Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales)

This article is about the Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales), for other topics related with the abbreviation "YHA", see YHA

YHA

YHA may refer to:* YHA Australia, a youth hostel association in Australia* Youth Hostels Association , a youth hostel charity in the United Kingdom* Youth Hostel Association of New Zealand, a youth hostel association in New Zealand...

(disambiguation)

The Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales) is a charitable organisation, registered with the Charity Commission, providing youth hostel

Hostel

Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available...

accommodation in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It is a member of the Hostelling International

Hostelling International

Hostelling International, formerly known as International Youth Hostel Federation , is the federation of more than 90 national youth hostel associations in more than 80 countries who have over 4,500 affiliated hostels around the world....

federation.

History

Formation

The whole concept of youth hostels

Hostel

was started in Germany in 1909 by Richard Schirrmann

Richard Schirrmann

Richard Schirrmann was a German teacher and founder of the first youth hostel.Born in Grunenfeld , Province of Prussia, as the son of a teacher, Schirrmann studied to become a teacher himself. In 1895 he received his qualification, and was sent to Altena, Westphalia, in 1903...

and it took 20 years for the ideas to reach fruition in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. In 1929/30 several groups almost simultaneously formed to investigate establishing youth hostels in the UK. Foremost among these was the Merseyside Centre of the British Youth Hostels Association. On 10 April 1930 representatives of these bodies met and agreed to form the British Youth Hostels Association. Shortly afterwards it became the Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales) with separate associations for Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

(Scottish Youth Hostels Association
Scottish Youth Hostels Association
The Scottish Youth Hostels Association , founded in 1931, is part of Hostelling International and provides youth hostel accommodation in Scotland...

) and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

(Hostelling International Northern Ireland
Hostelling International Northern Ireland
Hostelling International Northern Ireland is an organisation providing youth hostel accommodation in Northern Ireland. It is a member of the Hostelling International federation.-Foundation:...

). Ever since its inception it has been known as YHA using the abbreviation YHA(E&W) when necessary to distinguish it from other associations.

As its charitable objective YHA stated it as

“To help all, especially young people of limited means, to a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside, particularly by providing hostels or other simple accommodation for them in their travels, and thus to promote their health, rest and education.”

Early years

The first hostel

Hostel

to open was at Pennant Hall near Llanrwst

Llanrwst

Llanrwst is a small town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It takes its name from the 5th century to 6th century Saint Grwst, and the original parish church in Cae Llan was replaced by the 12th-century church....

in North Wales. Opened in December 1930, it closed in 1931 due to problems with the water supply. The water came from a nearby brook but this was contaminated by sewage from the farm next door. As was commented at the time:-

[the farmer] saw no sin in mixing manure with drinking water.

1931 saw the first widespread opening of hostels and by the end of 1931 75 hostels had opened although at the end of the year 15 closed their doors not to reopen. The prices of an overnight stay were 1/- (1 shilling

Shilling

The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...

) per night for Senior (over 25) members and 6d (6 pence) for Junior (under 25) members. Annual membership was 5/- for Seniors and 2/6 for Juniors. Life membership was available for 3 guineas (£3 3s). Of the hostels opened in 1931, two remain open to this day, Idwal Cottage and Street

Street, Somerset

Street is a small village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, south-west of Glastonbury. The 2001 census records the village as having a population of 11,066...

.

All hostels provided accommodation in single sex dormitories. Most hostels had accommodation for both sexes but in a few towns e.g. Southampton, separate hostels were provided for men and women. Self catering facilities were provided at all hostels and many hostels provided a meals service.

Each hostel was run by a manager known as a warden and all the hostels in an area were administered by a number of Regional Councils. Initially there were 14 Regional Councils but the number grew to 19 by the end of 1935. A National Office to co-ordinate policy and standards was established in Welwyn Garden City

Welwyn Garden City

-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...

.

Membership was required to stay at a hostel and all people staying at a hostel were required to assist in the running of the hostel by undertaking what were known as 'duties'. These ranged from washing up, to cleaning the hostel and in hostels with no water supply on site, replenishing the water supply.

