How exactly does one get fired from a party hostel in Thailand? Well lucky for you folk, I’m here to quash your curiosity.
I got the job working at Bodega Hostel in Krabi, Thailand by walking up to the reception and asking for it. But to call it a “job” is a bit of a stretch. It’s a work exchange where I do whatever they tell me to and in exchange I get a free bed, 2 meals a day, and 5 drinks a night. Not a bad deal right? These beds even had curtains for maximum hostel privacy so I was a happy camper when the boss lady said she had an opening for me.
I needed this gig because I was waiting for my prescription glasses to ship in from Bangkok. I had my glasses stolen at the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan; so I had to get new ones at a random glasses shop on the nearby island of Koh Tao. I waited a week on the island for my new glasses but when they arrived it was just flat out wrong. The prescription was highly incorrect (perhaps because the lady giving me the eye exam spoke 34% english and I spoke 1% Thai). So after many a frustrated conversation with the manager, I finally got them to ship me a new pair at my next destination: Krabi.
Most people only spend a few nights in Krabi so I thought I could work in a hostel while I waited so as to not waste any money lingering around. I walked door to door asking hostels if they had any openings and finally got a yes at Bodega. It’s a chain party hostel all throughout Thailand and I happened to stay at one in Chiang Mai. I had a solid time so I figured working at this hostel would be a similar experience. I was sadly mistaken. Working at a party hostel and staying at one are two very different sides of the coin.
I’ve worked at hostels before, but never a self-declared “party hostel” like Bodega. My job consisted of the following:
1. Banging on every single door of the hostel and shouting “FREE SHOTS!!” until they answered. Then pouring shots into their mouths to encourage sign ups for the bar crawl (three times per night…very overkill)
2. Playing the same rotation of party games every night (which included Jenga where the loser had to do a naked lap around the bar (full naked, no exceptions).
3. Leading bar crawls (and the pre-game) 4 times a week to the SAME EXACT bars every.single.time. Same playlists too.
4. While leading the bar crawls we had to pour shots into everyones mouth and dance on the bar (even if we really weren’t in the mood).
5. Co-hosting a booze cruise and mixing drinks for guests (this one I loved but we always had to compete for who got to go on the boat as it gave you the night off working).
6. Every night we had a team meeting where our manager ridiculed us for the way in which we partied the night before and told us how to improve for next time. (An example being: more party games in which guests need to chug their drink so they have to buy a fresh one for the next game).
Now at first glance this all seems like the coolest job ever. And at first it was! I loved playing bartender and having fun with new people from all over the world. My first bar crawl there was crazy and I danced/drank all night long. I got free drinks and loved having that bit of “power” that comes with being staff. My coworkers were all super nice and we had some hilarious times in our staff room. I especially got super close to Caitlin and we spent days off exploring Krabi together. I got to see the beautiful islands off the coast and really get to know the city with all its yummy food and pretty beaches.
But let me tell you, it got REALLY old. The constant partying and the relentless forced encouragement of other people to get hammered was exhausting. Going on those bar crawls sober were rough, trust me I tried. The only way to get through them is to be drunk with everyone else…and I’m really not that much of a drinker. I love a good party but I’m not one to get drunk 7 days a week at the same party every time. We weren’t allowed to leave the bar crawl till 2am (and we had to find/pay for our own way back) so it was late nights and lazy days until we had to do it all over again. We only got one day off a week and it was usually spent in our beds with antisocial urges and scratchy throats. Also the kitchen was going through a chef change so our guaranteed 2 meals a day typically ended up being just 1.
Drunk toilet selfie (we had to wear these shirts every bar crawl)
I tried really hard to keep a positive attitude and encourage others to party but after a few weeks I was holding on by a string. I stopped drinking but would fill my cup with sprite and tell people it had vodka in it. When I had to do the naked Jenga lap I refused because I just didn’t f*cking feel like it. Yeahhh that did not go over well with the crowd.
Then one day when I was staffing the boat cruise I decided to stay with a lovely British guy who whisked me away to his hostel on a different part of the island. This was a big nono but I convinced my coworker to cover for me. The staff of the other hostel who co-hosted the boat cruise with us was also not happy with me for flirting with this guy instead of just being drunk instead??? The morals of a party hostel make no sense to me. Party with the guests but just don’t get carried away and actually enjoy your time? I was pretty DGAF around this time so I said f*ck it and kept hanging with this guy.
When I got back to my hostel it seemed like I got away with my little escapade so I was in the clear. But a few days later my boss asked to see me privately. I sat down with her and she told me how wonderful of a staff member I was and that the guests loved me…but I just wasn’t a perfect fit. I was sure she was going to talk about what happened on the boat cruise but nothing of the sort was mentioned. I was really confused…then why was I being let go? I asked her straight up and she said, “You’re just not enough of a natural partier”. I was a bit taken aback because as much as I kinda wanted to quit anyways, I didn’t think I was doing that bad of a job to be fired. Even though I was sick of partying, I thought I hid it quite well and was still upbeat and fun. So I had to clarify with her by asking, “Am I being fired for not being enough of an alcoholic?” To which she replied, “yes”.
So there ya have it folks…probably the only case in the world where I could be fired for not drinking enough alcohol on the job. The rest of my coworkers were a bit shook when I told them the news; but my glasses had arrived a week prior so I packed my things and headed for Malaysia. C’est la vie!
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