Canada Hostel owners win entrepreneur award

This is an older article from 2004, but it features some people who started a hostel in Canada:

When David Eisnor and Michelle Strum started the Halifax Backpacker’s Hostel in 2001, they didn’t know much about starting a business… or keeping one going. Three years later, they have become business leaders in Halifax’s north end and in the independent travel industry. Their efforts have won them the Business Development Bank of Canada’s Young Entrepreneur 2004 Award for Nova Scotia.

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They started looking for an appropriate building in May 2000, and finally found one seven months later. At the time, 2193 Gottingen St. housed a restaurant on the ground floor and an apartment upstairs. Eisnor and Strum arranged to rent the upstairs, but weren't able to start work until the tenants in the apartment moved out. These tenants, says Eisnor, kept delaying their move, until finally Eisnor and Strum lost patience and simply started the renovations. Eisnor says the tenants left quickly after that.

The other big problem they faced, says Strum, was money. She says getting financing to start their business was hard, especially given their young ages. Some institutions were hesitant to support hem because they had no credit history or expertise. Others simply wouldn’t take them seriously. But the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED) and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation each gave them a $15,000 start-up loan.

Finally, on May 5, 2001, "We put the first hammer through the wall." For the next three months, Eisnor, Strum, and some friends tore down walls, built new ones, painted, and built bunk beds. On Aug. 2, Halifax Backpacker's Hostel opened its doors, and was full almost immediately, a condition that lasted until October.

The full article is here.