Almost 2,500 Forum Members: Introduce Yourself!
Introduce Yourself
At the moment there are over 30 new people signing up for the Forum every week, and it's probably going to reach 2500 registered users sometime next week. It would be great to hear 30 new introductions every week...
If you're new to the site, please take a few minutes to introduce yourself here :)
- Do you work at a hostel? (you don't have to mention the name of a hostel if you prefer to remain anonymous)
- How did you become interested in hostels?
- Where are your favorite travel destinations? (and why)
- Do you know of any good places where you think new hostels should be opened up?
Also, if you're working in a hostel at the moment, please share your thoughts in this poll:
http://www.hostelmanagement.com/node/1003137
- Comments
12 years
Thumbs Up!
* No, I dont work in a hostel.planning to start up one myself :)
* Traveling and meeting loads of interesting people around the world made me realise, that basicly - the first impression of the city/even country, is based on the accomondation, so why not make a hostel of my own, where everyone can have an amazing time, not only on enjoying our tours around the city (through a different and more artistic and underground point of view), but in visitors - locals mingling events, such as small informative lectures ore artscraft courses - where visitors can meet locals and have an amazing time.
* I just love to travel, so basicly even traveling to a next door country can make a memory worth remembering lifetime. But I have enjoyed Spain, Zambia , Denmark the most ( three differently developed enviroments:)
* LATVIA RIGA ( so much potential,so much culture to see..its time to change , how people see Latvia )
8 years
HOW MANY BEDS FOR A VIABLE HOSTEL OPERATION?
Hello
My name is Douglas Cole and I am new to hostelmanagement.com.
I and others are in the process of opening a new hostel (Batam City Hostel and Travellers Inn) at Smiling Hill on the island of Batam, Indonesia. Batam has a population of 1.5 million but only one designated backpacker property. It is just 12 miles and about 1 hour by ferry across the Strait from Singapore which has no less than 123 hostels. And it is a very interesting and vibrant place (see my profile for more information).
I have been searching without success for information on the recommended number of beds needed for a viable hostel operation. We are looking at starting with 54 beds but would appreciate any feedback as to whether we ought to be aiming higher.
Thanks.
8 years
Hi Douglas,
The number of beds that would be needed to make a hostel viable will be different in most locations, so it’s hard to pinpoint a recommended number. What works well in one place might be hopeless in another.
It will depend on factors like:
- The number of staff members you will need - Will you run the hostel yourself or hire a team to run it for you? How much does each full-time employee cost you?
- Your operating costs – Utilities, laundry, internet, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc
- The price you can realistically charge for a bed – The other property listed on HW charges $10USD /bed, but in a 20-bed private room rather than a dorm
- The demand in your city – sounds like you won’t have a huge problem with this
- The commissions and taxes you have to pay – OTA commissions if you don't include them in the price, credit card commissions, sales tax, hotel tax, etc.
- Whether you have alternative sources of income or just bed revenue – Will the restaurant, bar, and apartments be separate businesses, or will the hostel combine with those revenue streams?
Without seeing your projected numbers it would be hard to say for sure, but in all likelihood 54 beds will probably be a good number for you. Adding more beds may earn you more money, but you might also need to pay more staff to handle the workload and reduce your overall profit.
4 years
Hey Douglas, I know this may be a dated post, but I really like your blueprint here regarding the things to consider when starting a hostel. I'm currently a Manager-in-Training for a hospitality company, gaining critical revenue mgmt and operations experience. Mind if I pick your brain further? Feel free to shoot me a message at [email protected]
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