Hostel winter blues

The silly season is over and it's nice and quiet at the hostel. Too quiet maybe. Between the end of the winter holidays (if your on the northern half of planet earth) and the start of the spring/summer season a lot of hostels are as empty as hunted mansions with the occasional short term guest and a bunch of long termers bored out of their minds - especially, if they have been around for a while. Everyone is sitting on their laptops and smart phones, watching movies and talking nonsense. Apart from the weekend, where you maybe manage to almost fill the place and the occasional event (Six Nations Rugby in our case) you struggle to keep things interesting. So what can you do to keep your customers happy and the kids (aka the longtermers) busy?

Tourist board:
There are a number of events all year round in most cities, you just have to find them. Usually the local tourist board knows what's going on and put up events on their website. Just have a look every morning and put things that sounds cool on your notice board or print off the event's poster and put it in a place where everyone can see it.

Local magazines:
A lot of cities have magazines that keep you informed about the local cultural scene - the newest hottest bands, artists, galleries and gigs. Quite often they have a printed version but their websites are even more up to date and offer a bigger data base. And just like with the tourist board, check their events in the morning and pick something you think your guest might fancy and let them know about it. Who knows they might go and see someone in a small club that becomes the real deal a few months later...

Local pubs:
There are always events in your favourite pubs but quite often they don't make it onto the websites I've mentioned above, sometimes not even onto their own website. But their facebook or twitter pages might be better maintained. You can either like or follow them through your personal account or even better as your hostel's. That way you can easily share events and promotions. That does not only inform your guests about what's going on but also creates a positive relation ship with the venue and who knows, they might think about hostel discounts in the future, because let's face it, they are struggling too in the quiet season. Or simply pick up a flyer next time you're there..

Start your own events:
Of course there is the standard pub crawl almost every hostel has and it is an integral part of hostel life, because it is one of the easiest ways to bond. Getting buzzed and making out with total strangers from halfway around the world...
But there are endless options. How about a games night where you dig out your Monopoly, the old Chess board and the Poker cards and save them from disappearing all the way in a pile of dust. Or have a potluck where everyone contributes something. It can be themed as in everyone brings something from their home country or has to invent a disgusting name for their dish.
Dig up the old dress up box and have an impromptu party, chuck paper and pens on the table and let them draw and paint, especially for events like Valentines Day or Easter. They generally enjoy anything children enjoy... bubbles, lego, arts and crafts, sometimes even jig saw puzzles...

The important thing is to bring a little color into the cold and grey winter days and motivate your long and short term guests to do something beyond the same old same old every day. It creates a positive atmosphere that everyone will appreciate and keeps things fresh and exciting. And who knows, it might even influence your ratings on one of those booking websites...

all my children

In a lot of hostels they distinguish between people who just stay for a couple of nights and people who stick around for a few weeks, months or in my case even years. You hear different terms in different hostels but they all describe more or less the same thing. One hostels called people like me weeklies, because we would pay our rent on a weekly base instead of daily. The hostel I am staying in now calls them longtermers. I think the word explains itself.
Us longtermers usually get to know each other pretty well after a wee while and often become some sort of dysfunctional family, specially in the smaller hostels.

The people in my hostel seem very tight at the moment. They all arrived around the same time, they are about the same age and they seem to enjoy each others company a lot.
I don't really feel like a part of that group, since I am a bit older, have been in the hostel a lot longer and I really don't enjoy the pubs and clubs they go to on a regular base. Also, I just don't drink as much anymore... But in a way they are my kids.
I am the night porter in the hostel, which means I usually work, when they drink and party, so more often than not I have to tell them to be quiet, wash the dishes they leave behind, kick their friends out who don't stay at the hostel and every now and then I have to clean up after them when they had to much alcohol.
It's a bit like they are on a never ending school trip and I am one of the teachers.
Don't get me wrong, they are a lovely bunch and they make up for all their little faults by making you tea when you're sick, lots of cuddles and sometimes simply being a bunch of funny loonies.

And just like children you can make them happy or calm them down by giving them something to do. One day for example of "my kids" was quite a bit hyper and annoying everyone, especially the manager so I simply gave him some paper and pencils and he was happy drawing away for an hour.

Another way to entertain the kids is the massive dress up box. Just open that thing and start putting hats on people or maybe put a pile off clothes in the middle of the room and you can be sure they will come up with the weirdest combinations. Quite often some kind of cross-dressing is involved.
Here are some examples: