From a mountain cabin to a dormitory filled with beds, hostels are becoming more popular in the United States, following the decades-old European tradition of inexpensive travel.

According to Mary Ann Brazil, general manager of the Tucson International Hostel, the number of people using hostels - mini-hotels where patrons can stay for $5 to $22 dollars a night - has been increasing over the last 10 years.

With many students looking for inexpensive ways to travel over spring break and summer vacation, hostelling is an option.

Heath Elder, a chemical engineering sophomore, says he has traveled throughout Europe staying in hostels. Before he spent the night in a hostel, he thought they would be "a bunch of dorms - cheesy, cheap places with a lot of beds thrown into a room."

Instead, he discovered a variety of settings and lodgings.

"Some were nice, some were not so nice, but over all it was cool. I would recommend hostels to my friends, because really all you need is a place to sleep and shower."

He remembers a 1995 trip when he stayed in a hostel in a beautiful Swiss Alps cabin.

"The bathrooms were outside though," Elder said.

Francie Pierce, a representative from Campus Travel said students with a limited budget often travel using hostels, though hostelling is still more popular in Europe than in the United States.

"(It is) more feasible for students who want to travel to a lot of cities," Pierce said.

A desire to help people travel inexpensively was the foundation of Hostelling International, which provides information about hostels.

Hostelling International's mission statement says that the organization wants "to promote the education of all young people of all nations ... by encouraging them in a greater knowledge, love, and care of the countryside," and does this by providing inexp ensive accommodations for travellers.

Hostels generally have dormitory-style beds and offer laundry facilities, kitchens, lockers and the opportunity to talk with other travelers.

A hostel-card from Hostelling International costs $25 and provides the holder with discounts on travel, lodging and day activities.

Members receive a booklet of hostels across the United States.

Anyone under18 may be asked to show a permission slip, however, there are no age restrictions.

Jaimee Kuperman, a creative writing junior, has stayed in hostels in the western United States, England and Israel.

"I had heard really positive things about hostels - that they made it easy to meet people, were convenient and cheaper," Kuperman said.

"I found that all of the hostels were different, some had room for 10-15 people, others had room for 120 people. There were a lot of international students and people who were going on vacation, looking at schools, back packing, or hiking.

"The people were really neat, and we always had a good time," Kuperman said.

There is one hostel in Tucson, not affiliated with the Hostelling International program.

Tucson International Hostel at Hotel Congress serves mostly international students, said Jeff Grubic, a desk clerk.

"Sometimes there are University of Arizona students who stay with us while they're looking for a place to stay, but mostly it's foreign people," Grubic said.

Tucson International Hostel charges $11 per night if the travel weary person has a student identification of hostelling card and $14 if they do not.

Local hotel rates can run more than $70.

The hostel does not take reservations and has only 14 beds. They ask that no one stays for longer than three days.

"We have a desk that is manned 24 hours a day, just like a hotel, and we take people on a first-come, first-served basis," Brazil said. "We get a lot of interesting people - international travelers, the desk clerks have fun getting to know people."

Contact any travel agency for more information about hostelling or call Hostelling International at (202) 783-6161.