Why Not? Hostel, Tbilisi

So I wrote this as a bit of a play on words. Shortly after arriving in Georgia this time, I began working at Why Not? Hostel in Tbilisi. I had stayed there during my previous visits, so this time I thought, "Why not work there?" (hehe). Anyway, dad jokes aside, I asked if I could work there in exchange for free accommodations, and without hesitation, Krzysztof (the manager, pronounced Kristoff) agreed and began scheduling a few shifts for me. Here is how that has been so far.

Getting the Job (How to do it and what to expect)

This actually turned out to be much easier than expected. I just contacted them to ask if I could and they said yes. There was no rigorous application process, nor was there any of the bureaucratic paperwork that plagues employment around the world. I just asked and said the time frame I was planning to stay in Georgia. Right away, they agreed and we set up a schedule of three eight-hour shifts per week. Once I arrived, they showed me the basics and I was ready to get started.

Just as a side note though, I did know the place and Krzysztof prior to my arrival this time. Granted we didn't know each other that well, but I did stay at Why Not during my previous stays in the country and had a couple of conversations with him in the past. Maybe that helped me a little, but having talked to other workers here, it was most likely not the determining factor. About half the other people who work here simply did contact the hostel out of the blue to offer their labor in exchange for free accommodations.

The one thing I would recommend, if you are considering doing something like this during a trip, would be to contact several different hostels in the cities you plan to visit. It usually depends on whether or not the hostel is short staffed at the moment regarding whether or not they'll take you, so casting a wide net always helps your chances. Also, if you plan to stay in a place for a while, like over a month, it will definitely up your chances too.

The Routine/Shifts

The time for shifts can vary a lot from hostel to hostel, but as for Why Not, each day has three 8-hour shifts (12:00am-8:00am, 8:00am-4:00pm and 4:00pm-12:00am) My partucular one has been the 4:00pm-midnight, but I'll fill in what's expected throughout each.

MORNING SHIFT

Wake up whoever was working the night shift (usually they've dozed off on the couch near reception)
Feed and let the hostel cat outside
Drink as much coffee as you can since you're gonna need the energy
Make/cook breakfast for the hostel which can hold up to 50 people
Clean up after breakfast (the horror)
Check people out of the hostel and say how to get to the airport basically every 5 minutes (check out is noon)
Throw all the check-out people's bed sheets in the wash
Check some people in (involves showing them around and giving them the hostel info)

AFTERNOON SHIFT

Take the morning wash out of the machine and hang it up to dry (later fold and put away)
Check people in (majority check in during this shift)
Keep everything clean enough
Sweep up the floors from the morning
Stock the shelves when the beer and lemonade shipments are brought in
Clean up periodically after the people who are too lazy to do their own dinner dishes
Count up and all the money for the day

NIGHT SHIFT

Tell everyone to quiet down after midnight
Deal with the neighbors when hostel guests don't quiet down after midnight
Closing everything up
Cleaning up the remains of the day that was
Occasionally checking in night arrivals
Making sure no one uses the washing machine during the middle of the night (for some reason people often try to without considering that it'll wake everyone up)
Handling really drunk people (doesn't happen every night, but there's usually at least one or two on the weekends)

The Benefits

This pretty much goes when it comes to working/volunteering at any hostel: free food and a free bed. Technically speaking, if I wanted to live like a hermit here, never leaving or doing anything, I can continue living indefinitely without earning an income. However, I do want to do things while I'm here, and working at this hostel has a few perks as well. Scattered throughout Georgia, there are a few hostels that are considered 'friend hostels' to Why Not, including one in each of Georgia's two other prominent cities: Batumi and Kutaisi. I even went on to visit the Batumi one (Freedom Hostel) and not only did I get to stay for free, but I was given free drinks from a local bar that the owners befriended.

Plus, best of all, working at a hostel gets you to meet so many more people than you would simply by staying there as a guest. People will come to you and ask for tips and information about where to go and what to do, so you have the opportunity to be creative and share the things you like about your current city. Maybe this could be recommending your favorite restaurant or bar, or suggesting a certain day trip that most people are unaware of. It's a fun way to get to know people and it comes about much more naturally than many of the awkward introductuary conversations.

Unexpected Happenings

At first, Everything seemed to be going so smoothly, but in the last few hours in my very first day, things got a bit weird. And for some reasons, weird things have been happening in threes during this trip.

First off, one woman approached the front desk and asked for gasoline. Unsure if this was a joke, I replied, "Unfortunately we're fresh out today." Then I realized she was serious. I asked if it was for a car or motorcycle since there is a gas station nearby, but she insisted that it was for something else. However she never said what that something else was. I eventually got here to leave by telling here to ask someone else instead. (Win for me!)

The next two both occurred within half an hour of one another, and unfortunately I was not as successful in dealing with them. One of the other guys who works at the hostel, Karstens, had spend the past few hours making a special dinner for everyone, but right when he was about to cook the pasta (the base of the dish), the gas went out for the stove. Hot dinner was no longer a viable option, so we had to resort to bread and cheese. And if that wasn't enough, the computer at reception decided it no longer wanted the abuse and quit out on us. This meant we had to use a combination of personal laptops and good ol' fashion pencil and paper to record the rest of the information for the day. It was a bit of a chaotic mess.

Since then, however, I have come to realize that normally things are not like this and that most shifts are far more simple and relaxing. But every once in a while, there will be weird things that happen and odd folks that come by (including a recent high maintenance guest that demanded we go out and buy more fans for the rooms)*, so be prepared just in case.

*we did not buy any extra fans

Recommendations

If you plan to stay in a place for an extended period of time, I definitely recommend working at a hostel. It can help keep your expenditure close to zero and it'll give you a great opportunity to meet people and make friends. Just make sure the people who run/manage the hostel aren't maniacal pricks. I got lucky with everyone being chill at Why Not, but I've heard some horror stories of people being put to work for 50 hour weeks and left unable to do anything else. So therefore, just make sure you know what the schedule is like before you get started. But anyway, if they do turn out to be pricks, you can easily just leave since it isn't formal employment.

Just prepare yourself. You'll be dealing with people all day long and will have to do a fair amount of cleaning/housework. And some travelers can be ridiculously high maintenance and disrespectful/belligerent. Most aren't, but there's always that one guy who is, so be prepared. Overall though, it's been great for me, despite the few mishaps, and I definitely would encourage any long term traveler to think of doing it.