Ultimate Guide To Hostel Etiquette: Do’s & Don’ts In 2026
Hostels are pretty unique environments where almost everything is shared and communal. From bathrooms and kitchens to entire bedrooms often shared with 10+ people, it’s key to be considerate and mindful of others.
But maybe because hostels are so cheap and can feel like one big sleepover with friends and strangers, some usual etiquette can go out the window… After 12 years of travel staying in hundreds of dorm rooms I’ve experienced a lot of unpleasant hostel behaviour from the funny to the gross. But in this blog, I’m here to help put a stop to it!
I’m sharing my complete guide to hostel etiquette, broken down into the key do’s and don’ts for harmonious and friendly hostel life. Let’s dive in!
Disclaimer: This post may include affiliate links, so if you do make a purchase through them I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!
My go-to hostel booking sites:
The Do’s
First, let’s talk about proactive actions you can take to be a great dorm mate and fellow hostel traveller.
1. Say “hi” to your dorm mates
First things first, whether you’re wanting to meet people while you travel or not, it’s a good habit (and polite) to introduce yourself to others in your room. Now, that doesn’t have to mean giving a mini presentation on your life story or even talking as soon as you set foot in the room.
But when a natural opportunity arises, just a simple “Hi, I’m ….” will do. Often you’ll find a small conversation flows from there but if it doesn’t, that’s cool too. I think it’s just nice to at least acknowledge the other people you’re sharing a room with, and it works both ways. I like it when people also make an effort to say hello to me so bear this in mind if you’re feeling nervous about taking the first step.
2. Hang out in common areas
Whether you want to meet fellow travellers or just sit back and chat with your friends, the common area is the place to do it. Not only is this a more enjoyable environment and you’ll be getting full benefit from all the facilities your hostel has, but it’s more considerate than chatting in your dorm.
Often other guests want to take naps, do a little work on their laptop or read a book and so keeping the dorm room as a space for quiet activity is the best. So take your calls, longer conversations and planning out into the comfy communal areas.
3. Offer leftover food or equipment to others
If at the end of your stay you have food like bags of pasta or rice that you can’t take with you, it’s really lovely to offer that to other travellers. I’ve personally benefitted from this before where someone has offered me bottles of milk or a bag of sugar. Not only is it way less wasteful but it also helps others out and saves them money.
If you’d rather not directly go around asking if anyone wants your half block of cheese, hostels often have a cupboard in the kitchen for communal food so pop in there. The same goes for any equipment you might not need. Again, I’ve benefitted from paper maps, gloves and books from people who either don’t have room or don’t need it in their next destination. You can ask your hostel reception where is best to leave the items knowing they’ll go onto a good home!
4. Always clean up after using the kitchen
Speaking of kitchens, they’re often the heart of a hostel offering travellers the chance to save money on meals by cooking them themselves. As a result hostel kitchens can get busy and messy quickly – so do your bit by making sure you clean up after yourself. That includes washing dishes or loading them into a dishwasher, recycling any waste, putting food away and wiping worktops down.
Generally, hostels will provide you with all the cleaning kit like washing up liquid, sponges and wipes you need. So take the time to leave the space clean and tidy for the next person, don’t just leave it!
TOP TIP: To avoid getting ill do double check that someone has washed the pan/plate/cup/whatever properly before you use it and if in doubt give it a quick wash again. While many people have good intentions, they don’t wash kitchen equipment thoroughly enough!
5. Do pack your bag the night before early mornings
If you know you have to leave earlier in the morning, you don’t want to be rustling around packing your bag at 6am while everyone else is still trying to sleep. So save yourself the struggle of packing by torchlight and lay out your clothes ready for the morning and pack everything else up.
Then all you have to do is roll out of bed, throw the clothes on and grab your bag. Trust me you’ll thank me at dawn!
6. Use the lockers provided
When you’re travelling with a big rucksack, unless you’re really organised it can become one huge jumble. Then to find anything you end up dumping the whole rucksack all over the floor and rooting through it (I speak from experience 😂). While this isn’t a problem in itself, just make sure you pack it all away afterwards or stow it in your locker.
