SAN DIEGO, February 3, 2010– American college students dreaming of a California holiday but low on cash and leery of budget accommodation, can still make their dreams come true and save $$$ by staying at USA Hostels’ award winning locations. The independent hostel chain’s San Diego, San Francisco and Hollywood locations were named the nation’s #1, #2 and #4 hostels, respectively, for 2009 at Hostelworld.com’s annual HOSCAR awards held on January 23. Additionally, the company was recognized as the sixth highest rated hostel chain worldwide.
Hostelworld.com’s HOSCAR annual awards recognize the best hostels in the world as rated by over 1 million customers. Customers review the hostels on six criteria: Character, Security, Location, Staff, Fun, and Cleanliness. Approximately 300 hostels in the United States and 23,000 hostels worldwide are listed on Hostelworld.com.
“We hope these awards will help college students become more comfortable about trying hostels when they travel to California. While American hostels have been popular with international travelers, they were not historically popular with American students” commented David Reuter, founder and president of USA Hostels. “However, in the last two years we’ve seen a jump in American college students making hostels their choice for Alternative Spring Break and summer holidays and we hope that trend continues. American hostels have stepped up their game, but sometimes students still have the wrong idea of what a hostel is. Customer reviews and ratings on sites like Hostelworld help students feel comfortable choosing hostels that provide strong customer service and safe, comfortable surroundings.”
“To help students learn more about what our hostels are like, we have videos on our website that are like virtual tours through our buildings and show viewers not only the rooms, but some of the activities and tours we do,” Reuter continued. “We know students are on a budget and could always stay at some anonymous budget hotel, so we want them to know they’ll get more value for their money staying at our hostels where we include lots of freebies for our guests. But even more important is that a hostel has a vibe you’ll never get at a hotel. There’s nightly activities like open mic, comedy shows, limo tours and pub crawls, giving students the chance to meet travelers from all around the world. Our receptionists are not just locals but hostel travelers themselves, so they know, and want to share, the insider places to go. And, often, our staff organizes hostel parties and local tours.”
Each hostel in the USA Hostels’ chain provides free breakfast, WiFi, linens, laundry soap and luggage-sized lockers, along with a range of free activities throughout each week, and discounted tickets and tours to area attractions. The hostel provide extra security to valuables and guests by providing plugs inside all the rooms’ lockers for secure charging and storage of electronics and key card entry to their buildings. Many rooms are ensuite and boast pillow-top beds. Privates feature fridges, microwaves, cable tv, duvets and I-Homes.
Reuter added, “We know that having the nicest hostel facilities is not enough and we work everyday to earn trust in our hostels and continually focus on improving our facilities, operations, and customer service.”
In 2009, USA Hostels’ California locations completed a number of upgrades including bathroom and dorm room renovations, the opening of a 50-seat theatre in the San Francisco location, a redesign of the Hollywood location’s lobby and all new beds in the San Diego location. All locations continued ongoing customer service training and added more guest activities.
USA Hostels operates high-quality budget accommodations in Hollywood, San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas. Founded in San Diego in 1994, USA Hostels offers a choice of shared dormitory rooms or private rooms to independent travelers from all over the globe along with fully equipped guest kitchens and lounges.
For more information please contact Maria Argyropoulos, Vice President of Operations, 323 359-7577.
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Additional comments: Website, videos and photos: www.usahostels.com.