21 Hostel Rules To Ensure Good Hostel Etiquette

Wondering if there are any hostel rules you need to learn before your first stay?

Then you’ve come to the right place as I’m a full-time budget traveller and I stay in hostels everywhere I go.

The words “hostel rules” sound really strict, but don’t worry, you won’t have to completely change how you live and feel like you’re back in school.

Hostel etiquette is very simple and I would summarise it as “Use common sense and be courteous of other guests”. Pretty straightforward!

But I understand you might want to get into the finer details, so I’ve broken this post up into official and unofficial hostel rules. Let’s get into it!

Official Hostel Rules

Every hostel you stay in will have its own rules. Aside from the obvious check-in/check-out time rules, or things like no damage to the property which are all universal rules, there are some more specific rules in hostels that you won’t find in hotels.

All of these rules vary between hostels, and some hostels won’t have some of these rules. Here’s a quick idea of typical hostel regulations:

1. Age Restrictions

As a general rule of thumb, the minimum age to stay in a hostel is 18. It’s a strict rule as no one wants to be sharing a dorm room with a child, right?

But what many people don’t know, is that some hostels have a maximum age, hence the name “Youth Hostel”.

It’s particularly common amongst backpacking hostels and party hostels and the most common age limit I see is 35. It makes sense since 80% of Hostelworld’s customers are aged 30 or under.

So if you’re between 18 and 35, you can stay in any hostel in the world. But if you’re slightly older, you’ll need to make sure you read the hostel’s rules properly to see if there is an age limit.

Personally, I don’t agree with this though, as I’ve made some great friends from hostels that are older than 35 when there hasn’t been an age limit. But unfortunately, it’s just one of those things.

2. Curfews

It’s becoming less and less common (thankfully), but some hostels do still have curfews, so make sure to double-check before booking.

What this means is that you can’t enter or exit the hostel between certain hours. This can be both during the daytime and nighttime.

A typical daytime curfew could be from midday to 4 pm to allow the cleaning staff to do their jobs, and a typical nighttime curfew could be from midnight to 7 am to allow people to sleep.

I tend to avoid hostels with curfews as I can’t be bothered to plan my days around when I can and can’t go back to the hostel, I want to be able to come and go as I please.

3. No Food and Drink in the Dorm Room

One of the most common rules which you will find in pretty much any hostel in the world is that you aren’t allowed food in the dorm room.

There are a few reasons for this but the main one is hygiene. You’re going to attract bugs and pests by eating in the dorm room, plus I’d rather the room didn’t smell like whatever you’ve decided to make for yourself.

Another reason is that no one wants to hear you eating your dinner while they’re trying to sleep. There are kitchens and common rooms for a reason, so use them.

I’ll be honest, I might have a chocolate bar every now and again and I don’t think that’s bothering anyone (provided you don’t get chocolate stains anywhere!), but don’t go eating a full meal in your bed.

In terms of drink, alcohol is usually strictly forbidden in dorm rooms. Water is fine in dorm rooms, so stick to that.

4. Quiet Hours

Now that curfews are becoming less common, what I’m seeing become more common are quiet hours. However, I would still say it’s more common not to have quiet hours than it is to have quiet hours.

As the name suggests, what this means is that if you are in the dorm room, you have to be quiet. Most hostels are pretty strict about it if they do have quiet hours.

Don’t worry, you can still make noise in the common areas, just not in the dorm rooms where people are trying to sleep.

Typical quiet hours are from 11 pm to 7 am. In these hours, try not to have conversations in the dorm room, keep them for outside the room.

5. Visitor Rules

Every hostel will have its own set of rules for visitors. This is where I see the most discrepancy with hostels, as they are all slightly different.

Some hostels won’t allow any visitors at all. Non-negotiable and the hostel is strictly for people staying there.

Some hostels will allow you to bring friends with you and stay in the common areas.

Some hostels won’t have a lock on the door and will allow literally anyone to come to the hostel- this is most typical for party hostels or hostels which have a bar.

But one thing which is consistent across every hostel is that visitors aren’t allowed in the dorm rooms. Dorm rooms are always only for people staying in the hostel.

6. No Theft

Sounds like common sense – or at least I hope it would – but theft is not allowed in hostels, or in any walk of life for that matter.

If someone left their laptop on their bed by accident while they went for a shower, that does not mean you can go and take the laptop and claim it as yours.

Hostels are meant to be all about community. In fact, one of my favourite quotes about life in hostels is “Hostel groups: turning strangers into a temporary family, sharing laughter and creating lasting memories.”

You wouldn’t steal from your family, would you? So don’t steal from anyone in your hostel.

7. Alcohol Restrictions

Alcohol and hostels, for some people, go hand in hand. Hostels are commonly associated with the party lifestyle, particularly for those backpacking Southeast Asia and other popular backpacking routes.

