Hostel life can be fun, a great place to meet new friends and have newfound adventures in a new city. Many travellers opt for hostels and dorm rooms because they’re cheap. And it’s a great way to save the travel budget for other things besides your bed for the night. If you’ve opted to stay in a dorm room to save money, then there are a set of unspoken rules!
They’re not only the actual rules set out by the hostel, but they’re the traveller’s rules!
They ensure that chaos doesn’t erupt, that adequate rest has been had by all, and that everyone has enjoyed hostel life.
Hostel dorm room etiquette is an absolute must, so brush up on the rules below.
Post first published October 15th 2019 | Updated September 24th 2022
Table of contents
Be nice and courteous
Basic manners are a must, and they go such a long way for everyone’s hostel expereince. Be polite and courteous with your fellow bunkies and hostel guests.
When you arrive, introduce yourself to your dorm room buddies, ask some polite questions, and don’t be shy about starting a conversation.
It’s easy, “hi I’m …… What’s your name? Where are you from? When did you arrive? What are your plans? Standard hostel convo starters. It is easy and it goes a long way.
It’s important to read the energy though. Not everyone will be the chatty type and may just want to keep to themselves. That’s perfectly fine. Read the energy or lack thereof, you’re getting back and take it from there.
If you have chosen to experience hostel life but have opted for a private room instead of a dorm room, then the hostel kitchen, common room or even the hostel walking tour are great places to meet other travellers staying in the hostel.
This is especially great for the solo travellers amongst us.
Be respectful
Respect your roommates, their space, their things and their sleep.
This includes keeping your own belongings. Confine them to your bed, under your bed or in your locker. It’s important not to spread your clothes and toiletries all over the dorm room or bathroom. Encroaching on other people’s limited space while staying at a hostel is not okay.
Also, be mindful not to go touching or moving other people’s things. If their things are all over the place, ask them politely to contain their things to their designated bunk/area.
Lockers are provided to give each guest somewhere safe to keep their valuables and electronics. Not necessarily for an entire bag and its belongings.
Going back and forth to the locker and jangling the keys and padlock each time you need a piece of clothing or another bathroom product creates unnecessary disturbances and noise in the room. Try to keep that to a minimum, and things you use regularly out in the open.
The most important thing you can do is to respect people’s sleep and avoid making unnecessary noise.
Don’t turn on the lights
This might be the biggest bugbear of hostel life!
It’s an absolute given if there are people asleep in the room, do not turn on the lights. We are all attached to our phones these days and they all come with a torch. Use that instead of using the main lights.
Most bunks have personal lamps too. They emit a low wattage and shouldn’t disturb people too much, if at all.
There is also a huge range of personal torches on the market that are even smaller than an iPhone
Keep the nudity to a minimum
If you prefer to be less than dressed, shall we say, just don’t! Not in a shared dorm room. Respect everyone by not walking around naked and shutting the bathroom door when showering or using the toilet. Also please wear something to bed! If you prefer to be naked whenever possible maybe a private room is a better fit for you!
It’s also understandable people will need to get changed, just quickly jump into the bathroom. Everyone is entitled to an enjoyable hostel experience and we need to respect other people’s boundaries and sensibilities.
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Keep the noise to a minimum
Being respectful leads perfectly to this subject. Noise is a given in a shared environment like a hostel. However, there is a time and a place, and hostel life is for enjoying, not for feeling annoyed the whole time.
Hostels have common rooms, shared kitchens and oftentimes a rooftop bar, chill zone or even a cafe attached. Use these shared common areas for boisterous recaps of your amazing days. A place to play cards and maybe a drinking game, or catch up with your family on the phone.
In the dorm room, especially at night and in the early morning, noise should be non-existent or at a very minimum.
If people are asleep or even just chilling on their beds, be respectful of that.
Avoid:
- Unzipping luggage and toiletries bags excessively.
- Using plastic or paper bags. Buy a canvas bag instead
- Excessive chatter, move that to the common rooms
- Taking phone calls in the room
- Watching or listening to Netflix, music or a podcast without using headphones
Be Prepared
The number one way to be an amazing hostel guest and dorm room bunkie is to be prepared.
Try these tips and tricks during your next stay:
- If you will be checking in late, make sure your sleepwear is at the top of your luggage for quick and easy access.
- Have whatever toiletries you will need close to the top also. This helps to avoid unnecessary zipping and unzipping of bags or rustling around looking for things at the bottom of your bag
- If you are departing early for sightseeing or to checkout, lay your clothes out ready
- Again make sure your toiletries are close to hand too
- If you’re checking out early have your locker emptied and your bag packed ready to go
- If you use your phone keep the screen brightness very low
- If there is an en-suite bathroom, or even if it’s a public/common shower, take super quick showers and take them at night. Most people want a shower in the morning. However to avoid waiting your turn have a shower a night. Trust me they’re always free at night too!
- A quick face wash and a spray of deodorant in the morning and you’re good to go.
Overview
In a nutshell, think of the dorm room as a quiet, clean, neat and sacred place. See how silent and stealthy you can be my ninja friends. Loud, rude, disrespectful people are not wanted or welcome in dorm rooms.
If you think this might be you, or some things you simply can’t avoid, by all means still stay at the hostel. However, a private room might be a better fit.
Hostel life is fabulous and can be so much fun. Everyone should be able to have an enjoyable hostel experience and more often than not many people have horror stories from hostel stays. Don’t be the person that adds to this.
Drop your favourite tips for hostel life in the comments below.
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Luisa is a solo traveller from Australia, having travelled internationally since 1998. She has travelled to over 63 countries on 6 continents.
Her goal is to teach you how to travel solo with confidence.
She shares guides and tips on travel, budgeting and photography.
Luisa is also a group trip host and travel consultant and can be hired here.
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