The Hostel Experiment

Welcome!

2008-11-01T16:09:00.002-07:00

Hey there internet, I’m Chris. I was the shaky cameraman and video editor for this little hostel experiment. You may be wondering what prompted us to make this video.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is a student project. My group and I are seniors at Cal State University San Marcos and as a graduating requirement for the business program we have to complete this program known as SENIOR EXPERIENCE. Companies from and around San Diego work with groups of students complete projects and help these companies grow. My group was partnered with Hostelling International: San Diego and they wanted us to revamp their marketing plan and possibly use viral marketing to make hostels a viable alternative for vacationing and traveling for Americans.

The American population seems to have a few misconceptions about what exactly hostels are. They aren’t a big part of our culture like they are in Europe and perhaps a few choice pieces of cinema have only hurt their image in the not too distant past.

Being an ambitious group with delusions of grandeur, we decided that we were up to the task of changing America’s collective mind and focus on the industry of hostels in America, not just Hostelling International.

We decided to create a video focusing on hostel’s main strength: the price. A bed in a dorm room will usually cost around 20 bucks, depending on the hostel and season. The idea came to us that for the amount of money you spend on just a hotel room, you could use that money on your entire vacation if you stayed at a hostel.

We looked at all the inexpensive hotels and motels in the area, and we saw that the average price was around 80 dollars a night. A bed in a 10 bedroom dorm at HI-San Diego would be around $25 for the non member rate, leaving us with about 110 dollars to spend on a two day vacation. We figured that would be more than enough money for a vacation especially if you used what the hostel had to offer, e.g. free activities, free pancakes in the morning, and employees with a wealth of knowledge about the area.

So with this concept in mind we looked for a person to be the star of our video. We chose Tim because he is not a member of the Senior Experience group and we felt his personality would be entertaining and watchable. With Tim on board we pitched the idea to Hostelling International and they loved the idea, and agreed to fund our project. They agreed to give Tim $160 dollars to do as he wishes in San Diego as well as cover my expenses following him around.

While our premise was contrived, everything in our video was real. Nothing was scripted (save for the narration but that of course was written after the fact), and the events in the video are real and genuine… especially my inability to hold a camera still. Thank goodness for steady shot.

The Experience

The following is quite long as I try to tell what happened during our three day, two night vacation, and I would say it is optional to read. What is important is the conclusion, which is why it is the first link. I'm mixing up the order of things... Tarantino would be proud.*

*Tarantino would not be proud nor care about any of this.

Conclusion

2008-11-01T16:09:00.001-07:00

Conclusion

While I am technically working for Hostelling International as I write this, this is actually coming from my heart: Going into this trip, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I tend to be an introvert and find it hard to strike up conversations with complete strangers, but living in the hostel’s environment and stepping outside of my comfort zone, I was able to realize that everyone else in the hostel goes through the same experience. We were all in an unfamiliar location and wanted nothing more than to have a good time shared with some fun people; once that was in mind, things came naturally.

The mission statement of Hostelling International is to bring world peace through the understanding of other cultures. I didn’t really get it when I first heard their statement but after staying there and meeting cultures I would never have met, things started to make sense. I made friends with individuals that I would have never taken the time to get to know, had we not been hostelling together.

I recommend that everyone stay at a hostel at least once in their life. It has far more character than any hotel can dream of and the price is right, especially considering the current economic environment. You may end up with a new friend or at the very most, a new outlook on the world and people that live there. Seriously, if you’re planning on going on vacation, take one night out of your vacation schedule and book a stay at a hostel. What do you have to lose?

ONWARD:

WHAT YOU PROBABLY ALREADY READ:

FIRST PAGE!

Day 1

2008-11-01T16:08:00.002-07:00

Day 1

Video-Subject-Tim and I arrived to the starting point of our journey, the Grossmont trolley station in La Mesa. This was very convenient as it allowed us to get into San Diego without having to pay the ridiculous overnight parking fees. However, the trolley was Tim’s first traveling expense to pay; $2.50 for a one way pass to Downtown San Diego.

During our trolley ride, a woman commented on the tattoo on Tim’s leg. This sparked a conversation about our different cultures. She explained how she grew up as a “Military Brat,” was born on an island in the pacific, and moved all around the world. Not 5 minutes into our trip and we already gained our first of many new friends.

It wasn’t long until we ended up at the edge of downtown San Diego -- the ocean on our left, Petco Park on our right, and the Gaslamp quarter in front of us. We started a walk up Fifth street, luggage and pillows in hand, until we noticed a three story building on the corner of Fifth and Market street with the word “HOSTEL” printed along the top and, sure enough, that building was our hostel.

