Pittsburgh attracts about 4 million visitors a year, and many of these visitors are looking for affordable accommodations.
Most hotels cost about $100 a night, says Katherine Camp, which can be a lot for budget-conscious travelers. These travelers used to have the option of checking into the Pittsburgh International Hostel, in the city's Allentown neighborhood, but that facility closed in 2003 due, in part, to problems with its size (too large) and location (too far removed from hotspots).
The Pittsburgh Hostel Project is trying to bring back the hostel option. Led by Camp (a planner at East Liberty Development, Inc.), her fellow CORO classmate Tony Lodico, Sarah Papperman and Venture Outdoors program coordinator Lora Woodward, the organization formed about a year ago with the mission to "provide high-quality, community-oriented accommodations, allowing budget-minded travelers to enjoy Pittsburgh." The Pittsburgh Hostel Project held a successful fundraiser at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern in July 2009, and has more than 600 Facebook fans. But it's still trying to find its footing regarding what the organization should look like, and more importantly, what the hostel should look like and where it should be.
"A hostel is a lagging, not leading, indicator of a successful young neighborhood," says group organizer Lodico. Allentown, therefore, many not have been the best spot for such a facility, but Lawrenceville or the Strip District--with their bustling nightlife and easy access to public transportation--could be.
The group hosted a potluck Sunday night to encourage dialogue and find new directions. About a dozen participants attended, ranging from group organizers, to developers pitching properties and strategies, to Burgh-based travel junkies offering up anecdotes and suggestions for the kind of place they'd want to stay.
What emerged over shared cookies, pie and pita was the idea that a hostel offers a very unique service to a city. It attracts a different kind of traveler (one who'd be more eager to try an Iron City at Gooski's than a martini as Olive or Twist, perhaps), and through its communal spaces, it engages these travelers in different kinds of conversations than those most hotel-goers have with their concierge.
Most mid-size Rust Belt cities, with the exception of Cleveland, do not have hostels, the Pittsburgh Hostel Project organizers say, so it could be up to Pittsburgh to lead the way.
Writer: Caralyn Green
Sources: Katherine Camp, Tony Lodico and Sarah Papperman, Pittsburgh Hostel Project
Photograph copyright Caralyn Green