By Sascha Dimitriewicz
Presently, New York City does not have a law that legalizes youth hostels. The New York City Council has introduced a bill, Intro 699, that would permit youth hostels to be established in commercial districts only. The passing of this bill would provide access to safe, modern, legal and regulated hostel facilities for thousands of youth travelers on an annual basis.
Legalizing hostels will ensure that New York is well-positioned to grow its market share of the estimated $320 billion youth travel market in 2020. Hoste
In recent years New York City has fallen behind, as a number of major US cities saw an increase in youth hostel construction. While 50 hostels that provided more than two million annual bed-nights in New York City have closed since 2010, cites such as Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Chicago have opened dozens of new hostels welcoming hundreds of thousands of youth travelers who are now sidestepping New York City.
Since 2012 alone, Miami has opened four new hostels adding 226,000 annual bed nights, New Orleans added six new small hostels (70,000 annual bed nights), Los Angeles opened six new hostels (89,000 annual bed nights), and Chicago tops the list with four new hostels (297,000 annual bed nights).
When evaluating the number of youth travelers seeking safe, legal and affordable accommodation, New York City is not even a competitor. City Councilmembers are leading an important first step in reviving the youth traveler market in New York.
Sascha Dimitriewicz
CEO, Wombats City Hostels
