The Cost of Hostels Around the World

I recently traveled around Southeast Asia for two months and stayed at over 15 different
hostels. For the most part, I really enjoyed the hostels. Since the hostel concept is relatively new
in Asia compared to other parts of the world, the facilities tend to be new and clean. But if you
dont know what to look for, especially in terms of price, you can still be in for a long night. And
youll be asking yourself Why did I book this place?
Aside from comfortgood beds, clean bathrooms, hot showers, nice social atmospherethe
biggest consideration for many, including myself, is price. As I spent many nights planning
where to go to next, I used Hostel World a lot to look for places to stay in Siem Reap, Luang
Prabang, and 18 other cities.
Even now that I am back home, I still look at it to see how much a single bed would cost in
Tokyo, Buenos Aires, or Prague for my next trip. As I looked at more and more hostels around
the world, I decided to collect the data and show the costs on a map (see below).
Not surprisingly, I want to travel more because this exercise made me realize that some cities
arent that expensive by hostel standards. For example, in Lisbon, Portugal, a single bed at a
top 10 rated hostel costs on average $20. The average rating of a top 10 rated hostel in Lisbon
was 9.8 out of 10. In Hostel World, 9.0 and above is considered superbgreat facilities,
fantastic location, amazing safety, and etc. So only $20 for a 9.8 hostel experience? Im
definitely adding Lisbon to my list because I can can easily be paying $40 or more a night in
other cities with lower quality hostels. Where you ask?
How about New York City?! New York City boasted the worlds highest average bed price, $48,
across its top 10 rated hostels. The average rating was 8.4 not 9.8! And in Europe, Geneva,
Switzerland had the highest average bed price, $44. The average rating of their top 10 rated
hostels? 8.4. The difference between 9.8 and 8.4 can actually be a really cramped dorm room or
one with a couch and a TV. Believe me, such a room exists! I couldnt believe it myself when I
checked into one. It was incredibly spacious for 8 people. It was amazing!
On the other hand, if ratings dont matter to you and you want the cheapest bed in the world, go
to Vang Vieng, Laos. Vang Vieng had the lowest average price for a bed, $5. But beware, the
average rating of its top 10 hostels comes in at just 7.5. Its the lowest rating in my sample size
of 62 cities across 40 countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Hostel
World considers hostels rated in the 7s as Very Good. But trust me, Ive been to a 7-ish with
over 100 reviews and the place was terrible. The bathrooms were TINY and dirty. The place was
crazy with rowdy parties too. But of course not all 7s are the same, so do your due diligence!
One last fun tidbit from my data (for now), if you just want to make sure you have a place to
stay, then go to Rome. Rome offers the most options with 493 hostels while Vientiane, Laos
only has 7.
Note this is a study in its early stages. More non-Asian cities need to be added in order to
create a more balanced dataset and review. Hostels from Hostel World were included in this
dataset if they were (1) ranked in the citys top 10 hostels by users and (2) a single bed was
available for May 11, 2016.