A PROPOSAL FOR HOSTELS IN HAWAII
Still a good idea?
Slightly re-formatted
from a
17 January 1967 proposal
by
Stephen A. Langford
Honolulu, Hawaii
Current (April 1999) address:
Stephen A. Langford
9140 N. Shadow Mountain Dr.
Oro Valley, Greater TUCSON
Arizona AZ 85737 USA
"Kanaka Wai Wai"
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1. Obtain the endorsement of community leaders.It is pointed out that several industries stand to gain directly by investing their philanthropy in hostels. Other philanthropic support will be sought as well. Your help in the form of time, money, or ideas is requested.
2. Form a non-profit corporation or foundation.
3. Find competent hostel managers.
4. Solicit financial aid from various church groups, industries, foundations, and individuals.
5. Use existing facilities first.
6. Expand with tent camps and dormitories.
7. Advertise in campus newspapers.
AYH is a non-profit, non-sectarian, non-political corporation organized "exclusively for charitable and educational purposes," and open to all, regardless of race, creed, or religion. The purpose of AYH is to help all, especially young people, gain a greater understanding of the world and its people through outdoor activities, educational and recreational travel and related programs; to develop fit, self-reliant, well-informed citizens; to provide youth hostels--simple overnight accommodations in scenic, historic, and cultural areas--with supervising houseparents and local sponsorship. AYH is a service organization supported by voluntary contributions, memberships, and program fees. It is tax exempt by ruling of the U. S. Treasury Department. Contributions to AYH are deductible. AYH is a member of the International Youth Hostel Federation. It is affiliated with the American Health, Physical Education and Recreation Association, the National Recreation Association, the Council on Student Travel, the Young Adult Council of the National Social Welfare Assembly and the People-to-People Program.
The Handbook describes "Youth Hostels" as follows:
Hostels vary from country to country and even within the same country, but their general features are identical. They exist to help young people know and love the countryside, particularly by providing simple sleeping accommodations with a bed, mattress, and blankets; separate dormitories for men and women; and a members' kitchen with the use of stove, pans, etc. At many hostels in the United States, members are permitted to bring their own tents and camp out. Supplemental hostels (SH) provided in the U.S. are similar to hostels but often do not provide cooking facilities or serve hostelers exclusively. Each hostel is supervised by houseparents who are the backbone of hosteling and are usually volunteers. Visitors are expected to take part in the domestic duties of the hostel as directed by the houseparents.
In answer to "Who may use Youth Hostels?" the Handbook says:
By international agreement, each youth hostel member joins the association of [his/her] own country. A valid AYH membership card, costing from $4.00 to $7.00, depending on age [current prices are higher --SL, 2 April 1999], entitles a member to use hostels in 36 countries which have associations affiliated with the International Youth Hostel Federation. Applications and membership cards are available through AYH National Headquarters (now [Y2005] HI-USA {Hostelling International USA}) , AYH local councils, and hostels. There is no age limit to AYH membership in the United States. Trial "Introductory Passes, " good for one hostel weekend only, are available from AYH Councils for those who have never been AYH members. Inexpensive "overnight fees," which may change from time to time but average about $1.00-$1.50, must be paid for each overnight stay.
The "General youth Hostel. Customs" listed in the Handbook are:
1. Hosteling means traveling under your own power--biking, hiking, canoeing, skiing, horseback riding--living and traveling simply in a spirit of fun and friendship, and using youth hostels as overnight accommodations. School and "outdoor" education trips are encouraged. Many hostels have facilities for large conference, youth and student tour groups as well.
2. Every hosteler carried for use at all hostels [his/her] own AYH Pass, sheet sleeping sock, and personal eating utensils--plate, cup, knife, fork, spoon and dishtowel....
3. Make reservations in advance and enclose a stamped self-addressed card for houseparents' reply. Groups should send overnight fee to hold reservations; in winter and on holiday weekends, individuals should also send money ahead. Houseparents may request this prepayment. Reservations not held after 8 p.m.; if unavoidably detained, notify houseparents time of arrival.
4. Arrive between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m., giving membership card to houseparents, show sleeping sack, sign registration book, and pay overnight fee listed in write up. Hostels customarily are closed between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Kitchens close at 9:00 p.m.
5. Maximum length of stay at any one youth hostel is three days, unless special permission is obtained from the houseparents.
6. Lights out and bunkrooms quiet is customary at 10:00 p.m., but for special reasons, houseparents may extend it.
7. Cooking, cleaning, and general hostel duties are shared by all hostelers.
8. Rise by 7:00 a.m. and check out by 9:00 a.m. If hostel facilities are used between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., a day fee of 25¢ is charged. Between November 1 and April 1, this fee is automatically added.
9. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted on hostel property.
10. Smoking usually not allowed in hostels, never in bunkrooms.
11. Motor transport in hosteling is permitted, but those traveling by motor will be expected:
12. Colds or other illnesses developed on a trip should be reported to houseparents.
13. Houseparents may [withhold] card for failure to follow customs. They will inspect the hostel to make sure it is neat and clean before returning membership card. AYH reserves this right when the best interests of the organization are endangered.
14. Before going abroad, become fully acquainted with Youth Hostel customs of the respective countries you intend to visit and plan to abide by them. Only individual cards are valid abroad--not family or group cards.
Some statistics provided by the Hawaii Visitors Bureau and dealing with people traveling to Hawaii on commercial carriers follow:
Destination listed as Hawaii Age Group Percentage under 10 2.1 10-19 6.0 20-29 14.7 30-39 14.6 40-43 22.8 50-59 23.1 60 and older 16.7
We can see from these statistics that the age of more than 60% of island visitors (assuming the bulk of those people listing their destination as Hawaii to be tourists) from the Mainland is forty years and older. 22.8% are younger than 30. A startlingly small percentage of 8.1% are younger than 20.
It is well known that American youth represents a large market which is catered to by merchandisers and tourist establishments with great financial reward, and it is evident from the statistics that this age group is not traveling to the islands as commonly as we might expect and that Hawaii is losing an entire segment of the money spent by youth on tourism. Moreover, it is common for parents to encourage the older teenagers to travel during their summer vacations, and the advertising to be gained by encouraging the travel of young people in Hawaii should not be ignored. The interracial harmony existing here is an example which should be experienced by many from the Mainland. It is hoped that the development of a network of hostels will enable the youth of America to experience the outdoor living and beauties of our islands, so that as this segment of our population becomes the adult spender of tomorrow, it will help in the development of our economy while at the same time having a deep respect for the beauty of the islands.
The three major costs to the traveler are: Transportation, housing, and food. Hawaii's principle handicap as a vacationland is her distance from the Mainland and the resultant high cost of initial transportation. Once the visitor arrives, [s/he] finds a highly crowded and expensive housing situation, and one might wonder whether hotel construction is keeping pace with increasing tourism. Food costs are about 16% higher than on the Mainland. [All such statistics are by now quite dated! --SL 2 April 1999]
In order to promote tourism, commercial carriers have already established youth fares of $75.00 as compared to the adult rate of $100.03 tax included. Moreover, the airlines serving Hawaii are constructing mammoth transports designed, by latest information, to carry 375 passengers. These planes will be destined largely for Hawaii. Hostels would appeal to many who otherwise could not afford to vacation here, but who could nonetheless spur the Hawaiian economy, The cost of food for hostel tourists could be reduced by having basic provisions available at a low markup to be supplied at each hostel "provision store," it would be good to encourage the local agricultural communities to supply these provisions wherever possible, thus providing the hosteler with "local foods." The stimulation of the agricultural population of the Islands would be good for the people of Hawaii on two counts. First, it should be remembered that Hawaii's major attraction is the natural environment of ocean, mountains, greenery, and abundant fresh water available at most locations; it should be every Islander's concern that these beauties be preserved and that we stem urban encroachment or the rural environment wherever possible. Second, we should recall the spirit of Aloha and the fact that there could be nothing more noble for us Islanders to do than to maintain the beauty of our home, provide our visitors with the most economical and relaxed way of seeing our home, and derive our income from the people and the industries that support the people who are our visitors.
The struggle of the computer with the labor force is increasing leisure time available to the people of industrialized societies as the computer wins its battle. This means that tourism, so closely linked to leisure time available, is bound to be on the increase rather than on the decrease within the foreseeable future. We must develop in Hawaii the means of housing the tourists as we preserve our landscape to the greatest possible extent. A network of hostels could help the situation greatly, but we must also encourage the use of state funds for providing parks and cabins similar to those now existing in Haleakala. We might take a tip from West Virginia, which operates parks with concessions, cabins, and even motel-like accommodations at very reasonable rates. The park at Kokee, Kauai, as well as several on the Big Island, provide at least the germination of this concept.
It is our responsibility to maintain for our youth an environment which is contributory to the best possible development of mind, body, and soul.
As financial backing and proceeds from the use of hostels allow, hostels of a dormitory nature should be constructed, and A-frames, geodesic domes, and other unique, inexpensive structures should be erected by the hostel members themselves as part of a self-improvement program.
Hostels could be operated wherever possible by Islanders, but if there should be difficulty in finding people to operate the hostels, a possible source of good personnel might be found among Peace Corps graduates.
Some method of paying hostel managers must be devised so that the concept not be doomed to failure by restricting management to volunteers. A small percentage of donations could be used [to pay] employees of the network . . . salaries equivalent to those, say, of a social worker.
A possible source of objection to such a program might come from those who see in youth only the restlessness and occasional lawlessness which is often a part of youth. It is hoped that able management of hostels can be found and that the physical and mental stimulation they could provide would override tendencies toward lawlessness. The strictest adherence to each hostel's regulations would be of paramount importance to ensure the healthy growth of the hostel network.
The first step should be the formation of a non-profit foundation or corporation set up to work as an entity whose domain is the Hawaiian islands, but which is an affiliate of AYH and, therefore, of the International Youth Hostel Federation. The basic aim of the organization should be to provide low-cost housing to tourists who for their part agree to subject themselves to the necessary regulations of each hostel.
On the Board of Directors of this organization should sit representatives of the church, the state, private foundations of the Islands, social agencies, industries, and concerned individuals. An Executive Secretary should be hired to run the operation as a business whose profits return to the betterment of the hostel network. [S/He] should be a salaried, full-time employee and be supplied with offices and the necessary staff.
It should be the job of the Executive Secretary to head up the job of fundraising and to propose to the Board of Directors the most efficient use of funds, land available, and personnel. It should be [his/her] job to recommend salaries of managerial appointments as well.
Finally, money could be raised by advertising the existence of the chain in university newspapers the world over, soliciting both membership and advance reservations for hostel tours of Hawaii.
Persons interested in helping in any way, in seeking employment, or in seeking additional information, should write:
Stephen A. Langford [Outdated address was]: Ala Wai Harbor Honolulu, Hawaii. [Current address is]: 9140 N. Shadow Mountain Dr. Oro Valley, Greater TUCSON Arizona AZ 85737 USA [End of Proposal itself.]
-Steve Langford- 2 April 1999 Oro Valley, Arizona, USA
©Stephen A. Langford, Oro Valley, Arizona, 2 - 4 April 1999. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This document may be freely transmitted in its entirety, so long as no monies are earned during the transaction/s. Permission is required for any and all other pertinent circumstances.
(Metering for this page was begun on 2 April 1999.)
Last edited on 14 March 2005.