Tuesday, what can be said about Tuesday? Usually here at HostelTimes.com, we say we would rather be traveling! It's a day full of talk about destinations and what to do while visiting. Now, we all know that Google lends a helpful hand in depicting the top destinations to visit around the world or in a particular country, but what is REALLY in a destination? Is it a location? Is it a city? Is it a landmark? A beach, perhaps? Let's dive a little deeper into the meaning of a destination and highlight just a few of our favorites, not necessarily because of their overall popularity, but because of what they have to offer that is not so mainstream.
Washington, D.C.: If you follow our Facebook, then you probably noticed by now that we mentioned the George Washington Masonic Temple. This place is amazing because of its history, yes, but for those of us who are not going to remember the details associated with the history, there is still much to be appreciated: the architecture, the surrounding grounds, the strange rooms inside and, most of all, the sweeping views of the city, the Potomac River and Virginia. It's not just a city filled with suits and history, but one in which the beauty can be appreciated.
San Jose, Costa Rica: When you think Costa Rica, do you think: rain forest or beach? In the past, I thought beach, but now all I can see is the vivid colors of the rain forest with volcanoes in the background. Maybe a tropical bird wakes you up in the morning and you go for a stroll to enjoy the jugglers at the Parque Morazan before embarking on your journey to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. After exploring the natural areas nearby, you can return to your hostel and relax before bar hopping in Barrio La California.
Vancouver, Canada: Home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver is a lively city. Rated as one of the top cities in Canada, Vancouver has amazing scenery and happens to be sandwiched in a prime location between mountains and ocean. So whether you are interested in snowboarding in the mountains or windsurfing in the ocean, Vancouver has something for everyone. A port-city, Vancouver's bars and shops offer plenty of activities for nightlife or even those just making a pit stop before embarking on their next adventure.
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Cheers!
Greetings! Happy belated New Year!
With the start of 2014, Hostel Times is happy to announce that we have vamped up our efforts in expanding our reach worldwide, both to travelers and hostels. With our improved marketing outreach style, we have seen an increase in our numbers, with which has come an influx of questions regarding our services. We feel that we should take a moment to reintroduce ourselves to the hostelling community, providing here answers to common questions about us, as well as information about our goals & efforts.
Hostel Times is made up of people with experience in owning hostels and travel enthusiasts. We are a diverse team, with different backgrounds and travel experiences, all with a shared goal to have a positive impact on the hostelling community by providing not only hostel reservation services, but also giving the travel community ideas on places to visit, events to attend, hidden gems, local food tips and even articles & history related to travel and hostelling.
We aim to be the cheapest hostel reservation site and something that sets us apart from other booking sites is that we give all of our travelers a 5% discount on their every stay at any hostel they book and have no booking fees. We pride ourselves on our efforts to maintain a personal feel for our hostels and customers, always being open to feedback, questions and concerns.
We recognize the importance for travelers to have a wide array of hostels to choose from when booking travel arrangements, and have begun and are continuing aggressive efforts to maintain and grow our partnerships with quality hostels. We have also found that the more travelers that book hostels with us, the more quality hostels that we are able to attract. Our travelers our important to us, which is why we work hard to ensure the hostels we have listed are high quality and to keep their information updated.
We also recognize the importance for hostels to have a solid number of consistent bookings while maintaining a listing with an OTA such as ours. In this aspect, we have also launched a new marketing campaign to expand our reach. It is our goal to continually increase our reach with travelers, so that we can connect these travelers to our partner hostels. We have found that the hostels that see the most results from us are the hostels that are not afraid to mention the smaller sites like Hostel Times to their customers. We have had many hostels request and post Hostel Times posters in their lobby/dorm areas. Our hostel partners are important to us, and we recognize that every dollar counts in the hostel industry, which is exactly why we will never raise our commission rates on them.
Hostel Times is a community of travelers looking to preserve the integrity of budget & hostel travel. We are for travelers, by travelers and look to save you money EVERY time you book your hostels!
Here's to a fun and travel filled 2014!
The Hostel Times Team
