Both programs target older publics worldwide. “Elderhostel,” evokes learners
driving or flying a good distance for a program which, in its classic form, begins
Sunday evening and ends Friday or Saturday morning or noon. Elderhostelers must
be age 55 or older and they assemble on college campuses, at conference centers,
retreat houses and monasteries. More recently elderhostels have morphed into
excursions on cruise ships and can extend for weeks. One price ($450 - $1200 per
person) covers lodging and food and up to three courses (which may or may not be
thematically related) taught by three or more instructors who are usually paid a nominal fee for their troubles. Elderhostel is run from Boston. 

Also run from the same Boston, world headquarters but with a looser rein, is the
Elderhostel Institute Network (EIN). According to the EIN web site:
http://eh.elderhostel.org/ein/ : "The Elderhostel Institute Network (EIN) is a voluntary
association of over 220 independent Institutes for  Learning in Retirement  (ILRs)
across North America. ...  EIN is the voice for the entire ‘Learning in   Retirement’
Movement and provides a unique set of specific services to ILRs. The Movement
grows   through EIN’s coordination of the expertise of ILR members who volunteer
their time to help start new   ILRs, Elderhostel's established contacts with colleges
and universities and its mailing list of over 750,000  older, active learners." 

Elderhostel Institute courses are for local commuters who typically meet once a
week for two hours spread over four, six, eight or more weeks for topics with one or more instructors, who often teach with no compensation. There is no lodging and no
food. The cost might include an annual group membership of $25 plus $10 for each 
course. There is no minimum age requirement in many Institutes.