My first ever Workaway was in backpacker hostel Ruthensteiner and allowed me to travel around the mesmerizing capital Vienna for two months for free! Workaway is a volunteer platform where you can work just 5 hours a day on amazing volunteer projects in exchange for a place to sleep and food. That means apart from transportation costs you can travel completely free. When I arrived at the hostel I was welcomed by a large group of volunteers at the hostel bar. Sunday evening was the moment when we made the weekly schedule by dividing all volunteer tasks among the volunteers. We all made a choice one by one what we wanted to do (or not). Good to know that you will get at least 2 days off every single week. What’s more, if you do double shifts you can take even more days off. This will give you more time to explore Vienna or visit one of many nearby capitals. Let’s dive deeper into the different types of work that we did as volunteer hostel managers: breakfast support, cleaning support, daily activity, cooking dinner, bar support and nightshift.
Breakfast
Early birds can decide to wake up before 7 and help out with breakfast. The hostel has cooking staff who takes care of the oatmeal, pancakes, yoghurt and many more (vegan-friendly) breakfast options. Volunteers are there to support the chef and complete the breakfast experience with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, lemonade and other delicious drinks. Additionally, you help to clear the tables and do the dishes. Personally, I loved the breakfast shift, because it was a perfect way to start the day and socialize with new guests. Most guests sleep-in after a long day of exploring, socializing and partying so the first hour of work there will be barely any coffee to make. Instead you could make yourself some coffee, listen to music and slowly wake up. Most guests will come in the final hour so between 9 and 10 will be rush hour. Afterwards there is one more hour to do the dishes and then you are ready to explore the city with guests, your fellow volunteers or travel on your own.
Cleaning Support
When you want short shifts you should choose cleaning support. If you work hard you will be ready in under an hour. The hostel has cleaning staff, so your duty is to support them by taking off the dirty sheets from the beds that have just checked out that morning. Most people are already awake for breakfast or into the city but some people sleep in after a long night. So if you want to listen some good music it’s better to put in some headphones
Daily Activity
When you enter the hostel one of the first things you will notice is the weekly activity board. Everyday there is an activity organized by one of the volunteers. Simply choose from one of many activity cards and put in on the board. The guests can see the daily activity and decide to join in. Popular activities were a visit to Schonbrunn Palace, drink coffee at Kafka or UNO game night. Creative people can come up with their own activity and design a new activity card. My plan was to organize a cold plunge in the Danube and 12 people joined. The cold plunge became a new weekly habit and we also loved to do it with only the volunteers. The others always organized a journaling session in the park or they go to the bouldering hall. Therefore, the daily activity is a perfect way to leave your mark and create a unique travel experience.
Cooking Dinner
People who love to cook can take the cooking shifts. Don’t think it’s just like cooking at home. You will be cooking for groups around 60 people and you also need to do the grocery shopping yourself. However, if you start early afternoon there is plenty of time and when everyone is enjoying their food the sense of satisfaction is amazing. The hostel has pantry staples like grains, beans and sauces on stock so you only need to buy some fresh vegetables to turn it into a complete meal. You can pay with the hostel phone so it’s not from your own more. The dinner is pay-as-you-wish so the guests will give tips which will be divided at the end of the week and comes down to around 40 euros. The tip money is on top of 20 euro grocery money that volunteers already get. Most weeks i ended up with way more than I spent. So that means the trip is not just free, you can even save up a little bit.
Bartender
Barshift mainly involves walking around for empty glasses and putting them in the dishwasher. If you like you can also support with making beers and cocktails. Most busy is happy hour when everybody will get hoard drinks for a cheap price, but overall it’s really chill. There is time to interact with the guests at the bar, listen to amazing music and just enjoy the vibe.
Nightshift
The shift starts after happy hour when the receptionists leave. Besides checking-in people that arrive at night there is not that much you have to do. That means you are free to watch a movie or listen to some music. Often we joined each other for nightshift and watched something together. You have two stay up until 2am and then you can sleep in the hostel lobby which is quite comfortable. There is a chance people check-in at night or come home from partying so they ring and you have to let them in. However, most night I could just sleep until the receptionist comes in the morning. After that you can sleep in the volunteer dorm for a few more hours if you need it.