Bedding was supplied. The sheet sleeping bag was used from the outset and supplemented by pillows and blankets.

The emphasis was very much on a communal atmosphere within each hostel. The use of dormitory accommodation and common rooms in every hostel reinforced this. Also the shared interests, mostly walking and cycling, of those using the hostels contributed to this spirit.

From this rough and ready beginning the organisation grew and grew so that by the outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, there were 297 hostels, 83,000 members with 600,000 overnight stays being recorded.

It did not take long for the fledgling organisation to obtain royal approval and in 1932 the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) opened Derwent Hall hostel in Derbyshire. With its panelled walls it became a flagship hostel for the Association.

Wartime reduction

Not surprisingly the war had a significant effect on YHA. Membership levels in 1940 and 1941 slumped as men and women joined the armed services and leisure travel was discouraged. The number of hostels open decreased with up to a third being closed for the duration due to their location in militarily sensitive areas. The low point was 1941 when only 170 hostels remained open and overnight stays were reduced accordingly. It wasn't only the war that led to the closure of hostels, among the hostels that closed for good was Derwent Hall, flooded as a result of the Derwent Water Board project and the creation of Ladybower Reservoir

Ladybower Reservoir

Ladybower Reservoir is a large Y-shaped reservoir, the lowest of three in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, England. The River Ashop flows into the reservoir from the west; the River Derwent flows south, initially through Howden Reservoir, then Derwent Reservoir, and finally through Ladybower...

.

From the low of 1941 things began to recover so that by war's end over 200 hostels were open and membership was back to pre-war levels. Partly this increase in the latter part of the war was due to government encouragement for factory workers to take short breaks away from the cities.

Post war recovery

With peace the resurgence of YHA continued until in 1950 the peak number of hostels open was reached with 303 open in that year. Membership continued to grow and passed the 200,000 mark in 1950. Overnight stays grew from 1.1 million in 1950 to 1.45 million in 1970.

In 1955 the National Office moved from Welwyn Garden City to St Albans

St Albans

St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...

where it remained until 2002 when a further move was made to Matlock. The buildings in St Albans and Matlock were both called Trevelyan House in honour of the first president of YHA, Dr G M Trevelyan

G. M. Trevelyan

George Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a...

.

In 1964 the number of regions was reduced to ten and financial changes made to make it easier for each region to manage its own affairs.

Reform

Significant modernisation of hostels had occurred during the 1970s but by the early 1980s it became clear to YHA that it needed to change as the stresses and strains of running what was a large organisation began to show on what was almost entirely a volunteer run body. Direct management of the hostels was removed from the regional committees and a professional management structure was put in place. The regional committees were themselves reformed into four regional councils; North, Central, South and Wales.

With a new management YHA continued to thrive and by 2000 overnight stays had reached a new peak of over 2,000,000. Reflecting changes in the needs of young travellers, much effort was put into meeting a desire for less spartan facilities in hostels e.g. smaller rooms, more showers, abolishing washrooms.

As well as upgrading facilities in existing hostels, other experimental approaches to attracting young travellers were made. In 2000 a series of summer only hostels utilising university student accommodation were opened in locations near airports e.g. Luton, Leeds. The experiment wasn't repeated in following years.

A much more successful innovation was the introduction of the RentaHostel scheme. Under this scheme groups could hire whole hostels for their own use and without normal hostel rules applying. Rentahostel was available during the winter months to improve usage of hostels that were otherwise closed or doing very little business. The scheme continues to run to the present day but is now known as Escape To.

Foot and mouth 2001

The outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom hit YHA hard. An estimated £5,000,000 of income was lost as a consequence of hostels being closed and a drop in overnight stays from just under 2,000,000 to 1,667,000. Some hostels, such as Baldersdale, were totally inaccessible as they were within quarantine zones. This left YHA in a serious financial crisis and severe measures needed to be taken. The board of trustees agreed to sell 10 hostels at the end of 2002, the sites being Aysgarth, Linton (North Yorkshire), Dufton, Elton, Buxton, Copt Oak, Thurlby, Norwich, Windsor and Holmbury St Mary. Internal and local pressure saved Dufton and Holmbury St Mary from closure and Thurlby was sold to Lincolnshire County Council who rented it back to YHA to continue as a hostel.