But most hostels have rules about alcohol. The most common rule is that it can only be consumed in certain areas, such as the kitchen and common room (remember, not the dorm rooms).

Some hostels forbid alcohol completely. Some hostels have their own bar, which means that you aren’t allowed to bring your own alcohol in with you, and you need to buy from the bar if you want to drink.

I’ve even been in a hostel in Washington DC where alcohol was allowed, but only between certain hours- there was a cut off at 10 pm where alcohol was no longer allowed in the hostel.

So make sure to check the rules of the hostel you are staying in before assuming you can drink whatever you want wherever you want.

8. Use Lockers

The last common hostel rule across the world is to use the lockers. Hostels do not accept responsibility if any of your items or properties go missing or get damaged.

While one of the earlier rules was to not steal, you can’t trust people on that, so make sure to lock your stuff up in the lockers, as most dorm rooms will have lockers.

But even though there are lockers, you usually have to bring your own lock. My top backpacking hack is to get a lock with a code on it, not a lock with keys. Trust me, it’s easier to lose those keys than you think…

By the way, if you’re wondering how to choose a hostel and find one which is right for you, make sure to check out my full post on how to choose a hostel.

Unofficial Hostel Rules

Now that we’ve got through all of the official hostel rules, there are some unofficial rules which are known among people who stay in hostels frequently. But even if it’s your first time, you’ll still be expected to follow the rules. You’ll pick them up as you go along, but if you want to learn them in advance, here are some of the most common:

9. Light Rules

Throughout the day time, the light in a dorm room will be on all of the time, but at night time, it should always be off.

So then comes the question, when can the light be turned off? When can the light be turned on?

If the hostel has “quiet hours”, then these are pretty much the times the light should be turned off.

Otherwise, a general rule of thumb is that if you walk into the room at night and the light is off, leave it off. Someone will have turned it off for a reason.

But on the other hand, if you are going to sleep at 8 pm, you can’t expect to turn the light off as people will still be going about their day.

So just be courteous and considerate when turning the lights on and off, otherwise, you’ll just annoy everyone in your room. Though I always recommend wearing an eye mask so you aren’t disturbed by the light being turned on.

10. Bathroom Courtesy

Bathrooms in hostels can vary quite a lot. Some hostels will have a bathroom like you have in a house where there is a toilet, shower and sink all in one room, and each dorm room will have one per room.

Other hostels will have a designated bathroom area with lots of toilets and cubicles for showering, like in a bathroom in a cinema.

For the first type of hostel where showers are limited, you need to have a bit more courtesy. Most people will stick to 10 minutes in the bathroom per person.

For the second type where there are lots of showers etc., it doesn’t matter so much. Just make sure to keep the bathrooms tidy and clean the toilets if you leave some skid marks…

11. Noise Control

When it comes to noise in a hostel, it’s pretty much a case of just using common sense.

Hostels have common areas where you can make as much noise as you like and have your conversations as loud as you want.

But in the dorm rooms, if people are trying to sleep, you should try to keep noise down to a minimum.

Again though, you can’t expect people to be perfectly silent at 8 pm if you go to bed early, but anything after 11 pm or so, if people are trying to sleep, try your best to be quiet.

Sleeping in a noisy hostel room can be difficult, and the chances are, there’ll be a time when you’re trying to sleep and people are making too much noise. So be considerate and keep the noise to the common areas (at night).

Always bring earplugs too, they’ll save you from the snorers if nothing else! Statistically speaking, half of the people in the world snore at some point in their lifetime, so the chances are pretty high that someone is going to be a snorer in your room.

12. Laundry Etiquette

If you’re travelling for an extended period of time such as along the Gringo Trail or Old Silk Road, then you’ll need to make use of laundry rooms in hostels.

Some basic rules for laundry are to, well, firstly, do it. No one wants smelly people in their dorm room!

To be honest, there aren’t many rules. Most people are pretty lax when it comes to doing the laundry.

Just be careful of where you hang your laundry. Make sure you keep your stuff in your area and definitely don’t go hanging your stuff up on other people’s beds!

But to be honest, unless it’s free laundry in your hostel, you can usually find other places to do it cheaper and do everything for you including drying etc., such as using local laundrettes or in some countries, there are older women who are happy to do it for you at a small cost.

13. Be tidy

On the note of keeping your stuff in your area…you should keep your dorm room as tidy as possible.

There’s nothing worse than sharing a hostel room with someone who sprawls their stuff out all over the room and takes up every nook and cranny with their belongings.

Everyone has their bed, locker, and a little bit of space beside the bed and that’s it. You aren’t entitled to take up all of the floor space any more than I am or the next person is. As the theme throughout this blog post is: just be courteous.

