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Starting a Hostel Business

Setting Up a Hostel Business


Summary: You want to take advantage in the growing popularity of hostels but you don’t know how exactly you’ll accomplish that? No problem, because we have prepared this article with you in mind.

With this, you can easily and quickly get your hostel business up and running in no time.

Hostels are becoming increasingly popular among tourists and travelers, because with the economic turmoil that the world is going through, a cheaper alternative to hotel accommodations is needed. You can take advantage of this by opening up your own hostel business.

Here are some of the things that you need to set up in order to get your own hostel business up and running.

Licensing your Hostel Business

Since they cater to people, hostel owners need to get themselves licensed. Go to your local food and safety government agencies and get yourself certified.

Location Selection for your Hostel Business

This is very important while setting up this business, find a place which should be visible from the highways / main roads and that should be cheap as well. To keep the cost low in the rising competition you will have to set this business with a low investment. Plan your project accordingly, start with Phase-I where you just invest only 35-40% of your investment and get your business start and running. You can develop Phase-II and Phase-III later so that it will give you a margin time to filter your mistakes and invest your money perfectly.

Security Lockers

Hostels can be called small hotels. They act almost like hotels except that some accommodations that are afforded to hotel guests are removed. This includes security for your things. In a hostel, guests only have security lockers for their things. When starting your hostel business, make sure to get only the best security lockers for your guests or else, your reputation could suffer if one of your guests successfully raids the others’ lockers and actually get away with it.

Amenities for Hostel Business

Decide first if you want to use double-deck or single deck beds for your rooms, or a combination of both. You would also need to address the privacy of your guests because hostel guests are like bedspacers; they share one room. Unlike hotels, TV sets in hostel rooms are not encouraged in order to foster more interaction between guests.

Internet Access

Internet access can either be wifi or landline-based, so your guests can connect with their loved ones in their home countries. Some of them might choose to bring their own laptops, but others will most likely be restricted to PCs that you provide to them. Make sure they can download and send pictures from their digital cameras if they wish to.

Maps

Most of your guests will be tourists, and they will want to tour around the city they are staying at. To help them – and to ensure their safety – be ready to provide them with maps that can guide them around the city. The maps should be free. If you can, link up with a tour guide agency through which you can offer them a tour of the city.

The Best Staff for Hostel Business

The thing in common with both hotels and hostels is that their reputation hinges on the staff that serves their establishments. The same goes for your business. You need to best there is in staffing. The staff should be friendly, helpful, and with an eye for cleanliness and organization. Having these will help boost the reputation of your business greatly.

23 Responses to "Starting a Hostel Business".

1. Leanne on 2/5/2009 7:00:11 PM

This is a really informative site. I like that you have covered the basics but these are the important basics. Have you started up your own business? if so, how did you go about this?.. Did you need a lot of funding to get started?

2. Jim on 5/20/2009 8:50:30 AM

Looking to know if you have some information with regard to setting up a hostel in Buenos Aires. Re. insurance, licensing, reservation systems and budget

3. john on 6/5/2009 11:10:54 AM

I think the most important information is - finance? How can it be obtained because there are a lot of setup costs involved and if you wish to run a top hostel in a good location it costs money !!

4. josh on 6/23/2009 12:42:04 AM

Would you mind posting your responses to the questions above. I have the same ones. (Or you can just email to me.) Thanks. Great site.

5. Angie on 8/24/2009 1:35:11 AM

Do you know of anyone who has applied and received a grant for opening a hostel? Also do you have any information on the startup cost for a hostel? I think this is a great way to offset hotel expenses for those on a budget who like to travel frequently.

6. well duh on 8/30/2009 5:10:13 AM

who ever wrote this is clearly a genius! how about providing more information apart from the obvious basics

7. JOHN NKUNDLANDE on 9/28/2009 7:13:29 AM

i'm very much interested in hostel business opportunity for tourists arriving for 2010 world cup and beyond.

