Confidence and peace of mind

Our summer plans

Over the last year over 103,000 people have enjoyed stays at one of our hostels across England and Wales. Our guests and staff have worked together to keep each other safe, and we would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has played their part.

In line with the Prime Minister’s recent announcement, we are now opening more of our locations and facilities to enhance the hostelling experience. The Prime Minster emphasised that the responsibility sits with all of us to do our best to keep everyone as safe as possible, and in light of this and our duty of care to all hostel users, some measures will be retained.

Staying with us

We are delighted to have so many people who have already booked their breaks with YHA for the summer ahead. As a charity every booking helps us connect more people to each other and to nature, outdoors, culture and heritage.

The recent relaxing of restrictions has allowed us to enrich our offer this summer:

Remaining closed communal spaces such as self-catering kitchens will gradually be reopened
Our normal food and drink service will resume at catered hostels
More private rooms are available to book this summer
If you are looking to reconnect with friends and family our YHA Exclusive Hire offer has whole-hostel hire for larger gatherings
Our YHA Camping & Cabins opportunities – including bell tents, Landpods and even Airstreams – offer great value adventures

Keeping safe

The Prime Minister reminds us that we need a cautious reopening and has called on organisations and the public to work with the Government to continue to keep us all safe.

The Government has laid out some very clear expectations on how we can protect each other, reduce the burden on the NHS and reduce the risk of new variants.

To play our part we are:

Requiring our hostel staff to continue to wear face coverings to help keep each other and our guests safe
Asking non-exempt guests to wear face coverings in our shared spaces to help protect fellow guests and our teams
Continuing to provide hand sanitisers and hand washing facilities
Retaining our enhanced cleaning routines
Requesting all hostel users to respect other people’s personal space
Reminding staff and guests not to come into a hostel if they are ill or should otherwise be isolating

And of course, a real strength of YHA is access to amazing outdoor spaces – both on our grounds and in the settings we help you reach. Using these outdoors spaces is not just good for reducing the spread of COVID-19 – connecting to nature and the outdoors gives us a massive well-being boost.

Wales

The situation in Wales is different. The Welsh Government has indicated that, subject to review, they intend to lift restrictions from 7th August 2021.

Our shared spaces

Sharing is a core part of the YHA experience. And you will see a gradual opening of remaining shared spaces in line with Government guidance and the evidence of what works.

We will be reopening self-catering kitchens over the coming weeks, taking into account the clear Government emphasis on ventilation and cleaning.

Dorm rooms are a core part of YHA’s offer and we will be reviewing how and when we can bring these back in line with guidance. In the interim we have a number of private rooms available at £29 before the membership and young persons’ discounts are applied, and for those able to travel with others our private rooms offer great value.

As we open up, we know our guests will want to play their part by respecting other people’s space and helping to keep our shared spaces clean.

Flexibility

We know that this will be a summer where last minute changes can affect plans more than normal.

Our Covid-19 Flexibility Guarantee provides the reassurance you need to book your next stay with YHA, as you are protected should you need to cancel due to a COVID-19 related reason. It’s a simple process to transfer or cancel your booking.

We hope you have the opportunity to have an enjoyable stay in the coming months with us in England or Wales. And thank you again for your continuing support of YHA.