Bad Homburg (dpa/lhe) – In Hesse’s youth hostels, the guests are back after the Corona lull, but increased costs are causing new problems. After initial difficulties in the first few months, 2022 was a good year for the hotels, said the Hessian state association of the German Youth Hostel Association on Wednesday. Accordingly, more expensive groceries, increased energy costs and price increases for the upcoming new construction of the youth hostel in Marburg and a renovation in Wetzlar are causing concern.
The school trip business, which got off to a good start again in mid-2021, helped the youth hostels in Hesse to be able to close the year 2022 financially without serious consequences, as it was said. There was also growth in conferences and seminars in the houses compared to previous years. With almost 79,000 overnight stays, the result is still 53 percent below the pre-Corona years. Around 50,000 overnight stays in 2022 can be attributed to special occupancy with refugees, according to the state association.
“Since the youth hostels in Hesse are committed to the common good, it is still very important for us to be able to offer a fair price-performance ratio,” explained CEO Timo Neumann. However, inflation forced the youth hostels to raise prices, in some cases significantly. Low-income families would be left behind on school trips, holiday camps or short breaks. The state association is therefore calling for financial support from politicians, especially for disadvantaged families and children.
