HOSTEL INDUSTRY IN CLUJ-NAPOCA

Balint Simon Emanuel

Master, 2nd year, AAOTI
For this essay I considered the hostel industry in Cluj-Napoca. As a recognized center of
the student and recreational life in Romania, Cluj-Napoca is the meeting point for many young
Europeans who come to study or spend some days in one of the cheapest cities of Europe.
On one side, we have the international students, mostly French and Germans, because of
the academic curricula of the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Veterinary have for them;
on the other side, we have European youngsters looking for the best cities where they can find
good parties, housing, entertainment at a good price. Both of these categories of customers are
looking for cheap hostels either when they arrive to the city, while they are looking for stable
accommodation (international students), or just for spending some days and enjoying the good
vibes of the city.
As I consider myself as being part of both categories at some point, I can say that the
hostel industry in Cluj-Napoca is not as much prepared for this kind of fast and cheap travelling
kind of lifestyle. It is true we have some good hostels in Cluj-Napoca, but they do not provide the
same atmosphere as other hostels, for example the ones we can find in other Eastern/Central
European countries.
In order to answer to the essay´s main question, below I consider some drawbacks I could
encounter in this Hostel Business in Cluj-Napoca:
1. Staff - want it or not, wages in Romania do not reach yet the European levels and that is a
huge drawback when talking about staff`s motivation. The staff I had the chance to interact
with in other hostels seem friendlier, they even participate in extracurricular activities with
the guests. In Cluj- Napoca, I felt like hostel staff work only for the money they receive.
Solution: A good solution for this would be the promotion of this job as a rewarding activity,
maybe with specialized trainings.
2. Investment - when I talk about hostel culture I do not only mean the choice tourists make
about booking a hostel, I also refer to the kind of facilities these hostels offer to the tourists
and how these facilities are promoted and exploited.
Solution: First we have to find how the perception about hotels is seen in this country, let`s
say: cheap and poor. Of course it is difficult to find investment for this kind of hospitality
units if they are seen like this. This perception has to change with market studies about other
successful hostel businesses all around Europe. Related to investment, a profit is also
needed- If you are going to invest in a business you are expecting great profit. The hostel
industry in some countries with a predominance in young tourists can sometimes ask for a
high room price than a normal hotel, and this has to be seen like perfectly normal if the hostel
actually has the facilities and conditions for the asked price. Briefly, us, as Romanians, we
have to change our visions about hostels and accept that a higher price for a room might be
required if that hostel is original enough.
3. Security - As this hostels units will still be cheap and thus, accessible for all kind of tourists.
This means that other expectations are to be reached in terms of security.
Solution: Drugs and alcohol policies must be taken into account in the hostel business
given the type of tourists it aims at.
In conclusion, we have so much potential as a hostel industry but we need to learn how to
exploit it.