Pittsburgh Needs a Hostel

Originally Posted on September 23, 2007 Last Updated on March 19, 2009

Update: A group is currently (as of 2008/2009) working on getting a new hostel up and running in the city. Visit their site for more information: pittsburghhostel.org

Our fair city, though quickly rising as one of the nation’s greatest destinations for the progressively young, the adventurous and the artistic, is sadly without one of the most essential elements such a city requires: a hostel.

The old Hostels International branch that was located in the South Hills has been shut down for years now, perhaps due to the fact that it’s location wasn’t exactly ideal as a representation of the Pittsburgh lifestyle.

Why Does Pittsburgh Need a Hostel?

As mentioned above, we are an ideal city to visit for a multitude of reasons, including:

We’re the Gateway to the Midwest. Cross country roadtrip from the Northeast to the West Coast? Pittsburgh acts like a funnel for all of New York, Jersey and New England into the Midwest.
We’re a diverse city, if you know where to look. Certainly, we’re a majority white population, as is most of the United States, but certain parts of the city, particularly the East End, are thick with people of a multitude of nationalities and races.
We were voted the best urban setting to get outdoors by National Geographic Adventure magazine.
Of course, we’ve been voted the Most Livable City in the US.
We have an affordable lifestyle here. Hostelers are often trying to stretch a few dollars over a few days, and thanks to our large college influence we can offer food, beers and public transportation all relatively cheap.
Neighborhood diversity. Our topography, that is a plethora of hills and often times difficult to build around streets, have kept Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods somewhat separate and therefore unique. You could walk from Squirrel Hill to the Strip District pretty easily in a day and encounter everything from a heavily Jewish, family oriented neighborhood to one with upscale boutiques to our “Little Italy” to our up and coming hipster artists neighborhood to our answer to the need to shake a little ass.

What happened to the old hostel?

While I am sure there were multiple factors contributing to the decline of the previous hostel, my strongest feeling is that the location just wasn’t happening. A hostel located somewhere in the East End, probably Bloomfield ideally, would be much more focused on an area of the city that is more friendly to young, progressive types, who often make up the demographic of the type of folk you’d find in a hostel setting.

Bloomfield is an excellent location. It provides easy access to many of the major bar / night life scenes in the city, is close to a variety of grocery stores, and is cheaper than many of the city’s neighborhoods.

Easy access to the rest of the city. From Bloomfield you can get to a lot of other great neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. The 54C will take you to South Side where you could go out drinking 80 nights in a row and never have to hit the same bar twice. Hop on the 84A and within minutes you can hit the Strip District for an all night clubfest or continue to Downtown, where you’re a short walk or a trolley ride to Station Square, another night club hot spot. Art galleries, more bars, and plenty of restaurants are just a short walk away to Garfield or Shadyside, and once you’re in the latter you can catch the 64A to Squirrel Hill and its two movie theaters which show blockbusters and indie films alike. Not to mention that Bloomfield is a pretty happening place to hang out on its own.

Plenty of grocery stores. Market District and Whole Foods are a rather easy walk from Bloomfield. The neighborhood itself has a couple of smaller, mom and pop type grocers. Nothing’s cheaper than making meals out of grocery store food, and hostelers love this type of thing.

Brillobox, The Church Brew Works and, a little further out, Gooski’s are some of the coolest places to visit in the whole city.

I’ve been trying to get involved with any organization interested in reviving Pittsburgh’s hostel situation, but to no avail. If anyone reading this has any information on an organization of any type who’s pursuing something like this, please, let me know.

