About Apple Hostels of Philadelphia

A little about…

Mickey’s life is a tale of rags to riches. Mickey was abandoned at the USA Hostels Hollywood hostel when he was just 5 months old. As adorable as he was, the staff took him in and quickly trained him to do their jobs. Before he knew it, he was checking in 20 guests at a time, cleaning the toilets and doing the reports. All this while negotiating contracts with the hostel’s vendors. Realizing that he deserved more for all this than just dog food and belly rubs, he set out to create the world’s best hostel.

You can email him at mickey@applehostels.com

Marc has more than 10 years experience in the hostel business. Originally from Montreal, Canada, Marc moved to California in 1998 and joined USA Hostels where he helped grow the company into one of North America's finest chain of hostels. In 2007 he set out with Mickey to form Apple Hostels, in what they hope will be another success story. At the very least, it should keep them out of trouble for a while.

Marc's interrests include travel, home renovation, hiking and ballroom dancing.

You can email him at marc@applehostels.com

Lydia has travelled all over the U.S., Europe, and Central America in the last decade and has lived in Philly her whole life - so be sure to ask her for suggestions for great stuff to do. She loves animals, fossils, and celebrity gossip.

Lydia is off to Los Angeles. We wish her all the best, good luck, and we will truly miss her. 

You can email her at lydia@applehostels.com

While studying abroad in Europe, Marta backpacked all over, and did a lot  of solo traveling through the eastern and the central parts of Europe . Not a huge fan of touristy areas, Marta stayed in a lot of small towns to absorb the local culture/hang out with the locals, and stayed in numerous hostels. Although some were quite strange she loved their friendly atmosphere and the people she met, which is why she joined Apple Hostels in Philadelphia , so that she can help other travelers. Her interests include contemporary art and anything design related, and she loves paper, doodling, gummy bears, shiny headbands, and dancing.

You can email her at marta@applehostels.com

Stephanie caught the travelin’ bug – and has yet to be able to cure the itch. It all began while dancing to Britney Spears with Belizean youngsters while in high school in Santa Elena, and has only gotten worse. During college she ate copious amounts of tim-tams (and diligently resisted vegemite!) while living in Sydney and sang “Dirty Old Town” (badly!) with the buskers on Grafton Street while living in Dublin. She has also muttered “EH!” throughout Canada, saluted the queen in London, tried (vegetarian) haggis in Edinburgh and learned the subtleties of the Southern drawl while traveling in the Southeastern United States. She is leaving in August to make her first cross-country trek, continuing on to New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia. As a true Philadelphian, she loves vegetarian cheesesteaks, making Rocky poses and quoting Ben Franklin. She is also one of Apple Hostels’ official tour guides, taking travelers into some of Philly’s ethnic neighborhoods.

You can email her at stephanie@applehostels.com

Shawna has traveled throughout the United States and the Caribbean; has flirted with Canada, and recently has turned her interest south of the border. She looks forward greatly to the opportunity to travel to Mexico and even farther. When she is not sailing or exploring the country via bus, she is working toward her degree in filmmaking.  Shawna has lived in Philadelphia for the past 6 years , and considers herself and expert in the art of finding the cheap entertainment. Be sure to ask her about Philly favorites like drag shows, drunken spelling bees, and dance parties.

You can email her at shawna@applehostels.com

Itinerant House Painter and all around travel enthusiast. He first got bitten when hitch hiking to Vancouver British Columbia Canada, then back to Toronto Canada at the age of 19. Over the years Rick has repeated this journey twice more, including traversing the Rocky Mountains on a freight train and spending time in The Yukon.

Other countries that he has seen include, Scotland, England, France, Monaco, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, Italy, Cuba, Nicaragua and much of the United States. While visiting San Francisco California in 2005, Rick ended up staying at and painting a youth hostel in the SoMa area, which included using over 50 colours and reproducing murals by the French artist Henri Matisse! During his stay there, Rick met backpackers of all ages and walks of life exchanging experiences, seeing the world through their eyes, an opportunity of a lifetime! Now at Apple Hostels in Philadelphia, he is repeating the adventure, proving that lightning does indeed strike twice!

You can email him at rick@applehostels.com

Katreena was born and raised in South Philadelphia . She looks forward to one day travelling to Europe, especially Greece . In her spare time she enjoys writing and exploring parts of the city that most don't even think about. Reality Hacking (aka Urban Exploring) and ghost hunting are among her hobbies. She enjoys ghost stories that have to do with the country's founding and hopes to finally get a picture of Ben Franklin's ghost.