Hostels changing the dictionary definition

The dictionary definition of "hostel" is out of date and needs changing, according to Hostelworld.com.

The travel company is demanding the current UK dictionary definition be revamped to avoid the down-and-out stigma of the word hostel.

"Hostels are budget, fun, sociable accommodation for people of all ages," says chief executive Feargal Mooney.

Today's hostels are a far cry from the school dormitory image of the post-war years and often offer high standards of accommodation and other facilities, he argues.

And it's not just young people who stay in hostels nowadays. Families, older holiday-makers and people taking grown-up gap years are all attracted to the price, service, atmosphere and location of hostels.

Hostelworld.com has written to the Oxford, Collins and Chambers' dictionaries asking for the definition to be urgently revised.