Hostelling International

[2] Richard Schirrmann, a German schoolteacher, opened the first youth hostel on 1 June 1912 in Altena Castle, in northwest Germany, with the goal of providing affordable accommodation to youth travelling the country.

[4] Other countries in Europe adopted this concept, which led to the founding of the International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF) in October 1932[5] in Amsterdam by representatives from Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, France, and Belgium.

Schirrmann, who became president in 1933, resigned in 1936 when the Government of Nazi Germany forced him out while the hostels were put under control of the Hitler Youth.

For example, in the UK, as in other countries, the practice of visitors completing daily chores and cleaning tasks as part of their stay was phased out during the 1980s.

[10] HI reports 37 million overnight stays annually, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.