Recently I travelled to Helsinki, Finland where I ran in the 2023 marathon. This was only my second time travelling internationally, and my first time using a hostel. Hostels can be a great option when travelling not only for offering a budge option for accommodation but also for giving you the option to socialise with other travellers. I had no idea what to expect but as a gay guy, I’m conscious that my sexuality may be a vulnerability my trip was completely uneventful, but that doesn’t mean that we should drop out guard. That said here are five steps to help safeguard your travels in hostels.
Tip One – Research, Research and More Research.
Research is your biggest ally when travelling.
Checking reviews on sites like Trustpilot, Hostel World and Facebook among others can provide first hand feedback of experiences of travellers which might highlight concerns such as repeated antisocial behaviour, unhelpful staff, instances of bigotry and the like.
When travelling it’s advisable to research the local laws. A simple resource is Wikipedia where you can search for countries by their LGBT rights, for example ‘LGBT rights in Finland’. While Wikipedia should be taken with a grain a salt, it’s a good starting point and generally includes a summary table of different rights. Other options are to check the Irish Governments Department of Foreign Affair which provides good information for travellers on a range of topics and speaking with the destination.
Tip Two – Markings
While we should be able to remain out and proud with our identities, depending on where you travel it may be advisable to remove and hide any logos that reveals your sexuality. That might include removing patches and badges from rucksack, clothing and covering tattoos. It isn’t nice to think that such as drastic action is needed but it only takes on incident to ruin a trip or worse.
Tip Three – Have a Communication Plan.
When travelling abroad its worth remembering that you may not have mobile phone service depending on where you go and either getting a local SIM for your phone or a travel add on from your service provider is recommended to stay in touch. Alternatively, free WiFi is fairly common in hostels and other forms of accommodation providing access to messaging services such as WhatsApp and FB Messenger as well as emails and social media.
Make family aware of your travel plans and have regular check in times and advise them what to do if you miss these check ins, such as contacting your hostel, local police and groups you are travelling with.
Tip Four – Check the Security Options.
When picking a hostel, sites such as HostleWorld will have filters you can apply to your search where you can use to search for the likes of “24-hour security”, “keycard access” and “lockers”. Personally, I’d prioritise being in a hostel where the rooms require an access card to get into the dorm rooms as my Helsinki hostel did.
Tip Five – Don’t Leave Valuables on Display.
While not directly related to queer safety, by keeping valuables hidden such as laptops, tablets, and cameras, you reduce the likely hood of being a victim in the first place which could result in secondary issues if your sexuality were identified.
Conclusion:
In general, hostels are safe environments. People staying there are overwhelming looking to enjoy their travels and not get into trouble so try not to worry, do your research before travelling, both into the destination and the hostel, and go from there. If concerned remove obvious indicators of sexuality such as patches and hide tattoos.