What does hosteler mean?
A hosteler is principally someone who travels while staying in hostels, often because this provides inexpensive accommodation and accommodation. The expression can occasionally refer instead to a person who manages a hostel or works there, although the traveller is normally the dominant modern meaning. Its associations are strongly practical and informal rather than luxurious: a hosteler may be a backpacker, long-distance traveller, or young person exploring a country with limited money. Although more frequent in British and Commonwealth English, the word is also used in American English. It is useful because it identifies a specific travel style as well as a person: not merely a tourist, but often someone who makes hostels part of a regular, budget-conscious itinerary.
A person who travels and stays in hostels, especially to keep the cost of accommodation low.
"The hosteler carried a small pack and stayed in inexpensive accommodation along the route."
This is the most common modern sense.
A person who manages or works in a hostel.
"The hosteler greeted guests and checked them into the dormitory."
This sense is less common and is chiefly associated with British and Commonwealth usage.
The regular plural adds -s, though the word is used infrequently in quantity.
"The hostelers shared advice about inexpensive places to eat."
One word can describe both the person travelling on a shoestring and the person helping travellers stay there.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hosteler come from?
The English word was formed in the 19th century by adding the agent suffix -er to hostel. Hostel was borrowed from French hostel, which derived from Latin hospitale, a neuter adjective meaning “pertaining to a guest” that also came to mean a guesthouse or inn. The same Latin root underlies cognates such as hospitable, hospitality, and hostelry, reflecting the long English association between these words and hosting, guests, and shelter.
How hosteler is actually used
The word is especially common in British and Commonwealth English. The sense of a hostel employee is relatively uncommon compared with the sense of a budget traveller.
Easily confused with hosteler
A hosteler is associated with hostels or budget travel, whereas a hostler traditionally cares for horses or, in an older sense, keeps an inn.