8. Daniele Colombo on 11/12/2009 1:28:00 PM

I'm looking for investors. I already have a hostel and now we are expanding. Contact me for serious offers. Daniele Colombo www.xhostel.eu

9. skha on 11/16/2009 5:40:50 AM

i have 3 bedroom en-suit house and 2 separate self contained houses in a yard measuring 1600 square meters, its located in the northern part of Botswana, in a village called tati siding which is 25 kms from Francis town, the second city of the country. Francis town is 540 km from the capital city Gaborone. The village is located along the main highway which runs from Capital city (Gaborone) to Francistown then Bulawayo(Zimbabwe) and livington(Zambia). Please help with ideas on how i can best utilize the facility.

10. Lusekelo Philemon on 3/4/2010 7:50:50 AM

I want to come up with a Students' Hostel business, in Ipinda Township, Kyela district, Mbeya Region, Tanzania. The township has three secondary schools, without any one hostel around.

11. megan on 4/22/2010 8:19:51 PM

when a hostel is started up for a secondary school what contracts r students meant to sign are there even any??

12. Ama on 5/11/2010 10:12:39 AM

i am a fresh graduate from Abia state in Nigeria. i would like to invest in this hostel business but i will like to know more about the managerial aspect

13. Drew on 6/8/2010 5:00:41 AM

SKHA, please contact me with information regarding your situation. I would love to assist, and throw some ideas around.

14. John on 6/30/2010 8:37:57 PM

This information is very basic and common sense..you have stated obvious things that anyone who has backpacked knows. I'm looking for more detailed information like what kind of licenses do i need, what regulations are there, my rights as a hostel owner etc. Can you provide this information or direct me where i can get this information in Australia.

15. samson on 7/1/2010 4:17:28 AM

Hi. very valuable info. but the type of hostel biz I am interested in is the student hostel. could you give me a more detailed biz. plan and hints to help. Student accommodation is a big problem in my area. thanks. Lagos, Nigeria.

16. vaibhav kumar on 7/30/2010 2:53:11 AM

hi this is vaibhav kumar from dehradun i want to setup a hostel in dehradun itself. but i dont have adequate funds to start a hostel i need 10-15 lakhs please help me with ideas

17. Jas on 8/1/2010 4:06:41 PM

I live in a small town. But we have homeless people just like anywhere else. What do I need to do to get one started? We have many Koreans, and philipenos that moved to our small town.. so that leaves people that have been living here all their lifes without a roof over their heads. The mayor don't seem to care about that fact.. I called him one day and his reply was.. well if they want to live here they have to stay with family or friends. What if there is no family or friends left??? Shouldn't the mayor.. who has decided that 3,000 foreigners moving here is fine! but their own kind needs to live on the streets SUPPLY A HOME! for a hostel or something?

18. Patrick Mviha on 8/5/2010 10:51:47 AM

I am trying to set up a student hostel accommodation and would be interested advice on don'ts and dos. I also need some help on developing a hostel business plan. Please assist

19. Lalu Bashel on 8/24/2010 5:06:05 AM

I want to start hostel for the college goers and I don't have the idea as I don't have money. Please advise me with financial support.

20. yann on 8/28/2010 8:06:55 PM

Big Island, Hawaii, Kapaau 96755. Hostels rules and regulation as far as construction/renovation, sanitation, health compliance etc...

21. robert on 8/29/2010 9:53:37 PM

people, many of you act like a bunch of buffoons. how on earth one can know all rules and regulations which are different from country to country? In some European countries you don't need special license nor insurances. Just a registered firm. You just need to rent/own a flat big enough to host guests. In some countries you may run a hostel in resident building - Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary etc. So do some research and you'll find answers. The best start is if you have own property.

22. robert on 8/29/2010 10:00:50 PM

anyhow, if any of you have interesting property on a good location (excluding Africa) I may be possible investor or business partner. I never ran a hostel before but I've been in hundreds of them, and thinking of starting my own. I did some research for European continent where I live, but I am open to other areas, especially USA where I traveled and where I am familiar with the situation. mail: amsterdameron@yahoo.com

23. Vimal on 9/5/2010 3:17:08 AM

Hi, I can get a 3 storyed building with 1500 sq feet each floor for Rs.35,000/- in kochi, kerala, India. It is 2 km away from National highway. Each floor has 3 bedrooms with attached bathrooms a common hall and a common kitchen. I am planning to start either a hostel or as a guest house for different visiting guests for companies. Kindly guide me which one-hostel/guest house would be a better option? Please guide me on the start ups also.

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