More than half of the building since has been closed off and unused. A fire wall separates the hostel from that part of the building, which needs considerable work, Caferro said.

'Being discarded'

Caferro, who founded and operates Slow Roll Buffalo, has an attachment to hostels. He stayed at them when he led high school students on long-distance bicycle tours.

"Two adults and 15 kids on bikes doesn't go well with the Holiday Inn," he said.

Caferro said the hostel was given a good deal by the city because it was willing to locate downtown at a time when few tenants wanted to be there.

"I'd like to think at some point they valued what a hostel can bring," he said.

The current lease with Niagara Frontier Council of American Youth Hostels expires July 1, 2021.

The hostel pays the agency half of its "net cash flow" for rent, defined as all revenues such as room rent, concessions, travel sales commissions and sales of goods. Deductions from revenues includes utilities, salaries and liability insurance. That comes to around $10,000 a year.