14. Kitchen Manners

The kitchen in a hostel is one of the most cramped spots, especially at dinner time. Or at least, this is the case if people don’t have kitchen manners.

Having a couple of people in the kitchen is fine, but having 10 people in the kitchen is not.

Don’t force your way in if there’s no room, just wait 20 minutes then come back. And when you are in the kitchen, try to use as little pots and pans etc. as possible, so you aren’t seen to be “hogging” the kitchen.

Also, always clean up after yourself. No one should have to do your dishes for you, that’s not fair.

15. Finders Keepers

One of the unofficial hostel rules which I actually disagree with is the concept of “Finders Keepers“.

It doesn’t apply to things which you would report as stolen, but instead, more like everyday items.

If you leave shampoo in the shower, you can expect someone to take it. If you leave toothpaste by the sink, you can expect someone to take it. If you leave dirty socks in the laundry room, you can…okay maybe not that one.

But for the most part, if you leave something behind, people are going to take it. I’ve never done this personally, but I’ve had it happen to me.

It’s annoying but there’s not really anything you can do, unfortunately. I just make sure to double-check check I have everything before leaving the bathroom in the mornings and evenings. That’s why I recommend a toiletries bag as one of the things to pack for a hostel.

16. Dress appropriately

Hostel dorm rooms are shared spaces, and most of the time it’s with strangers (until they become friends 😉).

So make sure to dress appropriately. This means not walking around in your underwear, and instead getting changed in the bathrooms.

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with a quick shirt change here and there, but just don’t walk around in your birthday suit at every given opportunity.

Hostels are meant to be safe places, and people might start to feel a bit weird around you if you’re being that guy.

Lots of people ask what you should wear to sleep in a hostel, and I always recommend shorts and a T-shirt. It’s comfortable and practical.

17. Hostels are democracies

One of the most important hostel rules is that democracy is how things are decided for anything which affects the whole room.

For example, if you’re backpacking in Thailand and it’s getting chilly at nighttime in the wet season, you might want to close the window. But someone else might want it to stay open.

How do you decide? Get the general consensus of the room. There’s no point in making the decision for yourself and having the other person reverse your decision and then having a back-and-forth with them all through the night.

18. No Phone Calls in the Dorm Room

As lovely as I’m sure your friends and family are, I don’t particularly want to listen to you on the phone with them for an hour while I’m trying to pack my bag or sort my laundry out.

Keep phone calls for common rooms, or designated areas. Some hostels have technology rooms with computers and stuff which are good for facetiming loved ones.

One of the benefits of solo travel is that you can learn to be independent, but it’s still good to check in with those at home from time to time…just don’t do it in the dorm room.

19. Use Headphones

Most people recommend that when you’re travelling on a budget you cancel all of your subscriptions.

I actually suggest the opposite. I encourage people to keep their subscriptions.

Whether it’s Netflix or Spotify, you’re going to spend a lot of time travelling on long buses and trains, and you’ll need something to keep you entertained.

Or if you just fancy a chilled-out night in a hostel watching a movie, great! Just use headphones. The whole hostel doesn’t want to watch the new Tom Cruise movie with you, and if they did, they would have a movie night.

20. Pack in advance

This point somewhat relates to the noise consideration hostel rule, but it’s important enough to deserve its own rule.

Pack your bag in advance. Please.

If you’re leaving at 4 am to catch a flight, please pack your bag the night before rather than turning the light on and making a racket at 3 am as you frantically shove everything into your bag and double-check 5 times to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.

It’s a quick way to lose all of the friends you just made in the hostel. I like to be prepared too, so it just makes sense to me to pack the night before. It saves you hassle when you wake up, and allows everyone else to continue sleeping.

21. One Alarm, PLEASE

One of my biggest pet peeves in hostels is people who set multiple alarms in the morning and let every single one of them go off.

I understand setting a few alarms in case you sleep through the first one (even though I always jolt up at the first ring of my alarm and I hate people who let their alarms go on and on and on…), but there’s no need to have alarms in 5-minute intervals if you’re already awake.

Especially if you go to the bathroom and leave your phone a.k.a. your alarm on your bed to go off while you’re gone. That’s one of the things I hate most about hostels, to be honest. Just have some consideration- always take your phone with you to the bathroom, or turn your alarms off at least!

Hostel Etiquette: FAQ

Below are some questions related to hostel rules and etiquette along with my answers to each question.

Final Thoughts

And there you have it, a complete guide to all the most common hostel rules – both official and unofficial.

Hostel etiquette is super important for ensuring an enjoyable stay both for you and those around you, so make sure you follow the rules as best as you can.

But if you decide that hostels aren’t for you, maybe you’ll take the flashpacking route and stay in private rooms instead. Did you know hostels offer private rooms cheaper than hotels?