8 years
Hi Steve,
Welcome to the Hostel Management community!
It’s a big jump from law enforcement to financial advising, and an even bigger one to get into running hostels. I love it!
Would you prefer to open a big hostel or a smaller one?
I can’t speak for Chile, as I haven’t been there yet and don’t know much about their hostel market. France, on the other hand, is a place that I love. Paris seems like the obvious choice because it is such a huge touristic destination. There is one company that owns many hostels across the city, (Hip Hop Hostels) and two big chains who have moved into town in recent years. St Christopher’s Inns has two big properties, and Generator has recently opened up a big one as well. A smaller hostel would do very well there, but the real estate costs in the city are prohibitive, so it might be hard to open one in a decent location.
You could pretty much take your pick of any other major city in France. There seems to be a lack of hostels in general. The FUAJ youth hostels are mostly government run, and independent backpacker hostels are few and far between. The bureaucracy in France can be quite daunting though.
Here are some older links with good information that might be helpful.
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