Perth’s backpacker hostels have reached bursting point, with tourism bodies concerned at the management of non-accredited operators due to unprecedented high demand.
Every single bed in Perth’s hostel accommodation was booked out last Thursday night, according to popular backpacker booking website hostelworld.com.
An investigation by _The West Australian _last week found West Perth backpacker hostel Planet Inn was allowing guests to sleep on a couch for $16 a night.
When asked about the accommodation option, a manager at the hostel said they did not offer the couch as a sleeping arrangement because it would breach their accommodation licence.
City of Vincent chief executive John Giorgi said the council would investigate operations at the property for any breach of local laws and action would be taken if required.
Tourism Council chief executive Evan Hall said most WA backpacker accommodation providers were doing a great job but some « rogue operators » were taking advantage of tourists.
He said backpacker hostels housing more guests than they were licensed to hold could be in breach of building codes and fire safety standards.
Complaints against operators who were accredited by the Tourism Council could be investigated but those that were not, such as Planet Inn, could only be investigated by the State Government’s consumer affairs department if a customer complained.
« But if you’re a tourist, what are you going to do? Spend weeks chasing a complaint up through consumer affairs? » Mr Hall said.
Tourism figures show the number of backpackers visiting WA grew from 96,000 in 2010 to 110,000 last year.
Mr Hall said backpacker hostels were not immune from the domino effect of mining industry workers taking up beds.
Tourism WA chief executive Stephanie Buckland said Perth and WA desperately needed more accommodation of all types, ranging from hostels to five-star hotels.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/13269233/backpackers-bed-crisis/
, le il y a 12 années.
