Future of hostels

I stayed in quite a few of them from 2002 to 2014. Thankfully I out grew them once I started making more money. I would not recommend staying in one nowadays.

There was an article in the paper about the hostel situation about a year ago that you might be able to access:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/travel/virus-hostels-backpacking.html

Thanks for the link. Yeah, the article voices many of my concerns. While I haven’t stayed at a hostel in over 10 years, I’ve happily stayed in them in my 20s, 30s and 40s. I’m definitely not a partier and never was, but the camaraderie and money savings are hard to beat. Plus many of them are in amazing locations (for example, Fort Mason in San Francisco).

I am sure that if there is demand, somebody will supply them. Some may close, but others may open.

I'm in a French countryside hostel setting with shared rooms, WC, and baths as I write this. We are also eating at long tables but food is plated individually.
We are at a weekend conference for three nights. Everyone has to have a pass sanitaire and must be masked indoors. Life continues. I don't think hostels and other communal facilities will fold.

@Bets - oh, that sounds lovely! So hoping you’re right.

We just spent 3 days in a hostel in Kalundborg (Denmark). We had a twin room (it was expandable to host 4 people) with ensuite bathroom. Due to low occupancy the breakfast was served on individual trays.

I think this kind of hostels (which are more like budget hotels) will still be around.

It has been tough times for everyone in the travel business, hostels including. And many have gone bankrupt.