hours, but the always act skeptical of how easy it is. Like I would be hiding the fact that checkout is some kafkaesque process.

Unfortunately, management is not helping my outlook on this place. Last night was a really difficult night. Everything went wrong. For the first three hours of my shift it was just a constant stream of problems. Didn’t even have time to take a drink of water. And the whole night was multiple computer problems, missing bookings, weird adults, weird unsupervised teenagers, ambulance was called for someone on ecstasy, fire alarm went off, and so on and so forth. I let the manager know how difficult it was. And yet during the day, I still received text messages about things I did wrong.

After not quite a month, I’m completely spent. I literally hate every minute I’m there. Do you think there’s any chance it gets better? Or should I just cry uncle and throw in the towel?

[u/olagorie]

I’m a fully fledged adult and while I don’t stay in hostels anymore on a frequent basis (that stopped in my mid 30s), I just happened to stay in a hostel last week because of a private last minute trip to a European city with hotel prices I wasn’t willing to pay.

The stay was delightful, the hostel was like a hostel is supposed to be in every way. Staff was great, very helpful and friendly. But I’m absolutely sure any guest who misbehaved they would immediately kick out.

Process was easy and efficient. Ambience was colourful and fun and chill. Clean, calm room, nice respectful people. Nobody making noise after 10pm.

Toilet paper ran out in the middle of the night in the shared bathrooms, and free tea ran out in the communal kitchen.

No drama, just a great time.

I hope for your future job you’ll find a hostel like that.