Hostel is a great choice for any budget traveler. These days they come in different types and choices. You can read more about the pros and cons over here From Bed Bugs to Lifelong Friends: My Unforgettable Hostel Living Experience but this is something intriguing that I stumbled upon recently, problems at the hostel I am staying at which actually is the first time from all my hostel experience that I see it happening. That being said, I have a higher tolerance for people and I am very patient,unless they provoke me. Or sometimes I just don’t care but I think that I should talk about it to make people aware that though hostels are cheap, it doesn’t mean anyone can do what they please.

These are some of the situations and common sense that I think travelers who stay in hostels should have. It’s something that seems trivial but can be annoying for other guests as we are all in shared rooms with different types of people but asking for these shouldn’t be too much as it’s basic common decency!

Be mindful about your voice and keep the chat away from inside the dorm room especially at 1 AM

Before I was sleeping late at night, I heard a conversation from the next room at midnight. The people were conversing in language I don’t understand but I can tell somehow it wasn’t a pleasant interaction. The fact that it was late at night and I could hear it from another room was a different kind of loud. These are unwritten rules but seems like people sort of need it to be written.

Don’t trash the place and make it dirty

I’ve stayed at the place for a month and now it’s about to be my 2nd month. I’ve never seen that place to be extremely dirty. But the last two days, the shared toilet was extremely dirty with toilet papers everywhere, unflushed toilet and just overall bad smells. Then I found out the cause!

There was this guest who just trash the place with toilet papers and also leaving her bloody menstrual pads on the floor. I feel sorry for all the cleaning staffs because they had to deal with it and some of my hostel friends saw it. Apparently from the chatter I heard, this particular guest had problems with the staff and also her dorm mate. She was being loud, mean, and overall unpleasant and the way she confronts the problem is by trashing the place and making it dirty instead of talking it out.

Don’t leave the lights on all day!

Usually some hostels have a no-lights policy during certain hours. But if not, your best bet is relying on common sense. In some hostels, they provide lights that are there in your bed. So you should be fine if you want something late at night. It’s never fine to turn on all the dorm lights at 3 AM!

Don’t take something that isn’t yours

If it’s not yours, don’t take it or use it. I got my bottle of soap stolen at the hostel. It’s a small thing but it just speaks about the kind of person they are. I was hoping that with that soap, it’ll last me until I leave the place but well, someone stole it. Now, I know damn well to never leave anything unattended even a bottle of soap just because someone can think just because it’s there and they are for sharing!

Don’t pack and unpack late at night!

The sound of plastic bags can wake anyone up and it’s not a pleasant thing. If you’re doing late check-in,just take whatever necessary and clean the things in the morning. Doing it late at night and disturbing others' sleep is just bad hostel manners.

Respect people’s personal space and privacy

You can be friendly and also have your own space. The people that I stayed at hostel are mostly a mix of introvert and ambivert. Everyone that stays in the hostels I am staying at are mostly asleep by 10 or 11 PM. They still have work the next day or something to do but you can also strike a conversation with them. Everything has its time. Whenever I said that I don’t want to talk, I mostly excuse myself and people would respect it. Also when it comes to dorm living, don’t be that kind of person who suddenly opens somebody's curtain without permission!

Don’t smoke and roll joints inside the dorm! Be mindful about the things you bring inside the dorm especially when it has certain odor!

Smoking is already prohibited inside the dorm and in confined spaces the smell can even be strong. I heard some complaints about people rolling joints inside the room. Not everyone likes the smell and if you want to roll them, do it in an open space. One of my hostel friends had to move from his dorm just because inside the dorm, he couldn’t stand the smell. Sometimes I smelled sweaty odor and it was yucky and hated that. I had to air out the room so that the smell went away.

After all dorms are for sleeping!

Hostels have places such as lounge areas, common rooms and sometimes a study room. If you still have things to do, go to those places inside being loud in bed. If you need to do some work on your laptop, just go there and not inside the bed while everyone is asleep.