bargain travel

Airline prices may appear to be at a historic low, but that's just a flight of fancy. In fact, the major carriers have just shifted their costs to extra fees, and the ugliest one of all is the one you pay to check luggage. At $20 a bag, a family of four will pay $80 each way, or $160 round-trip. You can save $40 if you reserve space ahead of time, but don't even think about adding a second checked bag, which adds another $60 round-trip, per bag.

While luxury and business-class hotels are doing everything they can to eke out a break-even balance sheet in this red-ink economy, there's one travel category that has seen a boom in bookings. A mighty boom, in fact. Hostelling International, one of the most important operators of affordable...