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Another London Hostel?

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steve_b started this discussion 10 years 7 months ago

I'm very seriously thinking about opening a hostel in London, to escape working for 'the man' in the less-fun-than-you'd-think media industry!

I've stayed in 100s of hostels/guest houses/B&Bs/small hotels all over the world and have a few ideas about what a good hostel might be. I love travelling & travellers (well, most of the them)and even after living in London for over 8 years, I'm still a huge tourist here. At 32 years old, with lots of project management and some management experience, it's time to start something for myself, combining my interests with something that will (hopefully) give me a decent livelihood. I have *some* money available, but would need to finance it through a bank, partners or investors.

CV over, to the questions:

Could London support another decent sized hostel (say 100-200 beds) and turn a profit?

Would a smaller hostel (around 50 beds) be viable in London?

If not London, then would opening a smaller hostel outside of central London (Wimbledon, Richmond, Ealing, Harrow, Hampstead etc.) OR in a town commutable from London be more viable (Brighton, Southend, St. Albans, Windsor (or Slough!), Oxford, Cambridge etc.)?

I'm at the very start of this process, so I'm very much just in the research stage. Any feedback or advice would be appreciated, good or bad!

Cheers,
Steve

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ojsimon

10 years

Disclaimer: I do not run a hostel yet.

My thoughts, London could definitely support another hostel, provided it is differentiated from the existing market. Yes there is a huge existing capacity for backpacker beds in London, but also there is a huge demand for hostels in London. Essentially, I feel you just have to appeal to a niche market. You mention you worked in the media, maybe you could use some of your knowledge to create a niche hostel towards the media. Otherwise, yes it is a competitive market and there may be some other places with lower costs and thus higher profit potential. But I think if you aim to differentiate yourself you will have the best chance of success.

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ESS Universal Ltd

10 years

hi Steve

We are based near Chelmsford Essex, there are no hostels outside of the M25 circle that i know of and we supply a lot of them. Why you may ask; well when people visit, they visit London, they have it in their mind that visiting England means visiting London central. I think you would be hard pushed to make it in Essex but dont quote me on that. finally, financing a hostel can be huge; the average new and even existing hostel owner purchases the wrong equipment quite simply because they do not know any different. it is so sad to see someones investment laying on the front lawn discarded and broken because they were domestic and not commercial bunks! Like me you have travelled lots so we are quite experienced but lets face it, how often did you look at the necessities in a hostel?

The correct bunk bed is a commercial strength bunk bed
a hostel mattress & pillow should be water resistant without the swaety feel and be crib 5 complient (hospitality industry)
Under bed storage lockers make your rooms more clear than ordinary lockers but should be tough! http://youtu.be/AIutB7glhXo

Steve, bed bugs will travel (and that aint a title for a movie lol) but seriously no longer are they confined to the tropical areas, they are migrating into colder temp zones, get them in your hostel and you are in big financial trouble; the little critters wear armoured suits and wont even drown!! Prevention is better than cure right? always make a rule for your guests to unpack on the floor and NOT on the bed. They like to live in the edge bead of a lovely warm mattress until their dinner arrives again at night. The mattress above has no beads, the cover is removable and can be machine washed at 60 degrees killing them completely!! Steve if you need any more help give me a shout or you can email me [email protected] finally if you want to hire instead of buying thats simple and fully tax deductable!! If you want to see everything before you buy or hire pop up for a cuppa :)

Regards
Will

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gordo

10 years

There will never be enough beds in London.

But be prepared to pony up some serious cash to get anything up and running.

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