A 21st century hostelling boom

As many holidaymakers continue to feel the financial pinch it is not surprising that Hostelling International, with its unique assured standards scheme offering hostels in over 4000 locations worldwide and low overnight rates has just announced record reservations for the month of August.

As well as the traditional backpackers, independent travellers of all ages and families helped achieve a record 17% increase in web reservations in August compared to last year for reservations made on hihostels.com the global hostel website featuring hostels in over 80 countries. This make a total of over 1.1 million overnights booked on the website during 2010.

Among the top ten booked destinations in August were the hostels in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Rome and Paris, but up and coming destinations that are growing dramatically in popularity this year include Norway, China and Argentina

Whilst August was a record breaking month, 2010 has generally been a very good year with a growth of over 5% in web reservations on hihostels.com.

CEO Mikael Hansson said "We are delighted that the popularity of hostelling is continuing to grow. The online reservations system is simple and quick to use and enables travellers to book budget accommodation around the world.

“We have a great variety of hostels like the fantastic HI-New York only a few blocks from Central Park and costing from $34 a night and our unique member ship programme gives our 4 million members worldwide beneficial prices on accommodation and attractive discounts on a huge variety of activities, adventure sports, shops and travel packages all around the world. The standard of youth hostels and associated services today really do reflect the expectations of the travellers in the 21st century."

Other facts you might not know about Hostelling International:

- Hostels in around 80 countries worldwide
- 4000 hostels worldwide
- 4 million members worldwide
- 40 million overnight stays each year
- About GBP 500 million annual revenue globally
- 13 million annual visitor sessions on hihostels.com

To make reservations or find out more about any of the 4000 hostels around the world visit hihostels.com.