Latest news with #hostel
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Suspected methanol poisoning survivor calls for major change after friend's death
Bethany Clarke lost her childhood best friend, Simone White, after the pair drank spirits poured for them at a hostel while holidaying in Laos in November 2024. Video transcript A survivor of a suspected methanol poisoning is urging international airports to raise public awareness over the risks of potential alcohol poisoning at popular travel destinations. Bethany Clark lost her childhood best friend Simone White after the pair drank spirits poured for them at a hostel while holidaying in Laos in November 2024. Ever since, Bethany has been campaigning to get better education out there for young Aussies. She believes posters and leaflets at international airports would go a long way in helping travellers make informed choices and ultimately would save lives. Speaking to Yahoo News, Bethany said, I can't see the harm in having messaging in the majority of international airports. I just think it would be a sensible, very cost-effective idea. People aren't reading the news, but if you're flying out of an airport, you're probably going to sit on a toilet, put posters on cubicle doors. Bethany admitted she knew little of the risks before flying to Laos, where 6 people died after drinking alcohol suspected to be contaminated with methanol. Adding, if somebody's pouring out of a bottle in a bar within a hostel setting and you've had a look at the reviews and no one has had a bad experience, I suppose you think I'm safe, and that's the trouble. She believes having airports and airlines opting to easy messaging will be a quick way to raise awareness and have a lasting impact.
The National
11-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Dubai hostel chain shut down amid multi-occupancy clampdown
A Dubai hostel business has been shut down after its sleep-pod dormitories were found to be in breach of multiple occupancy housing regulations. The owners of Next House hostels operated six centres in residential buildings in Business Bay, Jumeirah Beach Residence and Dubai Marina. All have now been closed after complaints from neighbours and a Dubai Municipality investigation that found the business was operating outside tourism licence limitations. 'As the government doesn't have licensing for hostels in residential buildings, we've had to close down all our operations," said Rayan Hana, chief executive and founder of Next House hostels. 'We learnt very quickly you are only allowed to rent the unit as a whole, not per room, not per bed. 'Within six months of operations, the government gave us a call and told us to close the properties.' The accommodation offered a dormitory and communal living space, a kitchen, an outdoor jacuzzi, pool tables and games consoles. Each had capacity for up to 26 guests, and a 24-hour check-in option, with a total of 178 beds spread across different city locations. Rates started from Dh60 per night. Mr Hana used a holiday home licence to run the business, but was later told this did not apply to hostels, which require their own designated building to operate from, similar to a hotel. His investment of about Dh1.5 million has been lost, but Mr Hana is now working with authorities to comply with tourism regulations to resurrect the business. The issue of multiple occupancy was brought into focus following the recent fire in Tiger Tower in Dubai Marina, that forced the evacuation of more than 3,800 residents. Some tenants told how they had lived in partitioned apartments close to work to save on accommodation and transport costs. There is high demand for affordable residency and hostel options are proving popular, particularly given Dubai's tourism sector is booming. Numerous hostel listings for Dubai and other parts of the UAE are readily available online, with one offering 18 rooms in a two-bedroom apartment. Next House's website promised a cut-price stay in some of Dubai's most desirable neighbourhoods, albeit in the limited surroundings of a capsule bed with a privacy curtain in a shared room with several other guests. However, those living next door to the Business Bay Central Hostel said the revolving door of guests, and constant use of communal lift and building services had become a nuisance. 'I went from having the perfect neighbours to not knowing who was living there one week to the next,' said Mamta Varerkar, who owns an apartment next door with her husband, nanny and young daughter. 'I met the owners, but they never said it was going to operate as a holiday home. I was very surprised and upset. 'The apartment has three bedrooms and they had set up the rooms in such a way that they could allow 26 guest at a time, which is a lot. 'In our building, there are posters everywhere saying the community is for family occupancy only, with no sharing allowed.' Leila Talibova lives with her husband and two children at Executive Towers, on a floor where one of the hostels was run. She contacted local authorities to understand the rules around operating hostels. 