YHA Selling a Third of its Hostels

[steveindenmark]

I think some will get snapped up. They are in some lovely places.

 

[PeteXXX]

I wonder what will happen to all the £££ raised from the sale of these properties?
Back into the coffers to re-invest in the places they're keeping hold of? Topping up the bosses pension scheme? 🤔

 

[mjr]

Surely they are not saying please give us money to pay my salary and at some point the question of is this a business or a charity? needs asking.

Why does it need asking? It does not have to choose. Some businesses are charitable. It was ever thus.

The problem with YHA is that the business is faulty for us, not that the aims are uncharitable or going totally unfulfilled.

 

[grldtnr]

Why does it need asking? It does not have to choose. Some businesses are charitable. It was ever thus.

The problem with YHA is that the business is faulty for us, not that the aims are uncharitable or going totally unfulfilled.

Originally , it was a membership organisation, you couldn't stay unless you had a membership, or had to have a friend who was a member to stay as a guest.
Somewhere along the line, probably recently when things changed for trustee charitable status, things went wrong, start paying for CEO's, marketing directors, and all that physco BS ,things went wrong,now they rob Peter to pay Paul, and the ordinary member loses out .

 

[mjr]

Originally , it was a membership organisation, you couldn't stay unless you had a membership, or had to have a friend who was a member to stay as a guest.
Somewhere along the line, probably recently when things changed for trustee charitable status, things went wrong, start paying for CEO's, marketing directors, and all that physco BS ,things went wrong,now they rob Peter to pay Paul, and the ordinary member loses out .

I agree things went wrong but do not see the charitable status as connected. As I wrote earlier, other hostel chains, mostly abroad, still seem to work without becoming more expensive cheap hotels or whole-hostel lets.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I stayed in the Oban one . . . . There were some 20 or so Australian miners who were there . . . Problem was they were out on the town the night before for beer and curry. Sometimes communal rooms have their downsides

"Australian miners" is a euphemism I've not come across before.
The Oban YH is well situated, well appointed, excellent kitchen and dining area and 'to sell for' view across to Mull.
Stayed there both nights in the middle of the West Highlands audax (1000km)
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27710358

 

[Cambram]

In 1955, with two mates, we decided to have a weeks holiday going from 20 miles north of Cambridge to Torquay and back. We joined the YHA and with an ESSO road map we stepped out approximately 100 miles per day journey. The trip went along the north coast of Devon across Dartmoor to Paignton and then back again in a more southerly route. Coming from the Cambridgeshire fens we had completely ignored things like hills. It was more like a stage race. The best holiday that I have ever had! Croscombe YHA was near Wells on the outward route. The wooden shack YHA was somewhere near Paington/Torquay. There were no resident wardens. There were seperate huts for males and females. We went to the local pub in the evening and on the recommendation of a couple of old codgers had a half pint of scrumpie priced at 9 old pence a pint. When it was my turn to to get the next round my legs didn't work. Drunk for 4 and a half old pence! When we got back to the hostel we had completely forgotten about the female wing.

Our bikes are under the hut behind the pump.

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[presta]

The wooden shack YHA was somewhere near Paington/Torquay. There were no resident wardens. There were seperate huts for males and females. We went to the local pub in the evening and on the recommendation of a couple of old codgers had a half pint of scrumpie priced at 9 old pence a pint. When it was my turn to to get the next round my legs didn't work. Drunk for 4 and a half old pence! When we got back to the hostel we had completely forgotten about the female wing.

View attachment 696445 Top

That's Steps Bridge YHA, it kept going until it sold in 2006, after which it operated as an independent hostel called Blytheswood. It's still trading here, but it doesn't look much like hostel accommodation any more, and it's no longer in the independent hostel handbook.

 

[presta]

I wonder what will happen to all the £££ raised from the sale of these properties?
Back into the coffers to re-invest in the places they're keeping hold of? Topping up the bosses pension scheme? 🤔

For a long while now, the YHA have been selling off property just to fund operating losses.

Surely they are not saying please give us money to pay my salary and at some point the question of is this a business or a charity? needs asking.

Charities still have to balance the books though.

 

[grldtnr]

For a long while now, the YHA have been selling off property just to fund operating losses.

Charities still have to balance the books though.

No they just have to break even, any profit ought to be plowed back into the organisation, NOT pay exorbitant salary's to CEO's and a whole raft of other pseudo directorate roles.
I am not saying there should be no professional management , but it strikes me making 'professional ' has rather messed things up.
As stated up thread by another ,other Hostel organisations have made it work.
It's the British disease ,poor management or just plain bad dicisions.

That's Steps Bridge YHA, it kept going until it sold in 2006, after which it operated as an independent hostel called Blytheswood. It's still trading here, but it doesn't look much like hostel accommodation any more, and it's no longer in the independent hostel handbook.

I stayed at Stepsbridge during its 50 th year, had a beautiful full page 'sparkly' hostel stamp in my stampbook, a lovely little nook, I was on my way to John O'Groats at the time, from Lands End, a memorable trip, stayed at Hostels all the way....except one night in Scotland.

By the time I got home, my Ma, Said have you been ill, I had lost a lot of weight in just over 12 days cycling! My clothes were hanging of me .

I don't think the Hostel Chain is there now to do it.

 

[matticus]

I was hoping to find the YHA's charitable purpose (I'm pretty sure every charity has it listed centrally somewhere.) failed, but found that this is an allowed charitable purpose:

"- the defence of the country (such as trusts for national or local defence)"
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...itable-purposes#any-other-charitable-purposes

:O

 

[matticus]

"Australian miners" is a euphemism I've not come across before.

 

[mjr]

No they just have to break even, any profit ought to be plowed back into the organisation, NOT pay exorbitant salary's to CEO's and a whole raft of other pseudo directorate roles.

Sorry but that doesn't make sense: if it's been used to pay salaries, it's not shown in the accounts as profit!

[...] I don't think the Hostel Chain is there now to do it.

No, it probably isn't. Most of the old walking routes don't have enough hostels any more and the latest sales will probably break even more. It seems like if you want to tour in England without breaking the bank, you increasingly have to book early-bird hotel deals, camp and/or pick your routes very carefully.

 

[presta]

No they just have to break even

That's what balancing the books means.

stayed at Hostels all the way....I don't think the Hostel Chain is there now to do it.

I couldn't repeat a single one of my cycle tours without falling foul of hostels that have closed. Of the hostels I've stayed at, 96 of them are now closed (excluding the ones on this list).

I was hoping to find the YHA's charitable purpose (I'm pretty sure every charity has it listed centrally somewhere.) failed

The place to look is the Charity Commission register, it's all there by law, including the annual accounts. The YHA accounts seem very arcane and opaque by the standards of other charities I've looked up, but I'm not an accountant.

Salary details:

Those add up to no more than 7% of the total salary bill. (1.13m/15.8m)
Excluding those, the average salary appears to be about £28k.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Many a happy memory, looking at those on the list. Early forays being as a kid, where we could catch a bus from near home and walk over the hills to them. Made for some great weekends away without our parents.