Definitely didn't mean to offend anyone.
HST/JMT August 2016
TMB/Alps Sept 2015
PCT Mile 0-857 - Apr/May 2015
Foothills Trail Feb 2015
Colorado Trail Aug 2014
AT: Rockfish Gap to Boiling Springs 2014
John Muir Trail Aug/Sept 2013
If you leave a donation and it feels "right" then you did the right thing.
Simple is good.
+ 1 No need to feel bad for doing good .Originally Posted by Carbo
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
Last year, I'd posed the "donation" question before planning our Spring Trip. There was lots of opinion, and lots of advice, and it all culminated in "do what you feel is best". Now Snacktime and I have stayed in many hostels of different styles, and this is what we've learned:
Donation-based is just that. If someone were passing a hat to cover costs incurred by yours and other's stays, what would you contribute? What would you consider your fair share? (personally I think Snacktime and I drain a little more than our share from the system, so we go by this idea "plus a little"). If you have trouble with the concept of donating to something "free", consider the basket passed around at a church. The mass is free, the heat for the building is not. For the same token, if you don't have it, don't sweat it. Find another way to contribute or pay it forward. Also, tipping in such a situation would be awkward as funds given are for the purpose of maintaining the service, not personal reward.
Commercially-based. You pay the price asked, and there's often a paid staff that provides service. Absolutely tip is there is service given above and beyond what was expected. This has occurred for us, and we did, but I wouldn't have had I not been able to see that the tip went directly to the individual who deserved it.
"Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."
Look at all the hostels along the AT that have gone out of business. If people want to enjoy them, then they need to support them. Seems pretty simple to me. If someone has the means to make a generous donation to balance out those who don't, well my hats off to them.
If you can't afford to tip a few bucks....maybe you should pass on the services!!
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My hiking companion stayed at a hostel and was waiting for change after settling up with the proprietor. After about 20 minutes the hostel owner came back with the change and said "thanks for the tip." I use a rule of thumb when it comes to donations at hostels. I donate what the average no-frills commercial hostel charges. I figure if I am willing to pay the commercial hostel, I can pay a not-for-profit. I agree with imscotty.
More walking, less talking.
i agree totally. too many times people decide how much to give based on THEIR finances, not on the services received . the one comment that $20 was a lot cracked me up. LW is right, the same person wouldn't think twice about throwing a 20 on the bar
I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.
What is the tip going for? Good service or what? I've been a volunteer in a hostel that the manager took the tips to line her pockets. (She did this because she thought she deserved it! Not because she did a great job or anything.)
If u can't afford to thru stay home like me....I'm jealous and broke!!
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You are correct, I had forgotten about the Jailhouse Hostel and I don't remember a request for a donation.
Let's be clear, the definition of
do·na·tion dōˈnāSH(ə)n
noun
noun donation plural noun donations
- something that is given to a charity, especially a sum of money.
- the action of donating something.
There's nothing about being voluntary in there. If there's a donation jar, you're expected to leave something. If there's a "suggested donation" that's the minimum. You can always add a tip.
Nothing about being required either. Word games go both ways.
Lonehiker (MRT '22)
If you refuse to get it, you never will.
A donation is absolutely voluntary. Otherwise its called a fee. And it is tacky and low class to tell people how much they should "donate." Most places that operate on donations do so because if they were operating as a for profit business they would be violating a whole bunch of laws that they can get around if they offer free services and accept donations. If you want the protections of the laws, you have to follow them. If you don't want to follow the law, then don't complain when people don't "donate."
Just because a hostel is operating on donations doesn't mean they're violating the law. If a hostel is in a town that doesn't allow them they're going to get shut down, regardless of if it's on a donation basis.
If someone doesn't want to, or refuses to pay for services rendered, it's on them, and since it's been mentioned, tacky and low class.
Last edited by Sly; 11-27-2014 at 15:29.
Yellow Deli is a 'mandatory donation' in practice, IIRC there are others as well. Sort of a way to get the benefits of being a donation hostel yet still charge a fixed amount.
Four Pines, Chet's Place, and Blueberry Patch are OTOH no pressure donation hostels.
But as for it is tacky to suggest a donation amount, people sometimes need a guideline just so they know the amount so I don't take it as tacky YMMV.
Actually the law is different in many places for these 2 types. If it is a for profit business that has overnight guests for pay certain requirements need to be met that may include handycap accessible, stainless steal 'commercial' kitchen with proper venting, exit ways clearly marked and a floor layout that allows that, fire systems. Also a lot of extra accounting and documentation.
Going on with this, it is not that the hostel is breaking the law, but they may need to make improvements to make it non-donation. If they just started changing but didn't have the improvements then they would be breaking the law.
As others have pointed out, I'm not saying they are violating the law...sorry if I gave that impression...what I am saying is that there are a whole host of laws that they would be violating if they were operating a commercial business...ie lots of requirements, licenses and inspections that most hostels I've seen would never be able to pass without a substantial outlay of time and money. And I totally agree that its tacky and low class to use a service and then stiff the person providing it. And its pretty clear that there are many people who do that. I'm just saying it doesn't take more than a couple weeks running a hostel to figure this out, and if you have chosen to operate on voluntary donations, don't be surprised or upset when a lot of people don't volunteer.
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