The Social Contract Nobody Posts On The Wall
Hostels operate on an honor system, which should always be respected. Unfortunately, nobody actually seems to want to tell you what that system entails. These unwritten rules emerge from thousands of shared experiences in cramped dorm rooms across six continents, refined through awkward confrontations and passive-aggressive notes left on kitchen counters. The difference between being a considerate traveler and that person everyone complains about in the common room comes down to understanding these invisible boundaries. Here are 20 rules that experienced hostel-goers follow religiously.
1. Pack Your Bags The Night Before Early Departures
Nothing announces selfish travel behavior quite like rustling through a backpack at 5 a.m. while seven people try to sleep through your airport transfer. The zipper noise alone could wake a coma patient, and watching you dig for your passport by phone flashlight while muttering to yourself tests the patience of even the most zen backpackers.
2. Respect The 10 P.M. To 8 A.M. Quiet Window
Hostels rarely enforce official quiet hours, relying instead on basic human decency to keep things peaceful after 10 p.m. and before 8 a.m. This means no conversations louder than a whisper, no music even at low volume, and definitely no FaceTime calls.
3. Never Hit Snooze More Than Once
Setting six alarms five minutes apart makes you the villain in everyone else's morning, especially when you sleep through all of them while the rest of the room suffers. Get up when your alarm goes off or turn it off entirely if you've decided to skip your plans and sleep in.
Solving Healthcare on Unsplash
4. Keep Your Belongings In Your Designated Space
Your bunk and locker constitute your entire real estate in a hostel dorm, so treat them like firm borders that don't expand into shared territory. Leaving clothes on the ladder, shoes in the walkway, or toiletries on someone else's shelf signals either obliviousness or entitlement. Other travelers paid the same amount you did and deserve their full allotment of space.
Fernando Santander on Unsplash
5. Use Headphones For Everything
Speakerphone conversations, Netflix without earbuds, and music played aloud all fall under the same category of hostel crimes. Even if you think the volume is low enough not to bother anyone, you're wrong, and people are too polite to tell you until they've reached their breaking point. Invest in decent headphones before you travel and use them for every single thing that makes sound, including alarm clocks if your phone allows it.
6. No Eating In The Dorm Rooms
Crackling chip bags, aromatic street food, and midnight snack sessions belong in the kitchen or common areas where smells and sounds won't bother people trying to sleep. Crumbs attract bugs, food odors linger in poorly ventilated rooms, and the sound of someone chewing pretzels at 11 p.m. ranks among the most aggravating noises in shared accommodation.
7. Don't Steal Food From The Fridge
Hostel kitchens operate on trust, with travelers labeling their groceries and expecting them to be there when they return from sightseeing. Taking someone's milk, bread, or that expensive cheese they bought at the local market violates the most basic social contract and marks you as someone who can't be trusted.
Nicolas J. Barbier on Unsplash
8. Clean Your Dishes Immediately After Cooking
Leaving dirty pots and pans in the sink creates a domino effect where nobody can cook because the kitchen is already a disaster. Wash everything you use right after eating, wipe down the counters you touched, and leave the space cleaner than you found it.
9. Limit Showers To Ten Minutes Maximum
Hostels often have limited hot water and even more limited bathroom availability, making long showers inconsiderate at best and crisis-inducing at worst. Get in, wash efficiently, and get out so the next person doesn't have to choose between being late for their tour or skipping hygiene entirely.
10. No Drinking Games Or Parties In Sleeping Quarters
Dorm rooms are for sleeping, not for pre-gaming before the pub crawl or continuing the party when the bar closes at 2 a.m. Take the festivities to the hostel’s designated social spaces, where people choose to be around noise instead of inflicting your celebrations on roommates who just want to rest.
11. Don't Spray Deodorant Or Perfume In Shared Rooms
Aerosol clouds fill enclosed spaces and trigger allergies, asthma attacks, and general misery for anyone stuck breathing in your scent choices. Bathrooms exist for applying personal care products, so take your body spray elsewhere instead of crop-dusting eight strangers who didn't consent to inhaling your fragrance.
12. No Romantic Activities In Dorm Rooms
Hostels are not the place for intimacy beyond holding hands, and everyone can tell when you think you're being sneaky under the covers. Shared sleeping quarters mean shared awareness of everything happening around you, and subjecting roommates to your private moments crosses every line of basic respect.
13. Don't Touch Other People's Belongings Without Permission
Borrowing someone's phone charger, using their shampoo, or moving their stuff to make room for yours requires explicit consent that you probably don't have. What seems like a small convenience to you represents a boundary violation to the person whose possessions you're handling.
14. Climb Down From Top Bunks Like A Normal Person
Ladders exist for a reason, so use them going both up and down, no matter how athletic you think you are. The structural integrity of hostel furniture is questionable enough without adding your parkour demonstrations to the stress test.
15. Greet New Roommates When They Arrive
A simple hello when someone walks in with their backpack goes a long way toward creating a friendly atmosphere instead of an awkward silence. You don't need to become best friends, but basic courtesy costs nothing and might lead to good conversation or travel companions.
16. Label Everything You Put In The Fridge
Writing your name and the date on food items establishes ownership and prevents accidental theft from someone who assumes unmarked cheese was fair game. Shared fridges become confusing spaces where similar items multiply, so clear labeling protects your groceries and eliminates confusion.
personalgraphic.com on Unsplash
17. Don't Bring Outside Guests Into Dorm Rooms
Security depends on everyone in the room being a registered guest who paid to be there, not random people you met at the bar. Hostels have common areas specifically for socializing with locals or friends staying elsewhere. Sneaking unauthorized people into sleeping quarters compromises safety and violates the trust other travelers place in shared space.
Raquel Fereshetian on Unsplash
18. Hang Wet Towels In Designated Drying Areas
Hostels usually provide drying rooms or outdoor lines for exactly this purpose. Wet items belong in proper drying spaces where they won't make the room smell like a locker room or pose fire hazards on heating elements.
19. Be Considerate of Cleaning Staff
The people scrubbing bathrooms and changing sheets are the hardest-working people at the hostel. Saying thank you, stripping your own sheets on checkout day, and not leaving disaster zones in your wake shows basic human decency.
20. Don't Monopolize The Common Area
Claiming an entire couch with your laptop and backpack during dinner time when people want to socialize demonstrates obliviousness to shared space dynamics. Common areas exist for everyone, not just whoever gets there first and spreads out like they own the place.
