This is a short article about all the types of people you generally find in hostels. Do you think we missed any? Do you think that this is not accurate? Comment below and let us know.

The Snoring Ones

Sleeping in a hostel room can be pretty hard if you’re not used to it, even harder if there are more than six people sleeping in the room and you forgot to buy earplugs. I once had to sleep without them in a twenty-four-bed room and it was a total nightmare.

Well, things get even worse the moment you are sleeping and someone starts snoring. It always, ALWAYS happens. There will always be a person, most commonly sleeping above you, who will snore non-stop all night. Just to add to your misery, you’ll probably wake up in the middle of the night and won’t be able to go back to sleep because the snorer is playing his nose trumpet and it’s echoing in your eardrums like someone yelling into a cave. Ten minutes go by, you switch position, twenty minutes go by and again you turn around, thirty and you cover your face with your pillow, forty and you kick the bed above you, but nothing, the sound is still there and the clock is ticking, and like a magic trick an hour went by, you’re still awake, the fucker is still snoring, tomorrow you gotta go to work and you’ll be in a terrible mood. Thanks snorer, thanks.

Those who fart

Everyone farts, boys and girls (yes and they also burp, puke and poop), but there’s people that fart either a lot or really loudly. Honestly, unless it smells like shit, I don’t care, I actually think it’s funny when someone unconsciously farts and it’s really loud and people say something funny or start laughing. However, when it’s one of those anonymous silent killer and super smelly farts, it’s gross. Normally silent ones smell terribly, and the worst is that you’ll never know who it came from, because most people are embarrassed to admit it, especially if they cause a mass evacuation from the room.

Drunks

Happens everywhere, from small to big rooms, in working hostels, living hostels, party hostels, in girls and boys rooms, in mixed rooms and probably on random nights. There will always be that individual who goes out for a few that night, comes back with quite many and will storm in, stumbling upon everything and trying to get in bed whilst absolutely fucked, waking up everyone and making an overall mess. We’ve been that person at least once. My advice: don’t complain, tolerate, because again, that has been or will be you at some point.

The lovers

Yes, those who have sex, either silent or loud, although no matter how silent they want to be, there’s always a bunk bed creaking or shaking, a dry moan or a weird wet sound that will blow your cover. Everyone will find out, almost everyone will feel uncomfortable as fuck trying to ignore it wearing earphones or something, and just a few pissed off with the world will complain out loud. 

Worst situation I’ve ever encountered was a couple having sex in a top bunk in a twenty-four people room, where the girl was basically shouting. It got so uncomfortable that out of the twenty four people, around fifteen had to leave, and the remaining were either passed out drunk or already asleep. Yes, it was weird, but at least they had fun.

The rude bastards

These are everywhere and normally in every room you will ever sleep. They are the most common of them all. They are those people who seem to have never shared any public space before in their lives. If they come into the room late at night, they are capable of turning on the lights, or using their phone’s flashlight to look for something, but clumsily they shine it on your face waking you up. Some start opening their backpacks and you can hear them taking everything out, touching plastic bags generating a commotion. They are those who wake up early to leave and instead of having packed the night before, or packing outside of the room, they’ll start packing at 6 am right next to your bed, again, waking you up with zippers opening and closing, plastic bags making that annoying distorted sound, objects falling to the ground, etc.

Nevertheless, the most common “rude bastard” is that who thinks that by changing from his normal voice to a drier voice (trying to imitate a whisper), he or she is talking in a lower tone, when instead it’s the same tone just more irritating. And again, wakes everyone up. Learn some manners. You’re not alone in the world, let alone in the room at twelve at night or six in the morning.

The voracious ones

This specific specimen is the one that constantly has food next to the bed, most of the time it’s either potato chips or any cookie that comes in those aluminum bags that make a lot of noise. Then they start chewing their crunchy potato chips and the noise becomes unbearable, especially during the night, when they have earphones on and are watching a movie. Sometimes they might even take something smelly into the room, impregnating the place and turning it into a barbecue bunker. Again I recommend tolerance. I can assure you that at some point you’ll want to just eat something while laying on your bed watching some Netflix.

Mute

Mute is that backpacker who barely says a word. He’s either always in his bed doing things on his phone or computer, or comes in and out of the room at weird times of the day, but never ever speaks. Never says a word. It’s all eye contact to acknowledge your presence (and then ignore you), or to say hello through a gesture, but stay mute all the same. It’s a lifestyle I guess.

Long termers

These are quite common, and to all those newbies that come to a living hostel and complain that long termers aren’t nice, I say: relax. At some point you will become a long termer and you’ll understand that after a month of staying in the same hostel you get tired of socializing with new people all the time, particularly if they’re just passing by. It’s exhausting to have the same conversation over and over again: “Where are you from?” “How long are you staying?” So on and so forth.

Therefore, if you are in a hostel with long termers try to put yourself in their shoes. Yes, be friendly and cool, maybe even a bit more respectful with them as they’re treating the hostel as their home (so don’t go around moving stuff in the rooms), but don’t complain if they aren’t the friendliest because it’s understandable. If you stay for a while, you’ll get to know them and see that they’re also great individuals.

To the long termers, try and be more friendly and easygoing, and don’t complain about newbies all the time. In the end, you’re in a hostel; so don’t forget that sharing is part of the lifestyle you’ve chosen.

The messy ones

These are those who think the hostel room, although shared with seven others, is only theirs. You’ll find shirts on your bed, shoes under another bed, pants in the floor by the door, hats and other stuff by the window. Basically everything is everywhere. The cleaner will come in; sort everything out, but three hours later: same old story. They’re inevitable and you won’t be able to change their habits.

Hostels are about meeting new people, having fun and having an adventure. They come with the all-inclusive package of sharing everything, and by that I mean noises, smells, space, intimacy, deep conversations, frustrations, anger, laughs, happiness, and good times. The nicest thing though, is that if you’re positive enough no matter which of these people you’ll have in your room, by the end of your trip you’ll be laughing at each and every single one of them, because they bring good memories of an unforgettable experience.