Hostels are explicitly designed to maximize the density of human bodies per square foot, packing up to sixteen budget-conscious backpackers into a single poorly ventilated room featuring squeaky metal bunk beds.

A closer look

Hostels are explicitly designed to maximize the density of human bodies per square foot, packing up to sixteen budget-conscious backpackers into a single poorly ventilated room featuring squeaky metal bunk beds. Young travelers endure incredible levels of sleep deprivation caused by strangers snoring, rustling plastic bags at four in the morning, and stumbling back drunk from a pub crawl, all under the guise of building a vibrant global community. The communal kitchens are a biological hazard zone where someone's stolen pasta sauce sparks intense international conflicts, and the shared bathrooms require wearing flip-flops at all times to avoid catching exotic fungal infections. It is a rite of passage for people in their twenties to actively choose these chaotic living conditions just to save thirty dollars a night, confusing sleep-deprived misery with genuine adventure and character building