I work in party hostels all around the world. I clean gross rooms and host all-night pub crawls in exchange for a free place to live — here's what it's like.

• Taylor Futch works at party hostels and does everything from leading pub crawls to manning the desk.
• While she loves the hostel life, it comes with challenges like toxic bosses and cleaning up vomit.
• She documents her daily life and travels as a hostel worker on TikTok for her 47,000 followers.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Taylor Futch, a 25-year-old hostel worker from Ocala, Florida. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My life is a series of hard goodbyes, but it's also a series of life-changing hellos.