A breakaway from the former ITH Hostels chain, The Hostel California THC runs a direct-booking-only social hostel at 690 F St in 92103, off-limits to local residents and built around weeknight backpackers and weekend group takeovers. In-house movie nights and live performances in the communal lounge extend the small-venue programming that also fuels National Comedy Theatre’s long-running Hillcrest improv scene. Guests share a full communal kitchen, an outdoor hot tub with adjacent 420 smoking lounge, and bunk rooms alongside detached private suites with queen beds, couchpoints, private baths, and kitchenettes. The LGBTQ+-welcoming format drives weekend group bookings from bachelor, bachelorette, and birthday parties whose event arcs typically pair the hostel’s backyard with Rich’s as the Hillcrest dance-floor counterpart. Reservations are handled directly by the property rather than through third-party travel platforms, and shared bunks release on a first-come basis only with advance booking. The signature offering is a full-weekend private takeover that prices the entire hostel as a venue for 20-plus-person bachelor parties and birthday groups needing sleeping quarters, hot tub, shared kitchen, and outdoor event space under one roof.