Travelers are sharing the 'unwritten rules' of staying in hostels' shared rooms

08.11.2023 - 17:23 / insider.com

Unlike in hotels and resorts, when you stay in a hostel, the things you do in your room directly affect other guests.

With their tight, often dormitory-style sleeping arrangements, hostels offer cheap accommodation for travelers on a budget. Several people can sleep in a single room, diminishing the sense of privacy.

Come home too late from a night of bar-hopping? You're prone to wake up your roommates when you return. Want to have a conversation in private? Too bad, eight other people could be in the room with you.

With their unique sharing culture, hostels come with their own set of rules and customs. In a thread on Reddit Tuesday, frequent hostel-dwellers shared their best advice for newbies getting into the shared-room scene.

The subreddit r/travel, has 8.7 million members. The thread, posted Tuesday, had 231 upvotes and more than 160 comments as of Wednesday.

In the subreddit r/travel, a first-timer asked what kinds of "unwritten rules" exist about staying in a hostel. The person who posted said they didn't want to do "anything seen as atypical" when they check into a hostel for the first time in a few weeks.

Here's their best advice.

"Wash yourself"

One of the most commonly cited rules that Redditors brought up was maintaining personal hygiene while sharing a room with others.

Several people mentioned that the hostels they've stayed in didn't have great ventilation, making it especially humid and sweaty when a dozen people are in there.

"Hostels, in my experience have consistently been the least ventilated spaces on earth," one person commented.

"Don't throw on the lights if you get in late"

If you get back late after a night on the town, respect that other people might be trying to sleep, Redditors said.

Instead of turning on the room's overhead lights, use your phone's flashlight — but try not to shine it in people's faces while navigating the room.

"Clean up after yourself"

Keep the shared spaces tidy when you're done with them. That means picking up your belongings in the room, as well as the kitchen and the bathroom.

"Don't tornado your belongings all over the room, hang things on other people's bunks, block other people's lockers," one person wrote.

"Be sure you have a good sleeping mask and ear plugs"

Throughout the thread, several people mentioned being courteous while others were sleeping.

Still, several acknowledged that you might not be able to escape loud, snoring bunkmates — and to bring a few items to combat them.

"It's also a good idea to expect that others won't always follow these unwritten rules," one Redditor posted. "A good pair of ear plugs and a sleep mask are going to serve you very well in a hostel."

Travel etiquette has been top of mind this year, as misbehaving