Hostelling International#Origins of youth hostelling and the IYHF

Richard Schirrmann, a German schoolteacher, opened the first youth hostel on 1 June 1912 in Altena Castle, in northwest Germany, with the goal of providing affordable accommodation to youth travelling the country.{{Cite web |last=Raison |first=Stephanie |date=18 November 2007 |title=Cultural Exchange |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-youth-hostels-get-a-makeover/a-2864288 |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=Deutsche Welle}} More hostels were opened in Germany throughout the 1910s, and Schirrmann founded the German Youth Hostel Association in 1919.{{Cite web |date=16 May 2011 |title=A Brief History of Hostelling International |url=https://blog.hihostels.com/2011/05/brief-history-of-hostelling/ |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=HI Hostels Blog}}

Other countries in Europe adopted this concept, which led to the founding of the International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF) in October 1932Coburn, p. 48 in Amsterdam by representatives from Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, France, and Belgium. Schirrmann, who became president in 1933, resigned in 1936 when the Government of Nazi Germany forced him out while the hostels were put under control of the Hitler Youth.Coburn, p. 81{{cite news | url=https://www.preussische-allgemeine.de/nachrichten/artikel/vater-des-jugendherbergswerks.html | title=Vater des Jugendherbergswerks | first=Stefanie | last=Hanke | work=Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung | date=12 December 2011}}

Throughout the 1950s, the hostel concept spread to Asia, Africa, and Latin America. By 1977, the international hostel network had reached a total of 500 million overnight stays, and by 1997, it counted one billion stays.{{Cite web |title=Our Story – Hostelling International |url=https://hihostels.com/our-story/ |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=Hostelling International}}

IYHF began using the name Hostelling International in 2006.

Youth hostels originally differed in setup from modern hostels, although the growing popularity of backpacking culture forced them to evolve. For example, in England and Wales, the practice of visitors completing daily chores and cleaning tasks as part of their stay was phased out during the 1980s.{{Cite web |date=18 November 2020 |title=The History of YHA |url=https://livemore.yha.org.uk/the-history-of-yha/ |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=LiveMoreYHA}}

File:A Villa in Marina di Carrara 6408.jpg, Tuscany, Italy]]

When Hostelling International was founded, representatives agreed on the introduction of an international membership card and established minimum standards for hostels. Memberships are still required today and can be purchased either online, at a hostel, or at a National Youth Hostel Association office or membership-selling outlet.{{Cite web |title=About Membership – Hostelling International |url=https://hihostels.com/about-membership/ |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=Hostelling International}}

HI reports 37 million overnight stays annually, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. 60 National Youth Hostel Associations are members of HI, with over 2,650 hostels worldwide.

Although HI holds charity status in the UK, not all member organizations share this status. For example, Hostelling International Canada lost its charity status in 2008,{{Cite journal |last=Broder |first=Peter |date=September 2009 |title=Giving charities their due |url=https://ca.vlex.com/vid/giving-charities-their-due-67170243 |journal=LawNow |volume=34 |issue=1 |via=vLex}}{{Cite web |last=Blumberg |first=Mark |date=20 January 2009 |title=Canadian Charities and Business Activities |url=http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/images/uploads/Canadian_Charities_and_Business_Activities.pdf |access-date=2 January 2020 |website=Canadian Charity Law}} and the YHA in England and Wales considered commercializing in response to increased competition from independent hostels.{{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.leedsyha.org.uk/Download/B50-StrategyDiscussionpaper.doc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111232542/http://www.leedsyha.org.uk/Download/B50-StrategyDiscussionpaper.doc |archive-date=11 January 2007 |access-date=26 October 2009}}

The COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2023) led some national associations, such as the Youth Hostel Association of New Zealand, to sell off properties due to financial impacts.{{cite web |date=25 November 2021 |title=Youth Hostel Association to close its hostels after 89 years |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/456524/youth-hostel-association-to-close-its-hostels-after-89-years |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=Radio New Zealand}}

• :Category: Hostelling International member associations{{snd}}pages for individual member associations of HI

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• Coburn, Oliver. Youth Hostel Story. London: National Council of Social Service, 1950.
• Grassl, Anton and Heath, Graham. The Magic Triangle: a short history of the world youth hostel movement. [S.l.]: International Youth Hostel Federation, 1982.
• Heath, Graham. Richard Schirrmann, the first youth hosteller. Copenhagen : International Youth Hostel Federation, 1962.

{{refend}}

• {{Official website|hihostels.com}}

{{-}}

{{Tourism}}

{{Hostels}}

{{Tourism in the United Kingdom}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Backpacking

Category:Youth hostelling

Category:Youth organizations established in 1932

Category:International organisations based in the United Kingdom

Category:Charities based in Hertfordshire

Category:Hospitality companies of Hong Kong