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sseldovia
03-10-2014, 16:29
Do hostels typically require reservations or a "heads up" a few days before your planned stay? I know they vary for cost/donations expected, but am having trouble getting a feel for thru-hiker expectations on reserving a bed/floorspace. Thanks!

Starchild
03-10-2014, 17:21
I would say that most do not, actually I don't recall any that 'require' a reservation. Some will accept a reservation others will not and you need to show up.

That last part is a bit of a debate topic as some have said that use of a cell phone on the trail to get a reservation is 'unfair' or breaking some sort of AT trail etiquette.

lonehiker
03-10-2014, 17:27
That last part is a bit of a debate topic as some have said that use of a cell phone on the trail to get a reservation is 'unfair' or breaking some sort of AT trail etiquette.

Guess I've never worried what "some" thought. I have often called ahead to see if there was room or if they take reservations.

Sly
03-10-2014, 17:58
Some places such as green Mountain House require reservation but that's not a hostel per se. Others may accept reservations but I personally consider making one poor taste as there's likely others ahead that will get there and be denied, and hostels don't usually have staff waiting for phone calls.. I think it's better to reserve reservations for motels and B&B's

canoe
03-10-2014, 19:20
Some places such as green Mountain House require reservation but that's not a hostel per se. Others may accept reservations but I personally consider making one poor taste as there's likely others ahead that will get there and be denied, and hostels don't usually have staff waiting for phone calls.. I think it's better to reserve reservations for motels and B&B's I know you have much more experiance me...I just dont see how making a reservation is in poor taste... everyone has the same opportunity to make reservation. Dang If I hiked into town only to find no bunks that would be mucho wasted time. Sure you still need resupply but still.

Sly
03-10-2014, 19:29
I know you have much more experiance me...I just dont see how making a reservation is in poor taste... everyone has the same opportunity to make reservation. Dang If I hiked into town only to find no bunks that would be mucho wasted time. Sure you still need resupply but still.

I don't like it because a hiker without a cell phone could be hiking all day, make it to an empty hostel and told there's no room. Hikers with cell phones could have made reservations and may not show up until 10 PM.

It's pretty much a moot point, few "hostels" take reservations or credit cards over the phone or on a website. I'm sure most would laugh at the caller. Motels, on the other hand are another matter entirely.

If I know there's a bunch of hikers ahead of me, rather than hike into town late and possibly shut out of room, I tend to camp or shelter before town, and make it to town early the next day.

WingedMonkey
03-10-2014, 19:31
Since most trail hostels don't take credit cards, how are you going to guarantee a reservation?

How are they going to charge no shows?

Sly
03-10-2014, 19:35
I saw where the new Top of Georgia is taking reservations. If they're swiping credit cards that's one thing but if not, dollars to donuts they'll abandon the system within a couple weeks, when people start complaining and others don't show up on time.

Sly
03-10-2014, 19:37
Since most trail hostels don't take credit cards, how are you going to guarantee a reservation?

How are they going to charge no shows?

Most smart phones can swipe (or key) credit cards now. Another problem is even if they take credit cards in advance and the people don't show. They'll have to turn away hikers with empty rooms, make a refund etc..

Reservations just aren't conducive to hostels.

mtntopper
03-10-2014, 19:37
I often call ahead to see if there is a space available. Dang if I want to walk into town just to find out that the hostel is full. Poor taste or not I call.

pafarmboy
03-10-2014, 19:41
Huh? So non-cell phone hikers should get precedence? That's like saying non-tent carriers should get dibs on shelters.

I think the exact opposite. Poor taste is just showing up and expecting service. I always call and let a hostel know I'd like to spend the night. Thinking from a hostel owner's point of view, what the heck could possibly be wrong with that? T

WingedMonkey
03-10-2014, 19:45
Nothing wrong with calling to check availability. Specially if section hiking other than in the bubble.The hostel owner might even be out or closed during slow times.

Sly
03-10-2014, 19:58
Huh? So non-cell phone hikers should get precedence? That's like saying non-tent carriers should get dibs on shelters.

I think the exact opposite. Poor taste is just showing up and expecting service. I always call and let a hostel know I'd like to spend the night. Thinking from a hostel owner's point of view, what the heck could possibly be wrong with that? T

It's called first come, 1st serve (same as shelters) and has been around for ages. Not he who calls first.

Sly
03-10-2014, 20:01
I often call ahead to see if there is a space available. Dang if I want to walk into town just to find out that the hostel is full. Poor taste or not I call.

Calling to see if there's room and calling to reserve a room with hikers ahead of you is an entirely different matter.