Up Next: Top 10 Anything in Pittsburgh

Discussion

alison 21 Mar 2008

hi,
enjoyed your comment on the hostel situation in pittsburgh – i hope progress has been made in this area, though judging my search, probably not. opening a hostel is a dream of mine, and these last years i’ve spent travelling and working in SE Asia and Australia, managing hostels. i’m guess i’m always on the lookout for THE place to open a hostel – a cool laidback bohemian vibe, paintings on the walls, fairylights lots of plants, instruments you name it.
Pittsburgh is a great city, i live in Denmark, but my mother is from there. since i’m my way to visit my grandmother soon, i was just checking out the city’s hostel situation – i’m quite curious, and stumbled upon your piece. if any progress has been made, i would love to join the team/organization and help out creating a good hostel.
sincerely,
ali

Reply
nathan 21 Mar 2008

Thanks for writing, Ali. I had been contacted a few months ago by a man who was looking to start up a hostel, however I hadn’t heard anything since.

I had also attempted to contact various organizations and businesses who had expressed interest in having a hostel before, but to no avail…

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alison 24 Mar 2008

shame…
well, i wish you luck in the search.

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Mel 25 Apr 2008

:O Pittsburgh doesn’t have any hostels?? I’m heading over there in a couple of months for a few days and was hoping to stay at one. Are there any backpackers or anything at all?
-Mel

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nathan 25 Apr 2008

You got it, Mel…it’s a terrible shame that Pittsburgh has no hostel as it’s certainly the type of place you’d expect to see at least one, if not a few… unfortunately the last one failed, not the least of which because of it’s location, and try as I have, I haven’t come up with any more information on starting a new one….

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mark 22 May 2008

Nathan it sucks that we are hostel-less right now. I used to engage with the AYH folks and did some of their activities over the years. I have stayed in hostels in other cities and used the Ohiopyle hostel several times. There are plenty of great locations in Pittsburgh that could support a hostel – how about the North Side? I will try to figure out more about what the obstacles would be. Having a building is obviously one issue, re-starting a group to manage it is another. I am sure the state of PA could provide some tourism-related funding.

more info here:
http://www.hipittsburgh.org/newsletter/yr2008/nl2008jun.pdf

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nathan 23 May 2008

I hear you, Mark.

I actually put a good amount of time into trying to get something started here in the city – I contacted Hostels International, the City of Pittsburgh, the PA Tourism people and even a few local businesses who had expressed interest in the past about getting things rolling with this.

Unfortunately, not a single person got back to me, even after multiple contact attempts.

That lack of enthusiasm took a lot of the wind out of my sails.

I am all for forming and serving on a committee to get something started on this front, but when I couldn’t find anyone else interested and the fact that I certainly don’t have the financial means to start a hostel of my own, I left this to simmer on my backburner.

I would love to discuss this with you further if you’re serious, hit me up in the comments or send me an email if you want to start some dialogue.

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Vladi 31 May 2008

Too bad there’s no hostel in Pitt, planned on coming to the city this july as well..
And if there’s such a problem, I’m also intersted in starting up a hostel. Not like i have any sufficient funds for that, but definetely enthusiasm.
So, if you need my support, I’m in.

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Aaron Pachesa 24 Feb 2009

Can anyone recommend somewhere to sleep really cheap?

I live in Manhattan and need a cheap place to stay for two nights next week.

Thank you!

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nathan 24 Feb 2009

Hi Aaron,

Not sure if you’ll be checking the site so I thought I’d email you directly. Pittsburgh has no hostel at the moment, however, you can check out couchsurfing.com to find local people who offer up their couches. Additionally, there’s a hotel in Harmar that’s about $50 / night, it’s out of the city but you can catch the 500 bus into town (about a 20 or so minute ride, depending on traffic).

Best of luck!

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Aaron Pachesa 24 Feb 2009

Thanks a lot Nathan! What are the chances I run into an expert on the very topic I am curious about. What a small world wide web. Nice site, nice prose. Thanks again.

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Faith 9 Jun 2009

Wanting to start a hostel in my home town of Lincoln, Ne. Any interest in networking? I may have access to grants and non traditional funding, and would be willing to “start a chain” so to say. I left you a voicemail, hope to hear from you.

Reply