| Hostelling International | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | HI |
| Formation | 1932 |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Purpose/focus | Accommodation for backpackers across the world |
| Location | Gate House, Fretherne Road, Welwyn Garden City, UK |
| Region served | Global |
| Membership | Youth Hostel members |
| Affiliations | YHA (England & Wales), SYHA, YHA Australia, American Youth Hostels, HINI, HI - Canada, An Óige |
| Website | Hostelling International |
Hostelling International, formerly known as International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF), is the federation of more than 90 national youth hostel associations in more than 80 countries who have over 4,500 affiliated hostels around the world.
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The youth hostel movement was begun in 1909[1] by Richard Schirrmann, a German schoolteacher, and Wilhelm Münker, a conservationist, who saw the need for overnight accommodation for school groups so that they could experience the countryside. This started with schools being used during the holidays. The first Jugendherberge (youth hostel) was opened in Schirrmann's own school, in Altena, Westphalia. In 1912 it was replaced by a permanent hostel in Altena Castle, and there is still a hostel in the castle grounds today. Schirrmann founded the nationwide German Youth Hostel Association in 1919.
The movement spread rapidly worldwide so the International Youth Hostel Federation was founded on 20 October 1932 [2] in Amsterdam by representatives from associations in Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, France and Belgium. In 1933 Richard Schirrmann became the president but was forced to resign by the German Government in 1936.[3]
Youth hostels were originally very different in setup from other modern hostels, although the growing popularity of the backpacker subculture has forced them to adapt so as not to lose customers, most notably abandoning the idea of chores in all but a few of their locations. The youth hostels in the United States, started by Monroe Smith, (where backpackers have not made as much of an impact as elsewhere) are still closest to the original setup.
87 national youth hostel associations are members of Hostelling International[4] with over 4000 hostels available worldwide. Based in Welwyn Garden City in England opposite the train station and the Howard Centre, the organisation provides services for travelers and coordinates the national organisations. It also facilitates youth work and international and cross cultural understanding in conjunction with UNESCO.
Hostelling International defines its mission as:-
- To promote the education of all young people of all nations, but especially young people of limited means, by encouraging in them a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside and an appreciation of the cultural values of towns and cities in all parts of the world, and as ancillary thereto, to provide hostels or other accommodation in which there shall be no distinctions of race, nationality, colour, religion, sex, class or political opinions and thereby to develop a better understanding of their fellow men, both at home and abroad.[5]
Though the parent Hostelling International organization has charity status in the UK, not all member organizations have charity/nonprofit status. Hostelling International Canada lost a legal battle for charity status in 2008,[6][7] and the YHA in England/Wales considered becoming a commercial company during a 2005 consultation [8] partially in response to increased competition from independent for-profit hostels that often provide indistinguishable services.