'When someone rang our doorbell at 10pm asking if our place was the hostel, it was the first we knew about what was happening,' she said. 'When we were looking to buy an apartment, we wanted a building that was family orientated with no sharing allowed. 'We were quite shocked to find a hostel had opened up on our floor.' To maintain safety and living standards, Dubai Municipality regulates multiple occupancy accommodation with frequent inspections. Rules state each person must have a minimum area of five square metres of living space, with subletting or shared accommodation without written landlord consent prohibited. Landlords and tenants found operating overcrowded apartments can be fined Dh10,000 per violation. Next House was not fined as it immediately shut down operations on request. Overcrowding can create safety hazards, with poor hygiene and ventilation, as well as blocked emergency exits. Mario Volpi, head of brokerage at Novvi Properties, has 40 years of experience in London and Dubai real estate and said there is good reason for regulations against hostels being allowed to operate in residential buildings. 'A client will come and view the property they're hoping to buy, to see if it's fit for their requirements," he said. 'But they don't just look at the actual apartment, they're looking at the facilities, the common areas and how the building is being run. 'All these things have a factor on a possible sale, and the value. A hostel would 100 per cent have an effect on the majority of people living nearby.' Shilpa Mahtani, co-founder and managing director of bnbme holiday homes by Hoteliers, said demand for affordable accommodation is being driven by more younger people travelling to Dubai. 'We expect the short-term rental industry to rise by 18 per cent in 2025. 'This industry has experienced huge growth post-pandemic and we expect this to continue expanding driven by factors like increasing global travel, tech advancements and growing preference for personalised and sustainable experiences.'
Irish Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Hostelworld shares slump amid ‘underwhelming' trading in first half of year
Hostelworld , the hostel booking group that targets millennial and Gen-Z backpackers, saw its shares slumped in early trading on Thursday after saying its net bookings and revenues were flat in the first six months of the year. Still, the Dublin-based group's chief executive Gary Morrison said that he has been encouraged by more positive booking trends in June. Davy analyst Paul Ruddy characterised the start to the year as 'underwhelming'. Shares in Hostelworld fell as much as 11 per cent to £1.26 in early deals in London, where most of the trading activity in the stock takes place. READ MORE Net revenue for the six months amounted to €46.7 million, unchanged compared to the same period last year, while net bookings were also flat, at 3.7 million, and the average booking value dipped 1 per cent to €13.40. [ Hostelworld to return dividend for first time since before pandemic Opens in new window ] However, June booking volumes and average booking values were up in June, boosted by a strong pick-up in demand among European travellers for beds on the continent – helped by a modest decline in bed prices. Last year had seen travellers shift bookings towards low-cost destination in Asia and central America. 'Trading over the last six months has been in line with expectation,' said Mr Morrison. 'Although trading in the first half showed mixed results across regions and channels, we are encouraged by the positive trends observed in June.' Hostelworld said in a strategy update in April that it plans to return to paying dividends this year for the first time since before the Covid-19 pandemic, as the hostel-booking group also eyes 'selective' deals to broaden its business. It aims to return to a progressive dividend policy of 20-40 per cent of net profits, starting with an interim payment in the second half of this year. The group reached an important milestone in 2023 when it repaid €28.8 million of high-cost loans drawn down from US specialist lender HPS Investments three years ahead of schedule. This was facilitated with the help of €17.4 million of much cheaper loans from AIB, all of which has since been paid back ahead of schedule. The company also agreed with Revenue early last year to repay €9.6 million of warehoused taxes, racked up during the Covid-19 pandemic, over the next three years.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I thought I got a great deal when I booked a $7 hostel... then I saw where I'd be sleeping
A woman who thought she got a great deal while booking a $7 hostel was left horrified when she saw where she'd be sleeping. Fiona Strack, 25, originally from Germany, has been traveling full-time since August 2024. While backpacking across the globe over the last year, she has become no stranger to booking cheap accommodations in a bid to cut down costs. When she came across a listing for a hostel in Manila, Philippines, on a popular booking website that was a mere $7 for one night, she was ecstatic over the low price. It had good reviews and the pictures looked 'okay,' so she went ahead and booked it... but as soon as she walked into the hostel, she immediately regretted her decision to stay there. It looked more like a dog kennel or a jail cell than a hostel, with harrowing bars on the outside of each bed. Her sleeping quarters consisted of a small mattress sitting on the floor, a pillow, a thin blanket, and a fan. It was caged in with walls around it and a metal gate that could be locked from the outside or inside. The bathroom had a detachable shower head, a faucet to wash your hands, and a toilet with no toilet seat. 'I booked it online via a popular booking website, the reviews and the pictures were okay so I just thought to just go for it,' Fiona explained exclusively to the Daily Mail. 'I walked in and immediately thought, "This feels more like a dog kennel than a hostel." It was cramped, dark, and honestly a bit shocking, but It was fully booked.' While Fiona said she considered leaving at first, she explained that it was late and she was exhausted from a long day of traveling. In addition, she knew it would just be for one night so she decided to grin and bare it. 'I absolutely considered leaving and I probably would've if it hadn't been so late at night and I had not been so tired since I just arrived after a long travel day,' she dished. '[Also] as a low-budget backpacker, it's not really an option to double pay for one night.' She said she 'tried to make the best of it' and used humor to cope. She took a video of the unwelcoming accommodations and shared it to Instagram, under her username @ where it quickly went viral. 'When you budget backpacked a little too hard,' she wrote in a text overlay as a clip showed her covering her mouth in shock, before she turned the camera to show off the hostel. 'Still not sure if it was a hostel, a dog shelter, or a prison,' she joked in the caption. 'But hey, $7 a night and I had Wi-Fi, electricity, a fan, and a clean towel.' Fiona told the Daily Mail that she was 'so tired' that she 'immediately fell asleep.' But she said she was left tossing and turning most of the night out of fear someone might lock her in her little cubicle. She added that she did not have a 'restful night' and was extremely happy to leave the next morning as soon as she woke up. 'Knowing someone could easily lock my door with another padlock from the outside, let me wake up after every single noise I heard,' shared the backpacker. 'It wasn't [really] dangerous though, just extremely uncomfortable, loud, very hot (no AC, just a fan) and kind of surreal. '[Thankfully], I had a linen sleeping bag and noise cancelling headphones what made it bearable.' In the end, she said she hoped that sharing the incident online will show others the realities of backpacking. 'I posted [the video] to share the chaos of real budget travel,' she explained. 'I never expected this kind of response. I'm overwhelmed (in a good way) and grateful people connected with the rawness of it.'
BBC News
13-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Abbeyfield House in Hadleigh to be reopened as homeless hostel
A former care home is to be reopened as a homeless hostel after plans were showed 19 rooms would be made available for the temporary accommodation at Abbeyfield House in Hadleigh, came despite concerns brought to Castle Point Borough Council about overcrowding and security at the site in Chapel officer Sarah Williamson said it was a "cost-effective" method of meeting housing demands. Independent councillor Kate Knott said the authority had to act before it lost the property, but admitted there had been "mixed views" about the building was constructed in 1983 for sheltered housing, a report served to the development management committee people would have access to a kitchen, shower and a bed in their rooms once it was converted. 'Too little care' But a resident, who only gave her name as Ms Johnson, said the design was "flawed" and unsafe."Crucially, we still don't know how many people are intended to live here," she said, as she called for 24-hour security on-site."The plan tries to do too much, too fast, with too little care."Ms Williamson said there would be staff present at the building and insisted CCTV would be "regularly monitored".She said the council was unable to meet its housing targets for homeless people as things stood."The proposal, if permitted, would meet this housing need in a more supported, sustainable and cost-effective way," Ms Williamson told the meeting."Potential residents would be assessed for numerous risk factors, and those with a chequered past or additional needs would be placed in specialised units and not at this location." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