Recent developments

2005 saw a change in the charitable objective of the association. From the original objective it was changed to

“To help all, especially young people of limited means, to a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside, and appreciation of the cultural values of towns and cities, particularly by providing youth hostels or other accommodation for them in their travels, and thus to promote their health recreation and education.”

In 2006 YHA announced the largest plan of network renewal. YHA regularly monitors all its hostels to establish if they are still viable and if necessary closes those that are no longer viable or have no prospects of becoming viable again in the future. However the network renewal project was on top of this regular review and was a proposal to close and dispose of 32 hostels when it was announced. The aim of the exercise was to reduce borrowing and to provide funds for re-investment into the network. The closures were to take place over a three year period, over and above the 13 others disposed of in the same period. The hostels involved were not necessarily poor performers but ones where the amount of investment required to bring them up to a desired standard was excessive e.g. Steps Bridge, or in some cases because the site value was very high e.g. Stainforth. When the news broke there was a storm of protest not only among the membership, but also in local communities and local and regional government.

Despite the protests YHA proceeded with the plan. Some hostels e.g. Liverpool, have obtained reprieves either temporary or permanent and are still open but most of the other disposals have taken place. One positive result has been that a number of the hostels disposed of have reopened either as independent hostels or as Enterprise Enterprise hostels are hostels that are privately owned but operated as part of the YHA under a license agreement with YHA hostels within YHA.

Network Renewal Programme: Hostels scheduled to close in 2006
Hostel	Outcome
Acomb	closed and now a private house
Alston	sold to a private individual and now operating as an Enterprise hostel within YHA
Bellingham	leased building, closed and returned to landlord, the Duchy of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland The Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain that has been created several times. Since the third creation in 1766, the title has belonged to the House of Percy , which held the title of Earl of Northumberland from 1377....
Blackboys	sold to a private individual and now operating as an Enterprise bunkhouse within YHA
Byrness	sold to a private individual and now operating as an Enterprise hostel within YHA
Dartington	leased building, closed and returned to landlord
Earby	continues to operate. Building sold to Pendle Borough Council who rented it back to YHA
Elmscott	sold to a private individual and now operating as an Enterprise hostel within YHA
Greenhead	sold to a private individual. Operated as an Enterprise hostel within YHA until 31 December 2009 and now operating as an independent hostel.
Hastings	sold, current use unknown
Keld	sold, now operating as a small hotel
Kirkby Stephen	sold to a private individual and now operating as an Enterprise hostel within YHA
Meerbrook	sold, current use unknown
Steps Bridge	sold, now operating as an independent hostel
Trefin	leased building returned to landlord. Now operating as an independent hostel
Ty'n Cornel	sold to private individual who leased it to Elenydd Wilderness Hostels Trust. Now operating as an Enterprise bunkhouse within YHA
Wooler	sold to Glendale Gateway Trust and now operating as an Enterprise hostel within YHA

Network Renewal Programme: Hostels scheduled to close in 2007
Hostel	Outcome
Bakewell	sold, current use unknown
Brighton	leased building returned to landlord
Capel-y-ffin	sold, current use unknown
Castle Hedingham	sold, current use unknown
Dolgoch	sold to Elenydd Wilderness Hostels Trust. Now operating as an Enterprise bunkhouse within YHA
Dover	closed, current status and use unknown
Ivinghoe	closed, current status and use unknown
Langsett	closed, current status and use unknown
Lynton	sold, current use unknown
Matlock	sold. The property was converted into private flats.
Quantock Hills	closed, current status and use unknown
Sandown	closed, current status and use unknown
Stainforth	sold, current use unknown

Network Renewal Programme: Hostels scheduled to close in 2008
Hostel	Outcome
Chester	closed September 2009. Sold to the University of Chester University of Chester The University of Chester is a public research university located in Chester, United Kingdom. The University, based on a main campus in Chester and a smaller campus in Warrington, offers a range of foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as undertaking academic research.Chester... to use as student accommodation
Liverpool	still operating, will only close when another location in the city is ready
Llangollen	sold 2007, now operates as an independent hostel specialising for groups
London Thameside	still operating, unlikely to close before 2012. Possibly will remain open longer than 2012.