I’ve stayed in dorms where other peoples’ things have migrated all around the room and it makes keeping track of your own belongings and not losing things a challenge. Plus, if you’re returning after dark it becomes an obstacle course! So keep your items safe and clear by making full use of your locker and any other storage space.
The Don’ts
Now that’s the proactive steps covered, here are a five simple things to keep in mind to be considerate of your other dorm mates.
1. Don’t keep snoozing your alarm
We’re starting with the big hitter – alarms. Now, there’s nothing wrong with setting an alarm, we all know it can be tricky if you’ve got to be up and out early to catch transport or join a trip. Others in your dorm will likely also be setting alarms so don’t feel bad about setting one, just notice the focus on one alarm…
Where you might start to annoy your dorm mates is if you’re snoozing that alarm every five minutes. Especially if they’re set before 8am, this isn’t really fair on others in your room so make sure you get up on the first alarm. If you’re not a morning person (I know this pain) and travelling with friends or your partner, it could be better to ask them to come and wake you up rather than setting an alarm.
2. Don’t play music out loud
On the topic of loud noises, let’s also talk music. While you’re unlikely to be playing any music at 6am, it can still be disruptive if you’re blaring songs throughout the day. You never know who might be wanting to take a nap, read their book in peace or have a quick phone call to family back home.
So if you do want a moment to listen to some tunes, the best option is to use headphones.
3. Don’t leave things on other people’s beds
Even if there’s no one currently staying in the bed next to yours, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to throw your rucksack on there. A new guest could arrive at any time, even during the night and it’s not fair for them to have to clean off their bed before they can get in. So where possible, as I mentioned above use the lockers or store clothes and extra bits at the end of your bed.
This is especially important for wet towels. Drying towels in a dorm room can be tricky but the best option is to hang it over the rails or slats around your bed, rather than in the middle of the room or across bunks. If everyone did that you wouldn’t even be able to enter the room!
TOP TIP: You can also buy cheap travel washing lines that attach to either end of your bed perfect for hanging wet kit.
4. Don’t leave lights on at night
Now this might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times I’ve stayed in rooms where people end up falling asleep with their light on or turning it on in the middle of the night. Generally speaking, after about 10:30pm you shouldn’t be turning any main overhead lights on. If you arrive in the middle of the night, grab your head torch or phone torch to find your bunk – don’t hit that room light switch!
If you want to stay up later reading or writing, make use of your personal light and keep it angled away from others. Then just make sure to turn it off before you go to sleep – just because it’s not bothering you doesn’t mean it’s not disrupting others.
If you don’t have a personal light and want to stay up, I’d recommend heading to the common area and then using a torch to find your way back to bed when you’re ready.
5. Don’t leave the bathroom messy
As with a hostel kitchen, the bathrooms are a shared space that everyone uses. So leave it tidy and clean for the next person by always taking your belongings with you (no left over empty shampoo bottles please), putting rubbish in the bin, avoiding leaving hair balls if like me you shed in the shower, and using the loo brush.
It’s all basic stuff that you’d do in your own home but sometimes it gets forgotten in a hostel. So do your bit to keep the bathrooms nice and if there’s a bigger problem, then flag it to the hostel management to be resolved.
6. Don’t take long showers
Last but by no means least, try not to be a shower hogger. In many hostels around the world hot water isn’t plentiful or even guaranteed so try not to spend more time in there than you need.
Plus, it’s not just the hot water that might run out but if there are only a handful of showers, waiting for your turn can take all morning. That’s prime exploration time gone so be mindful of others and keep your showers quick and efficient!
There we have it, that’s my complete guide on how to be a considerate dorm mate and have the best experiences in hostels. If ever in doubt, just treat others as you would want to be treated and you can’t go wrong.
If you have any do’s or don’ts to add – please comment and let me know, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Happy travelling!
Did you find this guide helpful? Please consider buying me a coffee to support my blog, thank you!
