And you know what? The “extras” often end up being there, but cheaper. For one, hotels are all about maximizing revenue once they’ve got you in the room, putting lots of stuff in the room that they’ll charge you for if you touch, and laundry is so expensive that you might as well not ask. Hostels are the opposite. WiFi is more likely to be free (though often limited to the common areas); food and drink is often available from vending machines at reasonable prices, or you can buy food at the supermarket and cook it in the kitchen. There are coin-operated laundry machines.

Also, it encourages travelers to make friends with each other, go out together, exchange stories, come out of our shells. The most consistent thing you’ll find at hostels is a friendly atmosphere. Even the ramshackle mattress-on-the-floor hostel with the plumbing problems will have a campfire out back with Australians enjoying some beer out back and trying to talk the Japanese guy into taking his guitar to an open mic night. But that dynamic won’t go away just because you’re staying in the sparkling hostel in Seattle with the giant common room and kitchen overlooking Puget Sound, right next door to Pike’s Place Market. They have a TV room, but I don’t think anyone’s ever down there.

Every so often I think I’ve gotten too old to stay at a hostel, but then I spend a few nights in a hotel and it’s just me alone in a cavernous room with a bottle of water that they’ll charge me $3 for if I open it.

I think you’ve reminded me that I need to go to Seattle again.