The sales of all the above properties has netted YHA over £20 million. However YHA continues to make a small operating loss. The value of the property portfolio prices was £77.15 million.

In 2008 as part of the move towards raising standards, the sheet sleeping bag was replaced by a bedding pack comprising a bottom sheet, duvet cover and two pillow cases.

Duties have also disappeared although hostel users are encouraged to maintain the communal spirit and assist staff by cleaning up after themselves.

In May 2010 YHA announced that in a further realignment of the network and to support long term financial stability called the "Capital Strategy" that two new hostels would open in 2010 and eight hostels close. The two new hostels are at Southease in Sussex and Berwick on Tweed. The hostels to close are those in Capel Curig (Gwynedd), Exeter (Devon), Grasmere Thorney Howe (Cumbria), Hunstanton (Norfolk), Kendal (Cumbria), River Dart (Devon), Saffron Walden (Essex), and Scarborough (North Yorkshire).

By the beginning of 2011 Capel Curig and Grasmere had both been sold and negotiations to sell were in progress for the remainder other than Exeter which is now expected to close at the end of Summer 2011. On 8 February 2011 a further update to the "Capital Strategy" was announced which will see £4 million invested in the hostels at Black Sail (Lake District), Woody's Top (Lincolnshire) Wilderhope (Shropshire), Rowen (Snowdonia), Grinton Lodge (North Yorkshire), Salcombe (Devon), Poppit Sands (Pembrokeshire), Tintagel (Cornwall) and Wells-next-the-Sea (Norfolk). At the same time the closre of a further nine hostels was announced with the intention to close and sell starting at the end of Summer 2011. The hostels to close are Derwentwater, Helvellyn, Hawkshead (all Lake Districy), Osmotherley (North Yorkshire), Salisbury (Wiltshire), Arundel (Sussex), Totland Bay (Isle of Wight) and YHA Newcastle (Northumberland).

Handbook

In the first years of YHA (1931–1934) due to the rapid change in the number of hostels available the handbook was issued more than once each year. From 1935 the pattern settled into an annual publication issued to all members. In 2003 this became a biennial publication. One was due for the period 2009–10 but has been delayed. Instead a slimmer update booklet containing less information than in previous years has been issued.

YHA magazines

The Rucksack was YHA's first magazine. First issued in 1932, it ran until 1956 when it was retitled The Youth Hosteller, although issue numbers continued the same series. Publication varied between quarterly in the early years to monthly in later years. The contents consisted of hostel reviews, travel articles, regional and local group news, a letters column and updates to the handbook. Publication ceased after the February 1972 issue (volume 39, no. 7, priced at five new pence, and reduced to bi-monthly appearance following December 1970), when an editorial explained that the magazine was to be "transmogrified".

The successor to The Youth Hosteller, Hostelling News ran from Spring 1972 until Summer 1985 (issue no. 54). A quarterly newspaper-style publication, free to members, it followed in much the same vein as its predecessors. Hostelling News was replaced in Autumn 1985 by YHA Magazine, a colour magazine in A4 format, which was rebranded as YHA Triangle in Summer 1989 (issue no. 15) and which thereafter continued as a quarterly publication until Autumn 1994 (issue no 31). From Spring/Summer 1995 (issue no 32) it became a biannual publication, continuing until the Autumn/Winter issue of 2006 (being the fifty-fifth issue, although no longer officially numbered as such). Following a further rebranding exercise, Triangle was replaced by the smaller format Discover but this only lasted for three issues (Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter 2007, and Spring/Summer 2008) before publication was put into abeyance.

