Hosteling in Las Vegas

Hostels: Alternatives To High Priced Resorts
(KLAS-TV, 3/23)

Tourists coming to Las Vegas are finding a cheaper way to stay in Las Vegas. At least three local businesses are offering cheap lodging. Tod's Hostel, one of three in town are seeing a big boost of tourists who are looking for a cheap and comfortable place to stay.

Ran Tadmore, the general manager of Tod's says when the economy started tanking a year ago he converted part of his motel into a hostel modeled after the successful European style of traveling. He offers free pick up and drop off along with breakfast to give him an edge over Las Vegas Strip hotels.

He says since the conversion rooms are almost always booked, the best part about it is the interaction guests have with each other. "From the kids point of view they get a better atmosphere if they stayed in regular hotel they don't know who their neighbors are or interact hostel environment makes them interact with kids from all over the world."

You don't have to be a student to stay at this hostel or international travelers for that matter, different hostels have different rules. But generally what they do offer is cheap rates. The three hostels here in Las Vegas the price per night ranges from $15 to $20.

I am a big fan of hostels in Europe, I would never have predicted an unrestricted hostel in Las Vegas. The USA Hostel on Fremont street caters only to international travelers, but when you open a hostel in the USA to everyone, you end up attracting low-life druggie scum from the city. I wonder how Tod's keeps them out.

Here is their listing on HostelWorld and another article on them from the Las Vegas Weekly (5/22/08).

I tend to believe that unrestricted hosteling and America don't mix, due to the criminal element and psychological space issues, but we'll see if the recession changes that.

I just checked the HostelWorld listing for the USA Hostel. They've added a new wrinkle: You can stay there if you have a US Passport and an out-of-state driver's license. This is clever, because most of your low-life druggies don't have passports.