Just Bill
03-10-2014, 20:13
Do hostels typically require reservations or a "heads up" a few days before your planned stay? I know they vary for cost/donations expected, but am having trouble getting a feel for thru-hiker expectations on reserving a bed/floorspace. Thanks!

Hostels are almost always first come first served.
It is considered bad etiquitte to "steal" a spot via phone, for that reason most won't allow reservations anyway.
If you are hiking with the bubble or during a busy time it's best to plan on getting there early, or as Sly said- hanging back to time your arrival that way.
It makes perfect sense if it's late in the day and you have the means to call to save a trip to see if they are full.
Although many "full" hostels let you tent (sometimes with access to shower and laundry) which is often better than finding a stealth site in town if nothing else is available- but some local ordinances will not allow that so don't be offended if they refuse.

Motels, B&B's, Hotels, Huts and pretty much every full price option will happily take reservations and payment over the phone.
If it's critical you have a bed- that's the only safe route. Hostels are cheap but savings come at a price.

pafarmboy
03-10-2014, 20:16
Calling to see if there's room and calling to reserve a room with hikers ahead of you is an entirely different matter.

Why? If it's the hostel owner's choice to say first come first served. Fine. I have no problem with that. You know how I'd know that? By calling.....

If others take reservations, how is that wrong? I'm supposed to intuit how many hikers are ahead of me and might wanna stay the night? To assume owners just want people straggling in at all hours to honor some sort of ancient code is crazy.

ChinMusic
03-10-2014, 20:17
I know you have much more experiance me...I just dont see how making a reservation is in poor taste...

It's not. I found most hostels willing to take reservations. The ones that did not sometimes led me to make other plans.

mtntopper
03-10-2014, 20:18
If they take reservations I make them, just like I reserve a shelter spot in the GSMNP. I have called many a hostels just in time to get them to hold a place for me.
They were happy to do so and I was happy to get it.

Starchild
03-10-2014, 20:25
So my point is made and expressed many times here.

Some hikers prefer the non modern hiking experience but can lose out by doing so. The questions remain.

As for the OP, it does not hurt asking (calling) as you go, you can only benefit you, at the very least by knowledge of how they want to operate. I know that I have been given preferential treatment at hostels that I called (best bunk location etc.), and have been denied staying if I just arrived if they were full. That said I have always found a place to stay, the trail does provide, though the trail sometimes makes you think it may not.

lemon b
03-10-2014, 20:38
If you stay at my house with a hiker room, washer dryer, shower, stove. Its just gonna be luck of running into me on the trail or trail head. Like it was back in 78.

Sly
03-10-2014, 20:39
It's not. I found most hostels willing to take reservations. The ones that did not sometimes led me to make other plans.

ChinMusic can you tel me which hostels took reservations? I don't believe any of the church hostels, Kincora, Blueberry Patch etc do. Which hostels?

Sly
03-10-2014, 20:42
I have called many a hostels just in time to get them to hold a place for me.
They were happy to do so and I was happy to get it.

Can you me which ones? The reason I ask is I want the info for the 2015 Companion.

Drybones
03-10-2014, 20:43
Huh? So non-cell phone hikers should get precedence? That's like saying non-tent carriers should get dibs on shelters.

I think the exact opposite. Poor taste is just showing up and expecting service. I always call and let a hostel know I'd like to spend the night. Thinking from a hostel owner's point of view, what the heck could possibly be wrong with that? T

Agree.........................

Sly
03-10-2014, 20:48
Agree.........................

You can agree but it's under a false pretense. While it's similar in nature to shelters where it's first come first serve, it has nothing to do with non-tent carriers (which is insane) getting dibs at shelters which no one has called for.

What's next shelter reservations along the entire trail? (not just in the Smokies which is another disingenuous argument.)

Drybones
03-10-2014, 20:56
You can agree but it's under a false pretense. While it's similar in nature to shelters where it's first come first serve, it has nothing to do with non-tent carriers (which is insane) getting dibs at shelters which no one has called for.

What's next shelter reservations along the entire trail? (not just in the Smokies which is another disingenuous argument.)

????????????????????????????????????

ChinMusic
03-10-2014, 21:08
ChinMusic can you tel me which hostels took reservations? I don't believe any of the church hostels, Kincora, Blueberry Patch etc do. Which hostels?Now that I rethink it, I cannot think of one call I made where the hostel didn't take reservations. Now, I did not always call. I generally preferred motels when the option presented.


