Hostels are making a comeback. Thanks to a renewed focus on the millennial travel market, many hostels are redefining the industry by creating hip hangouts, envious outdoor spaces, elegant indoor decor, and modern detailing. Because of these hostel furniture trends, hostels have experienced a 7% growth rate year over year—and this is just the beginning.

Here Are Four Ways Hostel Furniture Trends Are Redefining the Industry:

1. Hostels Create Hip Hangouts for Their Guests

Hostels provide affordable living spaces for millennials while they travel—but with beds renting for less than $40 per night for a single, or less than $60 per night for a double, it’s a wonder hostels are even able to turn a profit. However, turn a profit they do, thanks in large part to something every millennial wants but few commercial hotel chains have: hip communal spaces guests want to hang out in.

Generator Hostels has made a name for themselves as one of the world’s first “poshtel” chains—hostels that are so posh, guests want to hang out there all day. These hostels feature rooftop decks, underground disco clubs, local restaurants, and unique bars where guests can mingle with locals in an aesthetically pleasing environment. Though beds rent inexpensively, these hostels rely on food and alcohol sales to boost earnings, and they’re able to do so because of their lively atmosphere.

Large sofas frame ottomans and tables for a communal environment conducive to playing games, enjoying a drink, or checking out a map of a guest’s next destination. Pillows and blankets emit a feeling of home, and ping-pong tables and bocce courts provide entertainment the bars next door don’t have. Because of this, millennial guests spend more time at their hostels than generations past, making the establishment more money as they do so.

2. Hostels Bring the Local Vibe Indoors

White walls and stark surfaces are no longer the norms for today’s hostel industry. To revive formally sterile environments, many hostel furniture trends focus on bringing the local vibe indoors, providing fireplaces, planters, and trees in communal rooms where guests will congregate. They’ve also replaced fluorescent lighting with more modern fixtures and windows which allows for plenty of natural light and often a pretty view.

Far from feeling like a dungeon, these hostels no longer feel separated from the cities where they are situated. To the contrary, the more hostels bring the local environment into their establishments, the more guests wish to spend time there. What guests are after, after all, is a local experience in their global world. By hanging local art and planting local flora, hostels can feel less like a dormitory and more like a bohemian hangout.

3. Hostels Are Making Twin Beds Cool Again

Though hostels are typically known for their dormitory format, 9 out of 10 hostels now provide private or semi-private rooms for their guests. Replacing bunk beds with twin beds has allowed guests to live the hostel life while enjoying a sense of privacy. When guests no longer have to wake up at 4 AM because their bunkmate just got home from the discotheque, they can enjoy their experience better and plan to stay longer.

4. Hostels Are Going Modern

Finally, hostel furniture trends have taken a turn toward the modern. By focusing on a sleek, minimalist design that transcends all countries and continents, hostels can achieve a trend-forward feel that is as Instagram-worthy as their millennial guests want it to be. Streamlined sofas, large modern tables, and chairs that provide a pop of color can make all the difference when it comes to whether or not a guest chooses to stay at an establishment. In fact, 70% of hotel guests choose their stay based on the pictures alone.

Northland Furniture provides modern hostel furniture that can be custom built to suit your aesthetic needs. Contact us to learn how we can help you create beautiful bedrooms and hip hangouts featuring modern detailing and local flare. These hostel furniture trends will encourage guests to stay at your hostel and entice them to stick around once they do.