hostel vs housing

hostel and housing both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
hostel	Yes	No	No	No
housing	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, housing is a hypernym of hostel; that is, housing is a word with a broader meaning than hostel:

hostel: inexpensive supervised lodging (especially for youths on bicycling trips)
housing: structures collectively in which people are housed

Other hypernyms of hostel include living accommodations, lodging.

hostel (noun)	housing (noun)
inexpensive supervised lodging (especially for youths on bicycling trips)	structures collectively in which people are housed
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers	a protective cover designed to contain or support a mechanical component
	stable gear consisting of a decorated covering for a horse, especially (formerly) for a warhorse