For sure took my res:
Aquone
Hemlock
Crazy Larry
Ironmaster
Green Mt
Hikers Welcome
The Cabin
Shaws
AT Lodge

I keep editing as I think of more. It isn't something I wrote down in my journal.

mtntopper
03-10-2014, 21:14
Sly,
They do not advertise that they take reservations. I can tell you that I have called some hostels and they have held a spot for me. I have also called some hostels and they have denied my request. Sometimes it was the same hostel. No I haven't made them months or even weeks ahead. I have called them from the trail.

canoe
03-10-2014, 21:19
Now that I rethink it, I cannot think of one call I made where the hostel didn't take reservations. Now, I did not always call. I generally preferred motels when the option presented.


For sure took my res:
Aquone
Crazy Larry
Green Mt
The Cabin
Shaws

Dont forget hike hostel and topofgeorgia (new this year)

canoe
03-10-2014, 21:20
That is hiker hostel

lonehiker
03-10-2014, 21:24
Some places such as green Mountain House require reservation but that's not a hostel per se. Others may accept reservations but I personally consider making one poor taste as there's likely others ahead that will get there and be denied, and hostels don't usually have staff waiting for phone calls.. I think it's better to reserve reservations for motels and B&B's

Most businesses on the AT don't have a staff waiting for phone calls. But, I guarantee that all of them sure appreciate the business that they receive. It is absurd to think that calling ahead to see about availability, and subsequent "reservation", is in poor taste. Hostels will make the call whether or not they will hold a room for you. My experience is that they will. I definitely won't apologize for prior planning on my part.

Just Bill
03-10-2014, 21:29
Well didn't this spin out of hand rather quickly.
I'm still mainly with Sly, but it's been awhile and things change.
This is a subject with no wrong answer.

Sly
03-10-2014, 21:30
For sure took my res:
Aquone
Hemlock
Crazy Larry
Ironmaster
Green Mt
The Cabin
Shaws
AT Lodge

Thanks, I'll try to make sure the field editors get a reservation policy.

ChinMusic
03-10-2014, 21:32
This is a subject with no wrong answer.
Sure there is. Poor taste and bad etiquette have nothing to do with reservations.

sseldovia
03-10-2014, 21:36
Thanks, all, for the feedback. I'll keep it in mind and see what's easiest for both parties (me and hostel). Have a great hike!! T-5 days for me!

Sly
03-10-2014, 21:37
Sure there is. Poor taste and bad etiquette have nothing to do with reservations.

And since the cell phone first come first serve is out the window?

The "hostels" you listed aren't exactly hostels that I spoke of. The fact is unless things have changed drastically you can't make a reservation at a church hostel, the Kincora, or blueberry patch etc.

rafe
03-10-2014, 21:38
Do hostels typically require reservations or a "heads up" a few days before your planned stay? I know they vary for cost/donations expected, but am having trouble getting a feel for thru-hiker expectations on reserving a bed/floorspace. Thanks!

I only ever called ahead once, and that mostly to reassure myself that the place in question was open for business and that there was going to be someone on hand to let me in. It was a new hostel that had just opened that year (Free State hiker hostel in MD.) It was quite nice, by the way, and it turned out I had the place to myself.

Slo-go'en
03-10-2014, 21:39
Motels, B&B's, Hotels, Huts and pretty much every full price option will happily take reservations and payment over the phone.
If it's critical you have a bed- that's the only safe route. Hostels are cheap but savings come at a price.

And if you don't show up, then your charged anyway.

ChinMusic
03-10-2014, 21:42
And since the cell phone first come first serve is out the window?

The "hostels" you listed aren't exactly hostels that I spoke of. The fact is unless things have changed drastically you can't make a reservation at a church hostel, the Kincora, or blueberry patch etc.
I can only report what I experience first hand in 2013. I do find it interesting that my list of hostels does not meet your definition of a hostel.

mtntopper
03-10-2014, 21:43
Some places such as green Mountain House require reservation but that's not a hostel per se. Others may accept reservations but I personally consider making one poor taste as there's likely others ahead that will get there and be denied, and hostels don't usually have staff waiting for phone calls.. I think it's better to reserve reservations for motels and B&B's


This is what you posted.

canoe
03-10-2014, 21:50
Many do accept reservations, many dont, so call ahead

Sly
03-10-2014, 22:02
I can only report what I experience first hand in 2013. I do find it interesting that my list of hostels does not meet your definition of a hostel.


Aquone
Hemlock
Crazy Larry
Ironmaster
Green Mt
The Cabin
Shaws
AT Lodge

I've never been to the Aquone so I don't know how it's set up. Crazy Larry has a couple bedrooms in his private home. Ironmasters is certainly a hostel (that's closed during the day). I haven't been to Green Mt but I would think it's more of a B&B than a hostel. Haven't been to the Cabin. Shaw's has a hostel but it's my bet you got a private room. I had a private room at AT Lodge, not sure if they have a hostel.