When we stepped inside, we were greeted by a friendly man behind the counter and checked in where Tim paid for his rooms, totaling $52 dollars. Tim also picked up a lock for his luggage cubby for $3.00. It was there that we ran into the other members of the Senior Experience group (who showed up earlier in the day because they had nothing better to do). While Tim was staying in a 10 Bedroom dorm, my team and I were set up with a swanky private room for the first night and I would be staying in Tim’s dorm the second since everyone else had to leave the next day.

We found Tim’s room and he had already unloaded his luggage and met his roommates. Though it was billed as a 10 bedroom dorm, it really was a four bedroom dorm with a door connecting a six bedroom dorm. We didn’t see anyone in the connecting room, nor would we for the entire night. We began to explore the brightly colored hallways of the hostel and found a media room with TV and internet on the 3^rd floor along with an enormous kitchen and dining area.

Seeing the kitchen made us realize Tim hadn’t eaten yet, so we went down to the lobby to see if the employee behind the counter had any recommendations: inexpensive was a determining factor in Tim’s decision. The new woman behind the counter recommended this kabob place a couple blocks away. $8.57 later, Tim had a fantastic meal and was ready for the night ahead. That night, the hostel put on pub crawl to several of the bars around town, and gathered a group of about 20-25 people from all around the world. The group was greeted by Jarred, the volunteer coordinator, and he led us to our first pub. The Bareback Grill, a New Zealand-themed bar.

Before we entered, Jarred had very pertinent information for everyone that was visiting from another country. He explained exactly how tipping is handled in America. Being a waiter myself, I had my hand up with index and pinky fingers extended as if he was my Rock’n’Roll God. Seriously, thank you Jarred. Tipping procedures are different in every country. Here in America, our bartenders and servers depend on tips as their source of revenue. It was the small things like tipping etiquette that really brought different cultures together -- The education of how things work in different cultures and the respect that should come with it has a unifying effect.

Anyways, the Kiwi bar had a great atmosphere with a live band (guitarist/singer and man playing the bongos), and we when we entered we were treated with a free round of drinks. Another surprise came when we were given sampler platters of the Bareback Grill’s appetizers. Tim eventually used his voucher, left a dollar tip and began mingling with the other hostellers. Already this night was turning into an inexpensive one.

The next bar we went to was Lucky D’s on Market Street. That night, the bar was not that busy which was fine by us as the open area lent itself nicely to socializing. There was a pool table and plenty of activities, but we mainly found some interesting people to talk to and relax with. In celebration of our hostel stay, Tim and several of my group members took part in a shot of tequila ($5.00), which served as Tim’s only expense at this bar.

The next pub on the crawl landed us on Market Street at Henry’s, the bar across the street from our hostel. Henry’s had a dance floor, live music, and a DJ playing danceable music between sets. Because of Tim’s fun and eccentric personality, one of our new friends from the pub crawl offered to buy him a drink and Tim gladly accepted, thus allowing him to not spend anything at this bar. After drinking his dark beer, Tim jumped out on the dance floor and cut a move or two… possibly even three. The mood and environment was such fun, that even I had to put down the camera for a second and move my uncoordinated body to the beat. It was also here that I rediscovered the camera had a night vision mode and allowed me to capture things actually happening instead of shadowy figures moving around in darkness.

Fortunately for Tim’s wallet, he is not the biggest drinker, thus allowing him to get through the night with only three drinks and six dollars spent. Once Henry’s closed, Jarred led the group down Fifth to a pizza joint to finish the night. Tim didn’t partake in the pizza (he’s lactose indignant), but I inhaled two slices. Exhausted, we finally walked back to our hostel where we almost immediately fell asleep on our Tempeurpedic beds. That’s right, Hostelling international had super high quality memory foam mattresses. Take that, Holiday Inn.

ONWARD:

Day 2!

Day 3!

EXPENSES!

WHAT YOU PROBABLY ALREADY READ:

FIRST PAGE!

CONCLUSION!

Day 2

2008-11-01T16:08:00.001-07:00

Day 2

My group was awakened to the sound of Joe Esposito’s “You’re the Best,” my cell phone’s alarm clock. The immediate consensus among my group was that 4.5 of sleep was not enough, and the dismiss button was pressed. However we did find the motivation to pull ourselves out of bed when we remembered about the free pancake breakfast. HI-SD supplied the batter and all the equipment needed and you get to make your own pancakes; I was barely able to resist the strong urge to make a pancake Uncle Buck would be jealous of. It was interesting to see how people from different places made pancakes. I recall one man grilled up bell peppers and onions and then poured the batter on top of that, another person topped their pancakes with peanut butter and syrup.

