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Working hours/ free time for management

Start a Hostel

Ben Horne started this discussion 12 years 5 months ago

Hi, I've been wondering how running a small/medium sized hostel would compare to having a day job in terms of time spent on the job.

I've done a bit of travelling as a young man and it seemed to me at the time that owning a hostel would be a pretty laid back lifestyle. You do a bit of accounting, some maintenance, hire some people to clean the place etc., and you're left with plenty of free time to spend...

After doing some research on these forums however it seems to be quite the opposite! You always have to be at or near the hostel, deal with annoying guests etc.

Should I forget about my little escapist fantasy of starting a place in some mountainous area, perhaps with a partner, and spending every other day biking or skiing?

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Rucksack Brian

12 years

Managing a hostel will take up a large chunk of your time if you let it. In general I don’t think that most managers in small/medium hostels enjoy as much free time as they would like, and it is certainly less than their friends with normal day jobs. The hostel job is probably a lot more enjoyable though!

It is possible to live the life you described; you just need someone else to do the managing in your absence. That will cost you money though, so you have to find a balance between how much the hostel makes, how much you pay your staff, and how much you can keep for yourself. If you have a partner who is willing to trade off work and play days with you, then you might be golden.

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Tchib

12 years

Agreed Brian,
I think the more hours you put in yourself, especially to begin with will overall reflect the quality and personality of the hostel.
But when you have a great bunch of guests who are all on a buzz about their travels and how much they love the hostel, I think even scrubbing toilets will seem like no work at all.
Personally I am looking forward to some time off, but I also have a list of trusted friends and family who would love to take a working holiday in Portugal to help me out.

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gordo

12 years

Don't underestimate the amount of time operating a hostel takes up. Yes its a fun job but it is still a job. If I think back through the various hostel jobs I've had, I doubt I've ever worked less than an average of 50 hours a week. These days I'm working 9hrs a day, 7 days a week... for 7 months - but I do get my winters off.

Now, OWNING a hostel and paying someone to do all the work for you, well, that's another question entirely :P

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