History
Formation
The concept of youth hostels originated in Germany in 1909 withTo help all, especially young people of limited means, to a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside, and appreciation of the cultural values of towns and cities, particularly by providing youth hostels or other accommodation for them in their travels, and thus to promote their health, recreation and education.
Early years
The firsthe farmersaw no sin in mixing manure with drinking water.During the time that the first hostel was open, the warden (as the first YHA warden) was Connie Alexander. Widespread openings of hostels commenced in 1931 and by the end of that year 75 hostels had opened, although 15 closed permanently at the end of the year. The price of an overnight stay was 1/- (1
Wartime reduction
The war had a significant effect on YHA. Membership levels in 1940 and 1941 slumped as men and women joined the armed services and leisure travel was discouraged. The number of hostels open decreased, with up to a third being closed for the duration due to their location in militarily sensitive areas. The low point was 1941, when only 170 hostels remained open and overnight stays were reduced accordingly. It was not only the war that led to the closure of hostels: among the hostels that closed for good was Derwent Hall, flooded as a result of the Derwent Water Board project and the creation ofPost-war recovery
With peace, the resurgence of YHA continued until, in 1950, the peak number of hostels open was reached, with 303 open in that year. Membership continued to grow and passed the 200,000 mark in 1950. Overnight stays grew from 1.1 million in 1950 to 1.45 million in 1970. In 1955, the National Office moved from Welwyn Garden City toReform
Significant modernisation of hostels had occurred during the 1970s, but by the early 1980s it became clear to YHA that it needed to change, as the stresses and strains of running what was a large organisation began to show on what was almost entirely a volunteer-run body. Direct management of the hostels was removed from the regional committees and a professional management structure was put in place. The regional committees were themselves reformed into four regional councils; North, Central, South and Wales. With a new management, YHA continued to thrive and by 2000 overnight stays had reached a new peak of over 2,000,000. Reflecting changes in the needs of young travellers, much effort was put into meeting a desire for less spartan facilities in hostels, such as smaller rooms, more showers, and the abolition of washrooms. As well as upgrading facilities in existing hostels, other experimental approaches to attracting young travellers were made. In 2000, a series of summer-only hostels utilising university student accommodation were opened in locations near airports such as Luton and Leeds. The experiment was not repeated in following years. A much more successful innovation was the introduction of the RentaHostel scheme. Under this scheme, groups could hire whole hostels for their own use and without normal hostel rules applying. Rentahostel was available during the winter months to improve usage of hostels that were otherwise closed or doing very little business. The scheme continues to run to the present day but is now known as Exclusive Hire.Foot-and-mouth disease crises – 2001
The 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth disease crisis hit YHA hard. An estimated £5,000,000 of income was lost as a consequence of hostels being closed and a drop in overnight stays from just under 2,000,000 to 1,667,000. Some hostels, such as Baldersdale, were totally inaccessible as they were within quarantine zones. This left YHA in a serious financial crisis and severe measures needed to be taken. The board of trustees agreed to sell 10 hostels at the end of 2002, the sites being Aysgarth, Linton (North Yorkshire), Dufton, Elton, Buxton, Copt Oak, Thurlby, Norwich, Windsor and Holmbury St Mary. Internal and local pressure saved Dufton and Holmbury St Mary from closure and Thurlby was sold to21st century
The YHA charitable object has changed over the years, most recently in 2005 when the objective was changed to: "To help all, especially young people of limited means, to a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside, and appreciation of the cultural values of towns and cities, particularly by providing youth hostels or other accommodation for them in their travels, and thus to promote their health, recreation and education." YHA has been investing in its youth hostels. Investment is funded largely from turnover. Donations, legacies and funds from other organisations, agencies and individuals also contribute. Since 2006, YHA has invested £48.5 million and opened six new youth hostels: Whitby, North Yorkshire; National Forest, Derbyshire; Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland; Castleton, Derbyshire; on the South Downs near Southease in East Sussex, and in London. In 2006, YHA announced the largest plan of network renewal. YHA regularly monitors all its hostels to establish if they are still viable and if necessary closes those that are no longer viable or have no prospects of becoming viable again in the future. However, the network renewal project was on top of this regular review and was a proposal to close and dispose of 32 hostels when it was announced. The aim of the exercise was to reduce borrowing and to provide funds for re-investment into the network. The closures were to take place over a three-year period, over and above the 13 others disposed of in the same period. The hostels involved were not necessarily poor performers but ones where the amount of investment required to bring them up to a desired standard was excessive (e.g. Steps Bridge) or in some cases because the site value was very high (e.g. Stainforth). When the news broke, there was a storm of protest not only among the membership, but also in local communities and local and regional government. Despite the protests, YHA proceeded with the plan. Some hostels, such as Liverpool, have obtained reprieves either temporary or permanent and are still open, but most of the other disposals have taken place. A number of the hostels disposed of have reopened, either as independent hostels or as EnterpriseEnterprise hostels are hostels that are privately owned but operated as part of the YHA under a licence agreement with YHA hostels within YHA. In 2008, as part of the move towards raising standards, YHA replaced the traditional sheet sleeping bag with a fitted bottom sheet, duvet cover and pillow cases. From 2015, guests at most youth hostels found their beds already made for them. At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, YHA had a network of around 140 youth hostels. In the previous ten years, YHA had sold or not renewed the leases on 86 properties. Of these, 21 continued to run as part of the YHA network under a licensing scheme, YHA Enterprise. The sales of those properties netted YHA over £20 million, but YHA continued to make a small operating loss. The value of the property portfolio prices was £77.15 million. In May 2010, YHA announced that, in a further realignment of the network and to support long-term financial stability called the "Capital Strategy", two new hostels would open in 2010 and eight would close. The two new hostels were Southease in Sussex andPublications and items
