how to find work at a hostel?

April 1, 2006 6:41 AM

I'm graduating from college this summer and have the travel bug. I'd love to work at a hostel somewhere wild and interesting, like Prague or Amsterdam. How does one even go about getting a job there? And any advice from anyone who's had the experience?
posted by Lisa S to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total)

What did you study? Would you be interested in getting a "real" job in your field?

You might think about working as a native English assistant in a school. This can pay reasonably well, hours are short and lots of vacation time. Might also think about international schools - in most large capital cities there's at least one American International School (or other English-speaking school). It might be possible to pick up some assistant or sub work at one of those.

If you're interested in teaching English lessons, you could get your TOEFL certificate online for a few hundred dollars and weasel your way into work via that route.

I got a job in my field (IT) in Austria 5 years ago while backpacking around, and I'm still here. It is possible.
posted by syzygy at 7:27 AM on April 1, 2006

Get a list of hostels at which you wouldn't mind working. I've used www.hostelworld.com in the past. Call the hostels and ask if you can work for room, board, and possibly a little pay. I took a job at the Backpacker's hostel in Rome last summer that pait e75/wk + room and board. I supplemented my income by busking with my guitar and promoting pub crawls. E-mail me if you'd like more info on my experience.
posted by The White Hat at 8:43 AM on April 1, 2006

When I was in Amsterdam about 6 years ago, I stayed at the Flying Pig Hostel in the Vondelpark; I was offered a job just because I stayed there for so long (a week and a half, maybe?) and a hung out with some of the staff, occasionally.

I spent 6 months backpacking around europe (amsterdam was part of that trip), and it seems most hostel jobs are gotten 'on the spot' like that - i.e. travellers or locals who show up and ask for work. (My brother worked at a hostel in Greece, the same way.) Very few of the hostels are going to hire you from abroad. I say go travelling with enough money to last you a couple of months, and look for a job as you travel. Worst case scenario, you'll have to go home when your money runs out, and you'll have had a chance to see the cities you wanted to.
posted by Kololo at 5:27 PM on April 1, 2006

I also stayed at the Flying Pig. My first day there, as I was registering, this young-ish traveler simply asked for a job. They sat him down at the table next to mine and interveiwed him. It was all pretty much "Where have you traveled?", "How long are you staying?" fare. In the end he seemed like a nice enough guy, so they gave him a job.

It was all pretty informal.
posted by quite unimportant at 9:23 PM on April 2, 2006