Pampered Millennials Are Demanding High-End Hostels

(Bloomberg) -- Introducing the flashpackers: millennials in their 20s and early 30s who are choosing upmarket hostels rather than traditional hotels to swap travel tips over craft beers in trendy bars before retiring to a spotless dorm room. Bloomberg's Neil Callanan spoke to Carl Michel, executive chairman of the Generator hostel chain, and Josh Wyatt of Patron Capital, one of the company's financial backers, at a Generator hostel in London. (Source: Bloomberg)

When Jacques Du Plessis spent a month in Dublin this year, he decided to stay at the Generator, a hostel with a screening room, “ladies jacuzzi suite” and a bar with chandeliers made from Jameson whiskey bottles.

“In a budget hotel, you’d be anonymous,” the 36-year-old South African said in an interview. A hostel is “more about experiencing the traveling vibe.”