In Spring 2009 a shorter eight-page A4 colour publication YHA Life appeared (an undated four-page pilot version, with a focus on fundraising, was issued in 2008).

YHA News appeared between 1992 and 2005. Unlike all the other publications after Spring 1972, which had been made available to all members, YHA News was only available by subscription. Its contents were much more aimed at those involved more actively with YHA. The opinions expressed were not necessarily those of YHA.

Over the years there have been many regional handbooks produced showcasing hostels in a particular region.

YHA Songbook

The YHA Songbook was first published in 1952. Common room sing-songs were popular and the songbook was published by YHA as:

Many a common room sing-song has been marred because few of the hostelers know more than the first verses of the songs, and all too frequently the item that begins as a rousing chorus ends as a faltering solo. A few keen singers find a place in their rucksack or saddle-bag for a song book, but if as a result some half-dozen song books are available, it is usually found that they are all different and even the songs that are in common to several appear in differing versions.

The songbook only contained the lyrics, not the music, the assumption being that someone would know the tune.

YHA shops

YHA had from the beginning sold items directly necessary for using hostels e.g. sheet sleeping bags but in 1950 started selling goods for walkers e.g. rucksacks by mail order from National Office. By 1953 not only was an annual sales catalogue issued by YHA had opened a shop at 21 Bedford Street, London. Three years later the shop moved across the Strand

Strand, London

Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...

to John Adam Street. Over the years this shop expanded into Travel and Information Office and other shops opened in major cities. In 1990 the store management bought the stores from YHA and formed YHA Adventure Shops PLC. The company was wound up in 2004.

Motor vehicles

From the earliest days YHA made it clear that motorists were not welcome. Regulation 4 as printed in the handbook read:-

Hostels are intended for Members when walking or cycling, and are not open to motorists or motor-cyclists (unless they are using the hostel for the purpose of walking or climbing. In any case motor-cars and motor-cycles must not be garaged at a hostel).

Instead great emphasis in the handbook was placed on the availability of public transport with distances to nearest railway stations being given and the availability of bus services (something that continues to this day).

In 1951 this point was made even stronger as it was promoted to regulation 1:-

Youth Hostels are for the use of members who travel on foot, by bicycle, or canoe; they are not for members touring by motor car, motor cycle, or any power-assisted vehicle.

By the mid 1960s with the decline in rail services YHA changed the policy slightly and allowed members to use cars to reach a hostel but not to motor tour. It remained policy however that cars could not be parked at hostels.

This change did not last for long and in 1969 it was decided, from 1970, to allow parking, for a fee, at certain hostels. However hostel wardens had a discretion to require people arriving by car to move on if the hostel was busy.

Finally in 1984 car parking charges were abolished and parking allowed at all hostels, subject to space.

Membership

Until 2005 it was a requirement to be either a member of YHA or a member of an Hostelling International affiliated association before staying at a hostel. YHA relaxed this rule partly due to a desire to make hostels more accessible to all and partly due to advice received from the Charity Commission that the charitable status of the association was at risk if it remained a membership only organisation.

Membership can be purchased on arrival at a hostel but a non member wishing to stay must pay a supplement equivalent to a day membership for each night of their stay.

Alcohol

Allowing the consumption of alcohol on hostel premises has only been allowed since the 1980s. Before then alcohol was prohibited and consumption at the hostel could result in offenders being banned from the hostel. When the decision to allow alcohol consumption was taken, initially it only applied to alcohol purchased at hostels with a table licence e.g. Edale, but later the policy became more relaxed and beer, cider and wine (but not spirits) was permitted to be brought onto and consumed on the premises as long as it was accompanying a meal.

With the reform of UK licensing laws

Licensing Act 2003

The Licensing Act of 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that applies only to England and Wales. The Act establishes a single integrated scheme for licensing premises which are used for the sale or supply of alcohol, to provide regulated entertainment, or to provide late night...

the responsibility for the behaviour of customers falls onto the personal licence holder i.e. the hostel manager. To minimise the risk of prosecution of its staff, YHA introduced a policy whereby only alcohol purchased at the hostel can be consumed on the premises. Where the hostel is not licensed for the sale of alcohol, the previous policy on bring your own continues.

