Do hostels play a role in pleasing Millennial travellers? The Portuguese case

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify the best hostel practices and trends, and to evaluate and discuss how they are keeping up with the present demand created by the Millennials market. Design/methodology/approach -Methodological approach is based on two complementary qualitative methods: ethnographic participant observation and netnography. Portuguese hostels are the target of this study, as they are considered some of the best in the world. First, a fieldwork was conducted in three top-rated hostels in Lisbon, aiming to immerse in hostel's environment. Then, 300 online reviews were analysed to identify what customers value the most in those services. Data interpretation was done through a content analysis crossing supply-demand perspectives.Findings -Results indicate that, while staying in a hostel, the Millennials want to: meet people, engage in activities and events, have local experiences, feel comfortable/at home, get good value for money and enjoy the convenience. In return, hostels play an important role in hospitality industry by pleasing the Millennials, by offering: central location, an interactive atmosphere, functional facilities, well-planned design and decoration, a set of activities and events and personal treatment. Originality/value -This paper is one of the few to describe Millennials' travel behaviour towards hostels' services.

Touristic preferences of hostel guests during COVID‐19 times: The case of Oporto

“…Such an environment is more directed toward adventure, differentiating itself from traditional hotels, since hospitality and proximity are key aspects of the guests' experience (Tavares & Brea, 2018). Veríssimo and Costa (2018) observe that, in 2018, the hostel industry was evaluated at US$ 5.2 billion in bed revenue, with a forecast to increase 7–8% year‐over‐year. This growth is mostly owing to the “Millennial” travelers.…”

“…The main factors pointed out to contribute to the choice of a hostel are the cost–benefit ratio and location (Firth & Hing, 1999; Hecht & Martin, 2006; Hostelworld Group, 2016; Martins et al, 2018; Nash, Thyne, & Davies, 2006; Veríssimo & Costa, 2018). Regarding the preferences of the hostel guests, according to Tavares and Fraiz Brea (2020), were grouped into eight factors: the hostel's general safety, the hostel's cleaning, its basic furniture, the guests help services, design and atmosphere, location near positive externalities, the conviviality and entertainment of guests, and the hostel's objective physical safety.…”

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“…Leask, Fyall and Barron (2013) also agree with this view, demonstrating that trends and future changes in tourism can be predicted based on the current behavior of young consumers. Veríssimo and Costa (2018) add that at present young people's priorities in all areas of their lifestyles, and hence their travel behavior is given considerable attention.…”

“…Young consumers are a very unpredictable group in terms of decision-making and purchasing habits, characterized by a low degree of loyalty (Bochert, Cismaru, Foris, 2017) 6 and continuously confronted with a wide variety of products (Veríssimo, Costa, 2018). This represents a significant challenge for businesses and providers of tourism and hospitality services.…”

“…Youth travel market is considered one of the most important tourism markets. Young travellers get their first travel experience that can potentially affect their future travel behavior (Eusébio, Carneiro, 2015) and have enough free time (Veríssimo, Costa, 2018). Young customers are also an important group in terms of market segmentation in the hospitality industry.…”