How Hostels Shaped My Journey — Designing Outdoor Spaces That Bring Strangers Together

Written by Ryan Appleton

Photographed by Danielle Del Sordo

In January 2017, I was sitting in a hammock on the banks of Lago Villarica at a traveler’s hostel in Pucon, Chile, with a cold local beer in my hand, watching the setting sun. Life was good.

5 months earlier, I left a comfortable corporate job, restless with questions about my future. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I figured it wasn’t slowly working my way up the corporate ladder of a Fortune 50 company. What better way to figure out what’s next than to buy a one-way flight to South America and start wandering. 

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Coming from the world of software engineering and data analytics, I thought I wanted to be involved with traveling and have a more customer-facing role, but that still left a lot of doors open. I also thought I might be able to make money traveling (the ultimate dream, right?!). My travel blog earned a whopping $8 in total revenue, so I knew I had to figure something else out.

Lessons from Hostels Across South America

I stayed in many hostels, some great and some forgettable, and it was the community there that kept me going. Traveling alone, I would have grown homesick much sooner if I had spent my nights in hotel rooms. There is real power in strangers coming together with open minds and a shared passion for adventure.

In Pucon, I discovered the power of a great hostel. I stayed at two: one was basic, with a bed and a roof, but forgettable. But the latter provided a complete experience. Helpful staff offered tours and connected us with the best adventure guides at check-in. Thoughtfully designed common areas made it easy to meet other travelers, who were all fun and adventure-seeking. I realized a well-run hostel could elevate a traveler’s experience in a given destination. That’s when it clicked: I wanted to help other travelers have that experience. I wanted to make their visit more memorable.

Knowing that, my travels continued. I spent the next 4 months staying at hostels in Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. I started piecing together my vision. I observed good hostels and bad hostels. I took note of what I liked and what I didn’t like. And inspired by these experiences, I returned stateside with a vision: to create a hostel that embodied the best of what I’d seen. That’s how The Lazy Tiger was born.

Designing The Lazy Tiger

There were the non-negotiables, like cleanliness and safety. Guests shouldn't have to worry about a cockroach crawling across their leg, or their laptop going missing. But beyond that, what made the great hostels truly stand out were hostels with spaces that easily fostered community; they had a clear place where guests could go to relax and meet new friends. Hostel friendships are short so there’s no time to waste, and a properly designed communal space can help bring people together more quickly. 

I knew I needed spaces to fit that mold. I designed the building to have one large common area right when you walk in, so it was always easy to see what’s going on: a large living room, which flows directly to the communal kitchen, and leads next to the big back deck, which overlooks the backyard. 

Generally, guests visiting Asheville enjoy getting outside. This ain’t New York City. People want to sit in the sun, breathe in some mountain air, and touch some grass. So, an outdoor space to relax at the hostel was non-negotiable. A place to unwind in between adventures (one of our slogans is “relax, refuel, rehydrate, recharge“). And what better way to encourage that than to prepare an area by our creek and install some hammocks. 

The negative stereotype of hostels is that they are just basic and cheap. But we like to exceed expectations. So our guiding principles at The Lazy Tiger, whenever we purchase anything, we choose clean and high-quality (we buy ultra soft toilet paper, not to brag). And that made our choice for hammocks pretty easy: we wanted an ENOpod. There’s nothing more welcoming. Three hammocks bound together so you can take your pick – close your eyes and listen to the creek, or cheers the person in the hammock next to you and hear a little of their life story. You may only see this person for the next 2 days, but at The Lazy Tiger, we have a mission to help strangers become friends. So, why not do it comfortably?

Plan Your Next Adventure

Some closing advice: next time you plan a vacation or road trip, keep an open mind. Seek out places with welcoming communal spaces, thoughtful design that puts guests first—and yes, plenty of hammocks to unwind in. The best stories often begin when strangers become friends.

Author Bio

Ryan Appleton is an entrepreneur, traveler, and dog father. He believes that most people are good, and everyone has a story worth listening to. When he’s not running The Lazy Tiger, he enjoys hiking the many trails of Western NC (and the post-hike beers that follow), and hanging out with folks trying to leave this world better than how they found it.