After our filling meal, we went back to our rooms to nap and recover a bit more before our long day ahead of us. Before we knew it, it was time for my group to check out and go home. We walked them down to the trolley station and said our goodbyes. Tim and I assessed what we wanted to do today and we decided to check out Horton Plaza seeing how it was just down the street from our hostel. Because Tim only spent six dollars during the pub crawl, much less than he expected to spend, he figured he would have some extra money to find a gift for his mother. Tim is an adorable mama’s boy. We did grab a snack of frozen yogurt ($4.57) while Tim contemplated as to what would be a suitable gift for his mother. After a while of walking around the labyrinth that is Horton Plaza, we decided to give up and look for a gift somewhere else. We headed back to the hostel and shot some voiceovers for the first half of our trip (which were disregarded completely after the first edit of the video), and Tim decided he needed a shower and a nap if he was going to be any fun during the night.

The shower proved to be a bit more of a hassle than he had anticipated. You see, Tim was responsible and came for this vacation bringing the travel bottle of shampoo that he uses when taking a shower at his gym. I brought nothing of the sort. Tim was also kind enough to let me use his shampoo when I took my shower earlier that day. I, however, proved to the absentminded fool of the friendship and left his shampoo in the shower… and it was never seen again. Thus bringing Tim to make his first unexpected expense, a bottle of shampoo to replace the one I lost ($1.93).

While Tim slept, I took his laptop and went to the lounge and hopped on the free wifi and watched a bit of the generic cop drama show on the television. After having my fill of everything that the internet has to offer, I decided to do what every good friend would do in my situation, violently wake Tim up and get his reaction on film. Tim, who must’ve sensed my diabolical plan, was already awake by the time I arrived… Jerk.

Tim planned out the rest of day… which at the time boiled down to essentially:

Phase 1: Get a 2 day transit pass

Phase 2: ???

Phase 3: Profit

With this solid plan in mind, we headed up Fifth to the trolley station to attempt to complete Phase 1 of Tim’s plan. We arrived at the station, but Tim only had $20’s and which was too large for the transit pass machine to break, which led to Tim’s second unexpected purchase, and $.89 cent box of tic-tacs. Once Tim broke a twenty, he purchased a 2-day transit pass for $9.00, and we later realized that this inconvenience could have easily been avoided by simply purchasing a transit pass from the front desk of the hostel, but this hardly would be an interesting trip if everything went perfectly. We boarded a trolley and we were off to Seaport Village to continue looking for the perfect gift for Tim’s mom.

A brief walk to Seaport Village followed a short trolley ride… too short if you ask me. We didn’t realize Seaport Village was so close to our hostel, and it probably would’ve been faster to walk from our hostel. Seaport Village is filled with adorable trinket shops that I’m sure my mom would adore, thus making it was the ideal place to find that elusive gift for Tim’s mom. Tim ended up purchasing these dangly earrings ($16.16) from this store that wouldn’t let me film inside, so I’m deliberately not going to refer to it by name. Feeling that Seaport village had more to offer, Tim continued to look in other stores when we came upon a delightful seashell store and they had very inexpensive anklet ($4.30) that Tim purchased for the other important woman in his life, his girlfriend.

We took the trolley 2 stations east to the Gaslamp quarter, because we stupidly paid for two days of public transportation, and damn it, we were going to use it. We both were getting kind of hungry and wanted to visit a nice, sit down restaurant so we decided to once again use the knowledge of the hostel employees to point us in the direction of tasty, cheap food. Outside the hostel we ran into Jarred, the pub crawl guide from the night before, and explained our situation to him. Jarred recommended three places for us to check out: a gourmet burger joint, an Italian place, and a Mediterranian place. Tim chose the burger joint, and we walked across the street to Nicky Rotten’s, which felt like, to me at least, a rock star version of Red Robin. The prices were what we expected for a gourmet burger ($8.95) and upgrading to the garlic fries was only $1.00 more. It was also happy hour, meaning all beers were $3.00. Tim had the BBQ burger and a dark ale, and I had the bleu cheese burger and a glass of water. After tip and tax, this brought Tim’s dinner total to $15.87.

Once our meal was over, we realized we were still smack dab in the middle of Phase 2 of our plan and still wasn’t sure what our next move would be. We quickly changed Phase 2 to be “Walk around the hostel until we find someone with a plan and tag along.” This phase was accomplished much quicker than we expected when we came across a two guys, one from Oklahoma, one from New Zealand, and they had the idea of driving to the beach for a bonfire. After the details of our plans were being created we ran into two people from the pub crawl from the night before, and they expressed interest in tagging along as well. This changed the plans a bit, because the car that was available to us only had five seats, and there were now six of us. Fortunately we had our 2-day transit pass and were determined to get our money’s worth from them and suggested we just take a bus to Pacific Beach.

The six of us walked up Fifth to the bus stop. While waiting for the bus, we ran into two lovely ladies, also staying at the hostel and they as well didn’t have an exact plan of what to do. We invited them to come with us to the beach and they accepted, much to the delight of us six guys. This brings our total to eight all of which from different places (except for Tim and myself, of course). The other members of our group were from Australia, England, New Zealand, Oklahoma, New York, and Colorado.