WingedMonkey
03-10-2014, 22:31
You can't just walk into a place like Aquone from the trail, so just the act of calling for a pick up is a call for a reservation.

evyck da fleet
03-10-2014, 22:36
Regarding church hostels, when I got to the road to Waynesboro, I was advised by a shuttle driver to call the church hostel there as they only had a limited number of cots and would turn away hikers after a certain number. Hikers also advised me to call Green Mtn the night before or morning of the day I was heading to town since it was a popular place to stay. The only other places I called were hostels that provided shuttles, mostly in Maine, since they were miles off the trail.

ChinMusic
03-10-2014, 22:40
You can't just walk into a place like Aquone from the trail, so just the act of calling for a pick up is a call for a reservation.

I called the day before, while I was in Franklin, so I dispute that notion.

WingedMonkey
03-10-2014, 22:44
I called the day before, while I was in Franklin, so I dispute that notion.

And I suppose you slackpacked from the road crossing to Aquone? My point is you can't just show up there, they are not on the trail.

ChinMusic
03-10-2014, 22:48
And I suppose you slackpacked from the road crossing to Aquone? My point is you can't just show up there, they are not on the trail.

And my point, and the crux of this thread, is that they took a reservation. I didn't have to get to Wayah Gap first.

Sly
03-11-2014, 07:31
Regarding church hostels, when I got to the road to Waynesboro, I was advised by a shuttle driver to call the church hostel there as they only had a limited number of cots and would turn away hikers after a certain number.

Of course you can call to see if there's space, but I doubt the church hostel is going to take your reservation and save you a spot from the trail while another hiker has walked the distance to get the last bunk.

evyck da fleet
03-11-2014, 21:57
Of course you can call to see if there's space, but I doubt the church hostel is going to take your reservation and save you a spot from the trail while another hiker has walked the distance to get the last bunk. You would have to be a very unfortunate hiker to walk in during the five minutes b/w the call and arrival but you'd get directed to the YMCA camping area a few blocks away if the church shuttle driver had already left and you didn't want to spring for a hotel. Especially since Waynesboro seemed like a really easy place to get a hitch. I had a couple of people offer me a ride back to the trail from the PO during the few minutes I was waiting for mine to show up.

Starchild
03-11-2014, 22:51
I had success in reserving Blueberry Patch as I wanted to slackpack there and get my pack advanced to them, I called up and told them my plans, I also told them that since I expect to be there late I may be in very tough spot if I didn't have a place to stay. They were (words fail me), basically they told me yes come here and you pack will be waiting for you in your reserved spot. It actually seemed more then that, like I was not going to be denied a spot, I got the feeling that it was part of their purpose of their existance of them providing it to me (thank you - SC). This also showed as they invited me into their home, not just the hostel building.

Other hostels that took reservations that I can recall:
Laughing Heart, Hot Springs (prepaid for me about 3 days in advance (another person reserved it for me))
Ironmaster's PA (also prepaid for me a day in advance)
Teahouse Hostel Harper's Ferry (this one I had to foot the bill myself - same day reservation)
Lake Shore House ME (This one I made myself but was paypal'ed the money for my stay later)

I'm sure if I look into it there are more, but yes calling does help and never hurts.

Sly
03-12-2014, 08:54
I had success in reserving Blueberry Patch as I wanted to slackpack there and get my pack advanced to them, I called up and told them my plans, I also told them that since I expect to be there late I may be in very tough spot if I didn't have a place to stay. They were (words fail me), basically they told me yes come here and you pack will be waiting for you in your reserved spot. It actually seemed more then that, like I was not going to be denied a spot, I got the feeling that it was part of their purpose of their existance of them providing it to me (thank you - SC). This also showed as they invited me into their home, not just the hostel building.

Other hostels that took reservations that I can recall:
Laughing Heart, Hot Springs (prepaid for me about 3 days in advance (another person reserved it for me))
Ironmaster's PA (also prepaid for me a day in advance)
Teahouse Hostel Harper's Ferry (this one I had to foot the bill myself - same day reservation)
Lake Shore House ME (This one I made myself but was paypal'ed the money for my stay later)

I'm sure if I look into it there are more, but yes calling does help and never hurts.

Thanks, personal opinions aside, in the Companion, some of the hostels you mentioned, state they take reservations, the others have phone numbers. I sent an email to the field editors to specifically ask, and inquire about policy.