Staying in a hostel can be an amazing experience for backpackers traveling the world. Unlike traditional hotels, hostels allow travelers to connect more closely with one another by sharing dorms. This is why people tend to make friends more often in hostels than they do in hotels while traveling!
Hostels are great to stay at, which is why it’s a good idea to avoid doing anything that is frowned upon or considered rule-breaking during a stay. There is a certain etiquette that hostels require backpackers to maintain, and if they fail to meet the expectations, they will often be asked to leave.
Check out these 20 things that will get backpackers kicked out of hostels.
20 Having Altercations With Other Guests
This is pretty obvious! If you turn up to a hostel ready to fight with everyone, you’re going to get kicked out. Tripver lists this as one of the worst things you could do as a backpacker. Everyone at the hostel just wants to have fun, so anyone not in alignment with that friendly vibe will usually be out.
19 Making Too Much Noise In The Middle Of The Night
Nobody expects to get the best sleep of their lives in a hostel. But if you make a habit of disturbing others in the middle of the night, there will probably be some complaints against you. The Savvy Backpacker explains that this is just standard backpacker etiquette.
18 Stealing Other People’s Belongings
Here’s another no-brainer. Just as stealing isn’t okay in most establishments, it’s also not okay in most hostels. If you’re caught stealing from other guests or from the hostel itself, you’ll promptly be asked to leave before you can take anything else. The Expeditioner admits this is one of the worst things to do in a hostel.
17 Cooking Outside The Kitchen
Cooking in hostel kitchens is recommended. But cooking outside the kitchen? Not so much. Unless we’re talking about an outdoor barbecue, cooking in any other room with portable cooking devices will probably annoy the staff and get you kicked out. According to Tripver, this is non-negotiable in some places.
16 Leaving Dirty Dishes Lying Around
Even if you’re used to leaving dirty dishes lying around at home, it’s not really acceptable to do it in a hostel. While you won’t get kicked out the first time you leave a dish out, you will if you keep doing it. And as The Savvy Backpacker points out, it’s just rude.
15 Turning The Light On In The Middle Of The Night
The general rule in most hostels is that the dorms are for sleeping only. That means that you’ll seriously annoy everyone who’s trying to get some rest if you walk in and turn on the lights late at night. Do it more than once and you may even get kicked out.
14 Bringing Randoms Back For Sleepovers
As we said, the dorms are for sleeping only. If you try to bring randoms back for sleepovers, you’ll annoy the other guests and may get in trouble with the staff. After all, they haven’t paid to stay there just like everyone else has. And nobody wants to hear two people getting friendly in a communal dorm.
13 Wearing Shoes Indoors After Being Told Not To
In some hostels, you will be told not to wear shoes inside all. This is especially common in hostels throughout Asia or the Middle East, where shoes aren’t normally worn inside the house. This is another rule you’ll have to respect or risk getting kicked out.
12 Leaving Dirty Laundry Lying Around
Leaving dirty dishes lying around is disgusting enough, but leaving dirty laundry around where the other hostel guests have to come into contact with it is also highly frowned upon. You could get kicked out by constantly doing this if you’re reported to the hostel staff.
11 Leaving Other Disgusting Messes Around
In general, try to be as clean as you can in the hostel. Remember that there are other guests there who don’t want to see all of your personal belongings splayed out all over the ground. It’s always better to just pack up your belongings and keep them out of people’s way.
10 Hogging The Free Internet
You’ll find that a lot of hostels these days provide free internet. But if you abuse this privilege, you may get kicked out. Nobody likes that one guest that hogs the internet all day so other people can’t use it (if there is a computer provided rather than Wi-Fi).
9 Hogging The Bathroom
Aside from not hogging the internet, Nomadic Matt advises not hogging the bathroom. This is just basic hostel etiquette. If you’re always keeping other people from using the bathroom, sooner or later someone is going to complain and you could end up getting kicked out of the hostel.
8 Damaging The Property In Any Way
This is a big mistake that will have you kicked out of the hostel in the best case. In the worst, you might be billed or charged a fee for whatever you broke. Try your best to not damage the hostel property in any way, or you’ll more than likely have to face the repercussions.
7 Having Outrageous Parties In The Dorm
People tend to think of hostels as establishments that offer free parties. While they can be a fun environment, the partying should be done through activities that the hostel organizes—not in the dorm when some travelers are trying to sleep before an early flight.
6 Breaking General Rules
This is another big and obvious one! Just like any other establishment, hostels will have certain rules that need to be obeyed regarding what you’re allowed to do and what you’re not allowed to do. You might just be told off for breaking them once. But break them more than once and you could be asked to leave the hostel.
5 Being Super Rude To The Staff
The staff members at a hostel are there to help you and make sure your stay runs smoothly. Nobody wins when you’re rude to them. If you don’t like the staff, you’re better off packing up and staying in another hostel rather than staying and risking getting kicked out on their terms.
4 Always Eating Other People’s Food
Trust us, you will not make any friends this way. Always eating other people’s food is a quick way to get kicked out of a hostel. Most people in hostels don’t have endless money to spend on food for other guests to eat!
3 Any Illegal Activity On The Premises
Hostels aren’t some law-free zone. If something is illegal outside, it’s definitely illegal inside too. The staff members don’t want any guests getting up to illegal activities that could put the entire hostel in jeopardy. So you can bet you’ll be kicked out if you’re caught.
2 Walking Around In Underwear
In all honesty, you probably won’t be kicked out if you walk around in your underwear once. But if you do it over and over again and you start to make other guests uncomfortable, you probably will be asked to leave. Even if it’s super hot, clothes should stay on.
1 Drinking In The Dorms
Drinking in the dorms is generally frowned upon. The main thing to take away is that the dorms are strictly for sleeping and anybody who uses them for anything else will annoy the other travelers who are trying to sleep. And in the process, they’ll probably be kicked out!