Wilmington hostel anticipates good summer business, neighbors voice concerns

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — There are several options for tourists when they want to stay in downtown Wilmington. One of them is seeing some steady business early in the tourism season.

Stella Maris Hostel is kicking off its second summer in Wilmington and staff members said business is good. At $27 a night per person to stay in a dorm room, people looking for just the basics in accommodations are welcome.

Max Davis, hostel caretaker, said they like to see a steady flow of people so people don’t usually stay more than 7 days. He said they want to give people two things; affordability and a community atmosphere.

“People who are looking for hostels, I think they are a very self-select crowd of responsible travelers who want to have a positive experience,” said Davis. “It’s an affordable place to stay for travelers, who are looking for that community experience.”

Erin Sarosi said she is spending the Fourth of July weekend at Stella Maris with her friend Aly Egan. They both said they have stayed in hostels before but not in the United States. They said they were surprised Wilmington even had any.

“We found it on Airbnb, so it was pretty convenient. And also we all kind of have experience staying in hostels so we kind of like the atmosphere as well,” said Sarosi.

With a potential influx of tourists neighbors to the hostel are growing more concerned. Robert Carpenter, who lives near the business, said he and his girlfriend often have a hard time finding parking on their street.

“They use this street for business parking, and so since we don’t have permitted parking on the street they end up parking in front of our homes so we can’t use them for our residential parking,” said Carpenter.

Carpenter added he and his neighbors are concerned about the upkeep of the property and that potentially lowering property values.

While WWAY was at the hostel we did see Davis ask people who were staying there to move their cars off the street. The hostel has parking on the property.