9 years
Hi Joel, welcome to the Forum!
I'm not personally looking to partner up on a hostel in Reno, but I am curious about your project. You mentioned that startup money is your major concern. Most people starting a large undertaking need to get bank loans or other investment. If you start small with 18 beds instead, will you be able to fund it yourself, or will you still need to get a loan? It may actually be easier to get a bigger loan for a larger hostel due to the increased potential to pay it back.
Have you run a hostel before? If you're still learning, then starting something smaller is probably a very good idea. It will be easier to maintain and easier to have an eye on everything that's going on. Plus, you would probably be more involved in all the little things, which usually leads to a wider array of learning opportunities in a short period.
If you start small and plan to expand later, then be sure to keep track of ALL of your spending. Being on the market already will help you to demonstrate a solid understanding of the business and potential in your area. Using your own real numbers to demonstrate how much water/gas/electricity/food/etc each person consumes and what kind of demand you really have throughout the year will let you build a far more convincing business plan for attracting future investment. Even if you decide not to expand, having these data will help you tremendously with budgeting and cost control.
I wish you all the best for your project!
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