Schools

Pre war, groups of children aged 11–18 were welcome at hostels as long as they were under the supervision of a responsible leader. All bookings had to be made in advance. Apart from price no other concession was made to these groups. They were still expected to move on from hostel to hostel and for this reason this type of business became known as School Journey Parties (SJP).

After the war YHA realised the potential of providing not just accommodation to school parties and youth groups but educational facilities as well. This scheme Youth Hostels for Health and Education, started in 1953 and was the forerunner of the services offered today. In 2008, 27% of overnight stays with YHA were as part of organised school trips.

As such a large proportion of YHA business involves children it has a very stringent child protection policy and all staff and volunteers have to have Criminal Records Bureau

Criminal Records Bureau

The Criminal Records Bureau , is an Executive Agency of the Home Office, which provides wider access to criminal record information through its Disclosure service for England and Wales...

checks conducted before they can work for YHA. School and local authority child protection policies sometimes cause friction with individual guests as many schools and local authorities insist on sole use of a hostel meaning that unused beds are unavailable to anyone else.

YHA today

YHA is a member of Hostelling International, an international federation of hostel associations. Due to its work in various fields, e.g. youth activity, the environment, education, it work in partnership with a wide variety of other organisations both within the voluntary sector, national government and local government.

Products

YHA remains primarily an accommodation provider and supports this with the provision of food and drink, educational packages to support school groups using hostels and since 2005 Do it 4 Real a series of summer camps for children.

Accommodation

The dormitories (shared accommodation as YHA calls it) in hostels typically consist of a number of beds, often bunk beds, and many offer storage facilities such as lockers. Such rooms are a means of being able to offer cheaper accommodation for large numbers of people and typically contain 4 - 8 beds. Unlike some associations e.g. Canada, dormitories in England and Wales are always single sex. With the YHA's modernising efforts and its attempt to widen its target market many hostels now offer private rooms in sizes suited to couples and families. An increasing number of rooms are being provided with en suite facilities.

Facilities

YHA operates 193 hostels and bunkhouses in addition to over 30 camping barns. All but ten hostels provide self catering facilities and 140 provide a meals service. Nearly all provide drying rooms and cycle storage. The communal areas remain a major focus of the hostels. Many of the medium and larger hostels have classrooms and meeting rooms which can be used in conjunction with a residential stay or on a non residential basis.

Environment

One aim of the YHA is to support "sustainable use of the countryside, youth hostels and their local communities". YHA strives to operate as both a environmentally friendly user and to provide environmental education.

Local Group network

YHA has traditionally been supported by a network of local groups dedicated to supporting the network by patronising the hostels and being a source of voluntary labour. Some of these groups are thriving social and outdoor activity clubs which are continuing to attract new members.

In recent years there has been friction between the remaining local groups and YHA, much of it due to concerns about compulsory insurance policies, and the use of the YHA brandname.

Volunteering

There are a wide variety of volunteering opportunities support by YHA. These range from running small hostels, to grounds maintenance, to working at a Do it 4 Real summer camp and offering professional services to the association.

Governance

YHA is governed via three Regional Councils in England and one in Wales, although this is subject to review at the time of writing. Each Regional Council elects a group of members to represent the needs and views of YHA members and users. These Regional Councils also elect the majority of the National Annual General Meeting (AGM) delegates. They also elect regional Trustees. A programme of meetings are held around the country throughout the year. Regional Councils are able to put Motions to the National AGM as required.

The board of trustees which is elected at the AGM has up to 26 members. Of these four, the National Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, together with the Chief Executive form the National Officers who act as an executive committee.

At the AGM in September 2009 a package of governance reforms was passed and the board composition changed to 12 trustees together with four National Officers (the chief executive ceasing to be a National Officer. The number of National Officers will be reduced to three following the next AGM.

External links

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