Tragedy and Renewal: 2001 - Present
The tragedy of September 11th shocked the United States and the world. Travel dropped sharply. Persistent terrorism concerns and the onset of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) continued to depress international travel through 2004.
With dramatically fewer people travelling, hostel overnights and program participation declined sharply. Programming was cut back and hostels were closed. Through a series of austere budgets and careful management of organizational resources, HI-USA was able to methodically rebuild its financial reserves by 2007-2008.
Yet, in the face of hardship, volunteers and staff became more resolute about the positive role of hostelling in global society. In 2002, HI-USA embraced a bold new commitment to broadening cultural exchange and started “Opening Doors, Opening Minds”. Today, the initiative features four innovative travel-based programs, including IOU Respect which brings together USA young people with their Muslim counterparts.
“Hostelling International USA” was adopted as the new name in 2002, in place of American Youth Hostels. The change publicly confirmed the organization’s commitment to serve all ages, and its status as the sole United States affiliate of the International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF).
HI-USA’s transformation continued as it invested precious resources in technology upgrades to become more efficient, and more rigorous hospitality standards to better satisfy hostel guests. By 2008, HI-USA hostels were consistently ranked among the top of IYHF hostels worldwide. In 2010, HI-USA was named one of the top three hostel networks in the world, based on customer feedback.
In 2010, HI-USA acquired a historic building in downtown Boston for a replacement hostel. Once completed in 2012, the $40 million building will be the second largest hostel in the United States (after New York City), and the first to be funded through an innovative combination of New Markets and Historic tax credits.
A renewed HI-USA is moving forward!