Handbook
In the first years of YHA (1931–1934), due to the rapid change in the number of hostels available, the handbook was issued more than once each year. From 1935, the pattern settled into an annual publication issued to all members. In 2003, this became a biennial publication. Since 2007, YHA has no longer produced an annual guidebook and relies on its website to show hostel information.YHA magazines
''The Rucksack'' was YHA's first magazine. First issued in 1932, it ran until 1956 when it was retitled ''The Youth Hosteller'', although issue numbers continued the same series. Publication varied between quarterly in the early years to monthly in later years. The contents consisted of hostel reviews, travel articles, regional and local group news, a letters column and updates to the handbook. Publication ceased after the February 1972 issue (volume 39, no. 7, priced at five new pence, and reduced to bi-monthly appearance following December 1970), when an editorial explained that the magazine was to be "transmogrified". The successor to ''The Youth Hosteller'', ''Hostelling News'' ran from spring 1972 until summer 1985 (issue no. 54). A quarterly newspaper-style publication, free to members, it followed in much the same vein as its predecessors. ''Hostelling News'' was replaced in Autumn 1985 by ''YHA Magazine'', a colour magazine in A4 format, which was rebranded as ''YHA Triangle'' in summer 1989 (issue no. 15) and which thereafter continued as a quarterly publication until autumn 1994 (issue no 31). From spring/summer 1995 (issue no 32) it became a biannual publication, continuing until the autumn/winter issue of 2006 (being the 55th issue, although no longer officially numbered as such). Following a further rebranding exercise, ''Triangle'' was replaced by the smaller-format ''Discover'' but this only lasted for three issues (spring/summer and autumn/winter 2007, and spring/summer 2008) before publication was put into abeyance. In spring 2009, a shorter eight-page A4 colour publication ''YHA Life'' appeared (an undated four-page pilot version, with a focus on fundraising, was issued in 2008). ''YHA News'' appeared between 1992 and 2005. Unlike all the other publications after spring 1972, which had been made available to all members, YHA News was only available by subscription. Its contents were much more aimed at those involved more actively with YHA. The opinions expressed were not necessarily those of YHA. YHA has produced a monthly e-newsletter, "The Wanderer", since 2013. Over the years, there have been many regional handbooks produced showcasing hostels in a particular region.''YHA Songbook''
The ''YHA Songbook'' was first published in 1952. Common room sing-songs were popular and the songbook was published by YHA as:Many a common room sing-song has been marred because few of the hostelers know more than the first verses of the songs, and all too frequently the item that begins as a rousing chorus ends as a faltering solo. A few keen singers find a place in their rucksack or saddle-bag for a song book, but if as a result some half-dozen song books are available, it is usually found that they are all different and even the songs that are in common to several appear in differing versions.The songbook only contained the lyrics, not the music, the assumption being that someone would know the tune.
YHA shops
YHA had from the beginning sold items directly necessary for using hostels, such as sheet sleeping bags, but in 1950 started selling goods for walkers, such as rucksacks, by mail order from National Office. By 1953, not only was an annual sales catalogue issued but YHA had opened a shop at 21 Bedford Street, London. Three years later, the shop moved across theAttitudes
Motor vehicles
From the earliest days, YHA made it clear that motorists were not welcome. Regulation 4 as printed in the handbook read:Hostels are intended for Members when walking or cycling, and are not open to motorists or motor-cyclists (unless they are using the hostel for the purpose of walking or climbing. In any case motor-cars and motor-cycles must not be garaged at a hostel).Instead great emphasis in the handbook was placed on the availability of public transport with distances to nearest railway stations being given and the availability of bus services (something that continues to this day). In 1951 this point was promoted to regulation 1: "Youth Hostels are for the use of members who travel on foot, by bicycle, or canoe; they are not for members touring by motor car, motor cycle, or any power-assisted vehicle". By the mid 1960s, with the decline in rail services, YHA allowed members to use cars to reach a hostel, but not to motor tour. It remained policy that cars could not be parked at hostels. From 1970 it was decided to allow parking, for a fee, at certain hostels. However hostel wardens had a discretion to require people arriving by car to move on if the hostel was busy. In 1984 car parking charges were abolished, and parking allowed at all hostels, subject to space.
Membership
Until 2005 it was a requirement to be either a member of YHA or a member of an Hostelling International affiliated association before staying at a hostel. YHA relaxed this rule partly due to a desire to make hostels more accessible to all and partly due to advice received from theAlcohol
Until the 1980s consumption of alcohol was not allowed; drinking at the hostel could lead to offenders being banned from the hostel. The ban was initially lifted only for alcohol purchased at hostels with a table licence such as Edale, but later it was permitted to bring and drink beer, cider and wine (not spirits), but only accompanying a meal. With the reform of UKSchools
Pre war, groups of children aged 11–18 were welcome at hostels as long as they were under the supervision of a responsible leader. All bookings had to be made in advance. Apart from price no other concession was made to these groups. They were still expected to move on from hostel to hostel and for this reason this type of business became known as School Journey Parties (SJP). After the war YHA realised the potential of providing not just accommodation to school parties and youth groups but educational facilities as well. This scheme Youth Hostels for Health and Education, started in 1953 and was the forerunner of the services offered today. In 2008, 27% of overnight stays with YHA were as part of organised school trips. YHA provides financial support via its bursary scheme, Breaks for Kids, for groups of young people to take part in educational or recreational visits. In 2013 YHA awarded grants totalling £238,000, providing 5,754 funded trips for young people.news releaseSee also
*Notes
Footnotes
References
* * *External links