2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT INTRODUCTION ‣
Introduction
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Message from the Chairman
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Industry Research
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Communications & Marketing The STAY WYSE
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Executive Board Trade & Networking
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Events ‣
Membership
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Awards
A YEAR OF GROWTH “The STAY WYSE survey of YTA business continues to indicate that the industry has navigated the crisis reasonably successfully. In spite of growing economic and competitive pressures, there are a number of indicators of the basic health of YTA.”
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STAY (Safe Travel Accommodation for Youth) WYSE Association is the global forum and trade association for organisations involved in youth travel accommodation. The Association was formed in 2006 by the world’s leading youth travel accommodation providers to represent the entire global Youth Travel Accommodation (YTA) sector. STAY WYSE is the only not-for-profit industry association bringing together the diverse segments of this significant
m u l t i - b i l l i o n d o l l a r i n d u s t r y. T h e association works to provide much needed support and representation for one of the youth travel industry’s fastest growing niche markets. The Association’s mission is to provide safe, affordable and clean accommodation within a communal atmosphere that encourages youth mobility and cultural understanding.
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN This past year has been an exciting one for STAY WYSE, and the industry has a whole. The association, building upon the work done in the previous year, continued its steady healthy growth. The STAY WYSE survey results reveal an industry that despite the economic recession continues to grow in scope and scale, with global occupancy rates up, bed rates up and plans for establishment expansion. STAY WYSE launched a new website this year, with an industry news site, which is updated regularly with STAY WYSE news, but also news from around the industry. I urge you all to subscribe to it on www.staywyse.org. The new website has caused visitor numbers to dramatically increase as our news portal grows in recognition. As we recently informed you, the Board is keen to see STAY WYSE develop to the next level with an association built around the four cornerstones of education, networking, research and representation. We look forward to sharing our ideas with you at the AGM and of course are keen to hear your thoughts and feedback. The year ahead is going to be key for STAY WYSE. The board and myself are aware of the challenges, but look forward to delivering value to our membership and growing the representation of the industry.
2009 2010 2011 Occupancy Rates %
Ulises Ortega
WWW.STAYWYSE.ORG
2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT INDUSTRY RESEARCH For the sixth year running STAY WYSE embarked on a survey of the Youth Travel Accommodation Industry. The Youth Travel Accommodation Industry Benchmark Survey of 2011 looked at average bed rates, occupancy rates, marketing activities, staffing, environmental sustainability initiatives, booking trends and sources of revenue during 2011. In addition, this year we launched our first consumer survey which looked at motivations and behaviours of YTA consumers. The results of which have been used in this year’s report. STAY WYSE would like to thank the members who helped circulate this survey to their customers. We look forward to build upon this survey for future reports.
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No. of YTA Establishments represented
The hostel revenue management study was carried out by STAY WYSE in cooperation with independent tourism research institute, Tourism Research and Marketing.
in the STAY WYSE Survey
Youth Travel Accommodation (YTA) operators around the world were asked to participate in a detailed survey, which was open for the period May to July 2012. Respondents were asked about their business during calendar year 2011. The scale of the survey continues to grow, with a 60% increase in the numbers of establishments represented in this year’s data as compared to that of 2011. The STAY WYSE survey has rapidly become the most comprehensive study of the YTA industry worldwide, and is the only consistent source of benchmarking and comparison by world region, country and for a number of key cities. This reflects the ability of STAY WYSE to reach operators across the YTA as a whole. This work was greatly aided by the support given to the 2012 survey by Hostelworld.com, Hostelling International and HostelBookers, all of whom helped to distribute surveys to the global YTA community and by Backpackers Villa Sonnehof, Hostel One80, Palmers Lodge, Hatters Hostel, Hostelling International and Smart City who distributed to YTA consumers. The STAY WYSE survey has developed into a significant piece of research within the Youth Travel Industry as a whole. As such it has attracted considerable funding this year from sponsors; income from the survey now accounts for two-fifths of STAY WYSE annual income. STAY WYSE would like to thank all the sponsors for their support:
WWW.STAYWYSE.ORG
2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS 30000
Following the introduction in 2010 of the STAY WYSE Industry News site, STAY WYSE decided to completely revamp its website. The new website now incorporates the news section and includes a retail portal for our publications. The introduction of the new website has had a significant impact on website visitors. The launch of the new website has been an enormous success, with in the past 9 months more visitors than that of the entire previous 4 years. The news section is updated daily (and published via our social media) with relevant hostel developments, social media practices, trends and research, and updates from members as well as STAY WYSE. The STAY WYSE board would like to encourage all members to subscribe to the STAY WYSE news on www.staywyse.org. In 2010 STAY WYSE made a concerted effort to develop its social media (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn). In 2011/2012 this investment was rewarded with a substantial increase of visitors via our social media STAY WYSE frequently publishes it’s own press releases via its website which are published on third party news sites such as eTurbo News, Travel Daily News, Backpacker Trade News, UNWTO and ICEF Monitor. STAY WYSE publications that are retailed online to non-members include: The Youth Travel Accommodation Industry Surveys ‣ National & City Data ‣ Hostel Start-up Guide ‣ Publications available for free download include: Executive Summaries ‣ Best Practices ‣
