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Backpackers' hostel at Woodlands hopes to offer more authentic
experience
By Lip Kwok Wai | Posted: 23 June 2012 2153 hrs

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Hostel One66.[/TD]
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[TD="class: bodytext, width: 60%"] Backpackers' hostel at
Woodlands hopes to offer more authentic experience
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SINGAPORE: Travellers on a
shoestring budget can take their pick from some 80 backpackers' hostels in
Singapore.

Most of these hostels are located in the city
centre.

Some tourists choose to stay in hostels that had been converted
from HDB shophouses for a more authentic experience of staying local.

The
first HDB shophouse-turn-backpackers' hostel began operations eight years
ago.

Located in northern Singapore - Woodlands Street 13 - the hostel is
about 80 square meters, which is equivalent to a three-room flat.

The
only room in the former shophouse has been transformed into a double room, with
rates from S$55 to S$65.

The living room can accommodate multiple guests
for S$19 per bed.

An approval from the relevant authorities is needed to
convert shophouses into hostels.

HDB said the conversion of a shophouse
to a backpackers' hostel requires a change of use approval from the Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA), as well as approvals from other authorities
including the Fire Safety and Shelter Department.

It added that the
lessee or tenant will need to seek HDB's approval before applying for the change
in use for the HDB shophouse.

HDB said it will consider proposals for
backpackers' hostel in HDB shop units if the use is compatible with other shop
uses and is unlikely to cause amenity problems.

It added that the
approval is generally valid for three years and the operators are required to
seek HDB and URA's consent for renewals after that.

The hostel's owner
said business has been brisk despite competition from budget hotels.

The
hostel doesn't accept locals, and most of its guests are from Asia, Europe and
America.

Owner of Hostel One66, Tan Yang Kuang, said: "They stay here to
have a real, see the real life of how Singaporeans actually live, work and play.
That's what they don't get in the city area."

- CNA/ck