Towards the bed building: analysis of the evolution of urban hostels in Barcelona

In the course of the last decades there has been a significant growth of tourist hostels in the main cities of the country, a phenomenon that has repercussions at different levels in the areas where they are installed. The aim of this research is to explore and document the process of hostel consolidation in the urban environment, both quantitatively and qualitatively, based on the analysis of a sample of one hundred hostels in force in 2019 and located in the municipality of Barcelona. The article examines their evolution over time based on four attributes: the number of establishments and places offered, the location, the variation in the capacity of each hostel and the way it is settled in the built-up stratum. The study shows that in recent decades the hostel has gone from being non-existent in the city to having specific buildings, which allows us to confirm its introduction as a new form of accommodation in the city, as well as to determine possible criteria for future growth that will allow us to reflect on its effects and the need to respond to the new situation.