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Website visitors to staywyse.org
Top 10 views by country: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
United States United Kingdom Spain Germany India Canada Ireland Australia Portugal Italy
Top 5 referrers: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Search Engines Facebook STAY WYSE Survey Twitter LinkedIn
THE EXECUTIVE BOARD & MANAGEMENT Ulises Ortega Mundo Joven Chairman 2011-2013
Carmel Dunne Hostelworld.com 2011-2013
David Chapman International Students House Treasurer 2011-2013
Philip Houghton Smart City Hostels 2011-2013
Mikael Hansson Hostelling International Permanent Seat
Steve Lowy umi Hotels 2011-2013
WWW.STAYWYSE.ORG
Eric van Dijk from Generator Hostels has been attending board meetings in an advisory capacity since July 2012. Laura Daly is the STAY WYSE Association Manager. Laura currently spends 50% of her time on STAY WYSE and she is based out of the WYSE Travel in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT TRADE & NETWORKING EVENTS STAY WYSE increased its representation and attendance at many international events, fairs and conferences since the last AGM, including: WYSTC Barcelona ‣ United Nations World Tourism Organisation ‣ ICEF Berlin ‣ United Nations Alliance of Civilisations ‣ ITB Berlin ‣ International Pow Wow: The US Travel Association’s Trade Show ‣ ISIC Event Miami ‣ European Commission: Youth on the Move ‣ For the first time STAY WYSE had its own booth at ITB Berlin. Six member organisations joined STAY WYSE in the Youth Hall at their stand at a significantly discounted rate. The members were: Budgetplaces.com ‣ umi Hotels ‣ Agora BCN ‣ Guest Centrix ‣ Hatters Hostels ‣ Hostels in Brussels ‣ Other members such as Generator, Backpackers Villa Interlaken, Smart City Edinburgh and Palmers Lodge were also present at ITB. In April, STAY WYSE in conjunction with the City of Amsterdam hosted a networking event for industry professionals engaged in the the YTA sector. Over 25 members and non-members came to the event at the WYSE Travel Confederation, where after a presentation by the City of Amsterdam, a lively discussion took place regarding the safety aspects of organisations such as Couchsurfing and AirBnB, and the city’s approach to hostel location and quality. Laura Daly (STAY WYSE Association Manager) is part of the Experts Group for the European Commission’s Youth on the Move project. The project aims to remove barriers for young people to travel to work within Europe and provide them with a safe travel experience. Discussions are ongoing to see where STAY WYSE members can be part of this initiative.
Ulises Ortega, Chairman of STAY WYSE represented WYSE Travel Confederation in his role as Executive Committee Chairman at the 19th General Assembly in Korea in October, at the invitation of the Secretary General of UNWTO. The UNWTO’s General Assembly is a week long meeting where more than 90 countries participate represented by their Tourism Ministers and Deputy Ministers. Ulises represented the Confederation and their joint initiative with UNWTO. It is a forum with the clear purpose to not only learn about other countries experiences but to find possible ways to improve tourism quality and activity worldwide.
WWW.STAYWYSE.ORG
2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT MEMBERSHIP STAY WYSE currently counts 139 members. Please visit www.staywyse.org for a complete list of our members. The following organisations are required to be ratified at the upcoming AGM as new members: ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣
St Christopher’s Inn Budgetplaces.com Frankfurt Hostel Samesun Backpacker Lodges CMS Hospitality / Guest Centrix U Hostels Albergues Juveniles HostelBench (pending supporting documentation) NYC & Company (pending supporting documentation) MasterCard Worldwide (pending supporting documentation)
STAY WYSE is currently in the process of finalizing membership payments. Further details will be provided at the AGM. Should you not yet have completed membership payment please do so as soon as possible to avoid disaffiliation.
DID YOU KNOW THAT.... Top 5 focus areas for STAY WYSE According to you: 1.
YTA Industry Survey
2.
Best Practices
3.
Benchmarking tool
4.
Detailed National Data
5.
Networking Events
Approximately 35,600 minutes were spent by organisations completing the STAY WYSE YTA Industry
STAY WYSE GREEN AWARD The STAY WYSE green award recognizes the youth accommodation provider that is making the greatest efforts to ensure that its operating practices promote environmentally friendly and sustainable travel around the world.
Survey, and...... Approximately 21,600 minutes were spent by customers completing the
The 2011 shortlisted organisations were: Backpacker Villa Sonnenhof ‣ Tim’s Place ‣ Hotel Arya Niwas ‣ Sydney Harbour YHA (2011 Winner) ‣ Grupo Natura ‣
STAY WYSE YTA Consumer
L a s t y e a r, S y d n e y H a r b o u r Y H A , w h o demonstrated an impressive record of green initiatives, was awarded with the prize. The Australian hostel managed to reduce CO2 emissions, energy, waste and water usage by adopting innovative measures such as solar panels, waterless urinals, intelligent windows, and the use of rainwater to flush toilets.
hours, or 40 days spent
Julian Ledger, CEO of YHA Australia Ltd was at WYSTC to pick up the award along with Julie Freeman and Mandy Monk.
400 news articles since Jan
The 2012 green award will be given out to the organisation that has shown to have implemented the best green initiatives throughout 2012. This award will be given out at the Industry Awards Luncheon on Friday September 21, 2012 at the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) in San Diego.
Survey. That’s a total of over.....
57,200 minutes, or 953 completing our surveys STAY WYSE has posted over 2012. Are you subscribed? Ulises Ortega in a previous life used to be a matador and an urban planner. Hopefully not at the same time.
WWW.STAYWYSE.ORG
STAY UP-TO-DATE
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWS ON WWW.STAYWYSE.ORG
STAY WYSE Association Keizersgracht 174
THE ASSOCIATION OF YOUTH TRAVEL ACCOMMODATION
1016 DW Amsterdam The Netherlands Telephone: +31 (0) 20 421 2800 Fax: +31 (0) 20 421 2810 Email: laura.daly@wysetc.org
WWW.STAYWYSE.ORG