We continued to wait for what seemed like forever, when we came to the conclusion that the bus was never going to come and the beach was a stupid, terrible idea. We started walking aimlessly around Downtown when someone suggested we go back to the Kiwi bar from the night before. Everyone liked the environment and atmosphere so we all agreed that was a good idea. As we approached the bar, there was a man on the corner handing out coupons for $1.00 beers, thus making our good idea into the greatest idea since the scientific method. There was no band this night, which was good, this meant we didn’t have to compete on decibels and could actually have conversations with one another.

It was here that we were able to share a round of drinks and have several intimate conversations and tell jokes and stories and it was perhaps my personal favorite part of the trip. It allowed me to put down the camera for an extended period of time and actually be myself for a change instead of worrying about filming every second of what happened or keeping track of all the many expenses Tim would have, (he spent $6.00 total on beers that evening, by the way). We spent probably about 4 hours at this bar just enjoying each other’s company and once Midnight rolled around, Tim and I decided to call it a night, I guess we never did fully recover from the pub crawl the night before. We said our goodbyes and told everyone we would see them for pancakes in the morning.

ONWARD:

Day 3!

EXPENSES!

WHAT YOU PROBABLY ALREADY READ:

FIRST PAGE!

CONCLUSION!

Day 1!

Day 3

2008-11-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

Day 3

Day three began exactly the same way as Day two, FREE PANCAKES! Tim and I had a mini pancake eating contest while we waited for some of our new friends to join us. Tim ate six. Several friends from the night before arrived shortly after Tim finished his second round and we relaxed in the dining room listening to each other’s hilarious stories. Once we had our fill of Pancakes, Tim and I went back to our dorm. Tim took a minute or two to check-in with reality by hopping onto the free wifi… until we realized that it was past 11 and time to check out. We packed all of our stuff and said our goodbyes to everyone and left for Balboa Park.

We headed to the same bus stop we were at the previous night, fortunately this bus showed up a lot quicker. This trip on public transportation was also a lot shorter than expected, however we traveled mostly uphill so public transportation was agreeable.

Once we reached Balboa Park, we were at a loss for what to do. There were at least sixty points of interest on the map so we decided to walk around for a bit and check out what was free. We came across a little sandwich shop and decided that now was a good time to get some lunch. Tim picked up half a turkey sandwich and a bowl of chicken tortilla soup for $5.20, and a shot of espresso for an extra kick in his strut ($1.45).

We came across an event for deaf awareness and Tim wanted to check it out having experience in American Sign Language. We continued along we went through a couple of free exhibits, like the Desert Garden and the Timken Museum, which had several fantastic pieces of art. We wanted to see the Museum of Man ($10.00) which turned out to be really interesting. I personally enjoyed the exhibit for the Lemon Grove mummy.

Wandering around Balboa Park took up a large part of the day, and we were exhausted. Who knew a pseudo-vacation could be so tiring. We hopped on the bus, and headed back Downtown. On our way to the hostel to grab our bags, we stopped at a frozen yogurt shop where Tim made his final purchase ($3.26).

At the yogurt store we did a final count of our receipts and the money we had on hand. Tim spent a total of $150.70! Money was never a concern in having a good time, which was exactly what we wanted to expose through this experiment.

Tim had $12.96 left in his pockets, which meant that we somehow obtained $3.66 more than we started. It made no sense. We checked the receipts again and everything matched up, and the fact that we had more money than we started was absolutely baffling. I mean, if there was going to be a discrepancy with money, we would expect to lose money somewhere, not make more. After trying to figure out where the extra money came from, we eventually wrote it off as a cashier giving us incorrect change. So come to San Diego, you’ll leave with more money than you came with!

With that in mind, we arrived at the hostel, picked up our bags, and boarded the trolley back to La Mesa. Our journey was officially over.

THE END

ONWARD:

EXPENSES!

WHAT YOU PROBABLY ALREADY READ:

Expenses

2008-10-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

So here is a full list of every single expense Tim had through out his trip, so feel free to compare and contrast to what you would have done instead.

One-Way Trolley Ticket -- $2.50
Two nights at Hostelling International -- $52.00
Food from The Kabob Place -- $8.57
Pub Crawl Expenses -- $6.00
Lock For Locker -- $3.00
Frozen Yogurt -- $4.57
Shampoo -- $1.93
Tic-Tacs -- $.89
Two-day Transit Pass -- $9.00
Earrings (Gift) -- $16.16
Anklet (Gift) -- $4.30
Dinner at Nicky Rottens -- $15.87
Drinks at Bareback Grill -- $6.00
Food at Balboa Park -- $5.20
Espresso -- $1.45
Entrance into Museum of Man -- $10.00
Frozen Yogurt -- $3.26

Grand total = $150.70

WHAT YOU PROBABLY ALREADY READ: