How to open a hostel: from scratch in 2020

How to open a hostel, where to start and how to achieve success in the hotel industry? The right choice of location for a low-budget mini-hotel, cozy interior design, reasonable prices, and a competent advertising campaign are what you need to attract potential guests. The financial component will depend on the marketing strategy, drawing up a detailed business plan and a sober assessment of one’s own capabilities before launching the project. Today we will get acquainted with hotel standards for a hostel, find out what not to do and what risks to consider before investing in business.

How it works

The idea of organizing budget accommodation for tourists came to us from the West.

In fact, the hostel niche is practically unoccupied. Therefore, today many entrepreneurs are wondering how to open a hostel and enter the hotel business with minimal investment. The consistently high demand for cheap overnight accommodation makes this destination particularly attractive due to the quick return on investment.

The essence of the business idea is to equip an apartment or non-residential premises as a cheap mini-hotel. The room is equipped with several beds for those who want to save money and pay for a bed, and not for a separate room. Guests live in the hostel as in a dormitory, using a shared toilet and shower.

Most often, hoteliers from large cities with a large number of attractions are interested in opening a cheap hotel. This is where travelers with one backpack love to come. Why the hostel is attractive for entrepreneurs:

Regardless of the time of year, the city is visited by a large number of people who need somewhere to spend the night;
the demand for cheap hotels is high, so the rooms will not be empty;
To open a hostel, you do not need to complete a large number of documents.

What categories of people are hostels aimed at:

tourists who prefer budget holidays;
students from other cities studying at local institutions;
out-of-towners who came on a business trip.

Market analysis

To assess the prospects of opening a hostel in a particular region, it is worth taking into account the demand for such a service among potential clients, which are:

students, youth (about 65% of all visitors);
tourists and travelers who want to save money on an overnight stay (the number of such clients grows by 2% every year);
people who came to the city for work.

Additionally, it is worth analyzing the level of tourist attendance in the city and the map of large-scale interesting events that should take place in the city. These could be various sporting events, concerts of popular artists, exhibitions, seasonal festivals, etc. In this case, you need to consider how many hostels are already open, what services they provide, and how you can beat your competitors.

Kinds

What types of hostels to open depends on the financial capabilities of the entrepreneur.

They mainly differ in the scale of the premises and its amenities, as well as the number of residents that the hostel can simultaneously accommodate.

The least expensive option would be to open a business in an apartment. This may be personal idle housing, or real estate specially purchased for these purposes. For those who want to open something more impressive, there is the opportunity to equip rooms in non-residential premises. Of course, to work in this format you will need to complete more paperwork, but in the end the profitability of the project will be higher.

There are 3 types of hostels:

Big

This type of hostel can offer services for 100 visitors at a time. The premises of such an establishment are divided into blocks with areas for relaxation and food preparation. They are often ordered by legal entities during seminars and conferences. If you open a hostel with such opportunities, you can expect offers of permanent cooperation.

A large-scale project will require large investments. The initial investment will be from 2 million rubles. The amount may significantly exceed the specified volume. It all depends on the city where the businessman plans to launch his project, as well as the level of design, quality of equipment and other aspects.

If we take into account that the cost of accommodation will cost a minimum of 200 rubles for one person, if the hostel is constantly full, the net profit will be about 500 thousand rubles per month. On average, the initial investment pays off within 6-8 months.

Average

A hostel with a capacity of 30 people or more is called medium-sized. It includes 4-5 rooms where you can accommodate 6-8 people. A separately equipped block will contain sanitary rooms and places for communal recreation.

To open a medium-sized hostel, you can cost 1 million rubles. This amount will include rent, equipment, staff salaries, advertising promotion and other investment items. The average hostel's revenue is from 100 thousand rubles per month. Payback at minimum prices is 10-12 months.

Small

A small hostel format can be opened in an ordinary apartment that meets hotel standards. You can accommodate up to 15 people here. It is easier to manage such a business. Experienced hoteliers advise beginning entrepreneurs to open small hostels. They do not require large investments and have a good return on investment.

The initial amount to start a project is from 200 thousand rubles. With the right approach, this amount will pay off within 6-8 months.

Features of the room arrangement process

Before you start, you need to select the appropriate format:

Large hostel that can accommodate up to 100 guests. It is not advisable to open such an establishment, since a large amount of investment will be required and there are risks that the place simply will not be popular. And the less workload, the lower the profit;
Average hostel for 50 guests . The simplest and most popular option, for the organization of which it is enough to have 2-3 apartments on the same floor, which are then combined. There will be about 6 sleeping places, plus two bathrooms and a kitchen;
Mini-format hostel for 10 guests . Suitable for beginner entrepreneurs, as it requires a minimum amount of investment. Payback may take longer due to a small flow of clients, but the cost of a bed can be raised by 10-15% compared to competitors. Travelers who want comfort and a cozy home environment are happy to pay for it.

Regardless of the chosen format of the establishment, it is necessary to carry out repairs to the premises. The hostel should be bright and clean. Today, travelers are not satisfied with just one bed; they want to stay in a comfortable place, with a unique and inimitable style.

Therefore, bright decoration and creative design solutions when decorating a hostel are only welcome.

When checking in for the night, a potential client wants to receive not only a bed, but also at least minimal service:

Possibility to take a hot shower without queues;
If necessary, wash and dry things;
Use the kitchen or be able to purchase personal hygiene products, drinks or snacks on site;
Connect to free internet.

All these services will set you apart from your competitors. If your budget allows, you can place a TV or console in the guest lounge and offer guests a small assortment of board games so that they can have an interesting time.

Equipment

Despite the small fee for accommodation, the hostel should be equipped with everything necessary for a comfortable rest and overnight stay. An additional advantage for the attractiveness of the establishment for potential residents will be additional amenities:

accessible internet with good speed;
high-quality windows and doors to ensure excellent sound insulation;
availability of air conditioning;
well-decorated common lounge and kitchen;
safes for storing documents and valuables;
availability of a washing machine, iron, provision of washing and ironing services;
cooler with drinking water.

It is these seemingly familiar things that make up the comfort of the residents. To open a hostel, you will need equipment for the sleeping area:

bunk bed – 10-12 t.r.
cabinet - 1.2 t.r.
hanging shelf – 1 t.r.

For kitchen:

furniture – 15-20 t.r.
microwave oven – 12-15 t.r.
coffee maker or coffee machine – 2-10 t.r.
refrigerator – 12-20 t.r.
washing machine – 12-15 t.r.

Hall for general pastime:

sofa – 10 t.r.
coffee table type - 800-1000 rub.
router – 1.5 t.r.
laptop – 14 tr.

Sanitary room:

toilet - 4 t.r.
sink for washing – 1 t.r.
mixer – 800 rub.
shower cabin – 11-20 t.r.

When calculating the costs of equipment, it is worth adding funds for minor expenses to the total amount.

This could be the purchase of dishes, bed linen, curtains, blinds and other necessary things.

Hostel financial plan

Let's move on to calculating the main indicators of business economic efficiency. Fixed monthly hostel expenses:

Apartment rental – 45,000 rubles.
Salary and contributions to extra-budgetary funds – 85,000 rubles.
Utility bills – 15,000 rubles.
Outsourcing services (accounting and cleaning) – RUB 15,000.
Consumables (including kitchen and bathroom utensils, cleaning products) – RUB 5,000.
Other expenses – 20,000 rubles.

Total – 185,000 rubles.

Rent or your own premises

One of the main components of success is the correct choice of premises and its location. The area must correspond to the number of residents. It is recommended to consider options from 120 sq. m. You can open a hostel in a non-residential premises or in an apartment building. When choosing the latter option, you should obtain the consent of the neighbors and the landlord.

To organize a mini-hostel, it is enough to refurbish a 2-3-room apartment; for larger projects, you can combine 2 apartment spaces or an entire floor.

Depending on investment ability:

The room can be rented. This option will require minimal costs. Rent will cost between 500-1500 rubles per month.
Some entrepreneurs buy real estate. Purchase costs usually exceed 4 million rubles.
Construction of your own hostel will cost 8 million rubles and more. The size of the investment depends on the scale of the building.

When choosing a room, you should arm yourself with the following tips:

It is desirable that the hostel is located close to historical attractions, major shopping, business and entertainment centers. It is expensive to be located on central streets. The main thing is that the hostel is located near the metro and bus stops.
Available parking; for large hostels, a separate parking space is desirable.
Availability of a separate entrance.
The cost of rent affects the future profit of a business.
Convenient layout, cozy design, pleasant decoration.

The appearance of the hostel must correspond to the status of the residents, on whose loyalty the entrepreneur is counting. The cost of accommodation and quality of service will depend on the solvency of visitors.

It is convenient to open a hostel on the first or second floor of a building. In addition, you need to take into account the standards set by the SES in advance. Budget hotels cannot be located in the following premises:

basements;
ground floors;
buildings not intended for residential use.

What room to choose for a hostel

To accommodate the hostel, we plan to rent a 5-room apartment with an area of 170 sq. m. m. Monthly rental payments will be 45 thousand rubles, plus utilities. The apartment is located in the city center, which is very convenient for hosting a hostel. The metro, main transport hubs and tourist flows are nearby, which means getting to the hotel will be very convenient. This factor should ensure a good flow of customers. Before purchasing the equipment, repairs and minor redevelopment of the premises (bathroom and toilet) will be made. It is planned to spend at least 400 thousand rubles for these purposes. This amount will be included in the rental offset. According to the business plan, the hostel is planned to be divided into several rooms:

Reception desk at the entrance to the hostel. Visitor registration will take place here, and luggage storage and safe deposit boxes will be located.
Large spacious recreation room (living room). Here visitors can have fun, watch TV, play consoles, table football, and air hockey. Free Wi-Fi will be available throughout the hostel.
Kitchen area. Here you can prepare your own food and eat. Snacks and drinks will be available from the vending machine.
Household block. This room will contain washing machines and ironing boards.
Three rooms to accommodate visitors. The total number of beds is 24 (for 12 people, for 8 people and for 4 people).
Two bathrooms and two toilets.

At the initial stage, all necessary equipment will be purchased: furniture (bunk beds, cabinets, cabinets, safe deposit boxes), kitchen equipment (including refrigerators, microwave ovens, etc.), washing machines, entertainment equipment (plasma TV, consoles, board games), security system (fire alarm, video surveillance). According to preliminary calculations, about 900,000 rubles will be spent on these purposes. A special word should be said about the beds. The main thing you provide to the client (the reason they come to you) is sleep. Good and restful sleep. Therefore, special attention will be paid to purchasing high-quality beds and orthopedic mattresses. The purchase of one fully equipped two-story bed will cost our organization 25 thousand rubles.

Staff

Finding employees is a separate topic. It's no secret that not only the final financial result, but also the atmosphere of the establishment depends on the team, especially in the service sector. To maintain the hostel you will need:

Administrator: responsibilities include all organizational issues, reception and accommodation of residents, providing them with everything they need. The employee answers calls, monitors the premises and the serviceability of equipment. The administrator must be able to communicate with people and, if necessary, resolve a conflict situation.
Maid: daily cleaning of the premises, change of bed linen, washing and disinfection of sanitary rooms. A person in this position may work several hours a day. Students often agree to such part-time work.
Accountant: can work part-time or remotely. To prepare reports and manage the affairs of a small enterprise, it is not necessary to be in the hostel all day.

Payroll costs will be direct payments to employees plus the payment of contributions. On average, they account for 30% of monthly earnings.

How much to pay employees to open a hostel:

administrator - 20-30 tr.
maid – 15-18 t.r.
accountant – 8-10 tr.

The number of staff depends on the size of the hostel. For a mini-hotel, 1 unit is enough; when scaling the project, several administrators and maids will be involved.

Range of hostel services

The price list for our organization’s services according to the plan should look like this:

Room with 4 beds – 700 rub./night per person;
Room with 8 beds – 550 rub./night per person;
Room with 12 beds – 450 rub./night per person.

The average price tag will be 525 rubles per person. It is expected that the average daily occupancy of the hostel after an extensive advertising campaign will be at least 70%. That is, out of 24 available beds, 17 will be occupied daily. The average daily revenue from the provision of beds will be 8,925 rubles, and the monthly revenue will be 267,750 rubles. In addition, our mini-hotel will provide additional services, such as:

Washing clothes;
Sale of food, drinks and light snacks (mini snack bar);
Free Wi-Fi;
Watching TV, game consoles and board games (free).

Of course, these services should increase customer loyalty and make our establishment more popular.

Download the hotel business plan from our partners, with a quality guarantee.

Profitability

The level of efficiency of entrepreneurial activity is of interest to businessmen at the stage of drawing up a business plan. Accurate calculations help assess potential profits and adjust expenses so as not to operate at a loss. Before opening a hostel, it is important to set the price for the room correctly. In this case, it is necessary to take into account all the services offered.

Pricing consists of a list of services and monthly investments:

check-in time (around the clock or on schedule);
frequency of room cleaning;
Possibility of providing toiletries;
change of bed linen and towels weekly;
laundry service;
catering;
storage of personal belongings, documents, valuables.

The hostel's revenue depends on the occupancy of the mini-hotel. The fewer beds are empty, the faster the project will pay off.

To open a turnkey hostel yourself, you will need one-time costs:

registering a business, obtaining permits – 5 thousand rubles.
rental of premises – 50 tr. per month;
renovation of the premises - 200 tr.
equipment – 525 tr.
salary + funds – 104 tr.
advertising – 30 tr.
other expenses - 50 tr.

Total: 964,000 rubles.

Monthly expenses consist of the following indicators:

rent – 50 tr.
payments to employees and funds - 104 thousand rubles.
payment for Internet, telephony, television - 5 thousand rubles.
security – 5 tr.

It turns out that every month it will cost 164,000 rubles to maintain the hostel. Additional costs may be added to this amount. They depend on the list of services: purchasing products, hiring cooks for catering, replacing bed linen, towels, purchasing shampoos, soaps, gels and other products. You can calculate the exact profitability of a hostel using formulas. Average figures vary in the region - 30-38%.

Does the hostel as a business bring in a lot of money?

By drawing up a business plan with calculations, entrepreneurs calculate income from future business activities. To do this, simple steps are applied, including monitoring of similar hotels. Simply put, hosteliers, under the guise of clients, call competitors and then try to develop their own price list.

“Give or take a day in a hostel today is estimated at 600 - 700 rubles in regional centers,” says hotel market expert Arthur Mukhin. “In medium-sized cities the price is a little lower.”

Thus, a hostel with 20 beds and 75 percent occupancy will bring the hostelier a monthly income in the amount of:

20 places × 75% × 700 rubles × 30 days = 315,000 rubles.

If you subtract the costs of salaries, housing maintenance, utilities and unforeseen expenses, you get a profit of 100 - 150 thousand rubles. Thus, profitability does not exceed 30%, and the break-even point can be passed in about a year.

Documentation

Before opening a hostel, the business must undergo state registration in full. To do this, you need to complete the following package of documents:

Registration of an entrepreneur as an individual entrepreneur or LLC.
Tax payment certificate.
Permits from the fire inspectorate.
No complaints and compliance with SES standards.
A building lease agreement or a certificate of ownership of the premises.
A document confirming an agreement with a company for the removal of household waste.
Notification of Rospotrebnadzor about the start of work.

Employees must have health certificates that allow them to work in institutions of this format.

What documents will you need to prepare for opening?

To get started, a certificate of registration as an individual entrepreneur is enough. If you plan to expand your business and organize several hostels at once, it makes sense to register a legal entity. Next, you will definitely need to conclude a rental agreement for the premises. The next step is to register with the tax service, where you can obtain a tax payer’s certificate. The easiest and most profitable way is to choose a simplified taxation system, within which a businessman will not make large contributions, and keeping records is much easier.

To open, you will need to pass an inspection by the sanitary and epidemiological service.

Also, the selected premises must meet the requirements of the fire service. Next, you will need to enter into a waste disposal agreement with a specialized company.

Requirements

The legislation establishes standards that must be observed when opening a hostel.

For premises:

For each bed (bed) there must be at least 4 square meters. m. At the same time, the distance between the beds is at least 70 cm, the ceiling height is from 2.5 m and above.
No more than 15 people per bathroom; in large hostels, sanitary rooms should be divided into men's and women's.
Furniture, wall, ceiling, and floor decoration should not contain materials harmful to health. They must be disinfectable and washable.

Requirements for employees:

having passed a medical examination;
ability to provide emergency assistance;
knowledge of the algorithm of actions in emergency situations;
knowledge and compliance with sanitary standards.

Area around the hostel:

availability of access roads for emergency services;
parking in front of the building;
presence of pedestrian paths.

What are the requirements for hostels?

The activities of the hostel are regulated by GOST 56184-2014. This document obliges hosteliers not to use rooms on the ground floors and basements, as well as rooms without windows, as rooms. In the semi-basements it is allowed to create showers, toilets, laundries for self-washing, a buffet, a store and luggage storage rooms. There are no mandatory requirements for the mandatory equipment of kitchens, but a place for communication can be made in the open air.

As for the area, hostels are allowed to allocate 4 square meters. meters per bed, no matter which one: single-tier or two-tier, and the space occupied by the bed is also taken into account. That is, to provide accommodation for 10 people, you need a living space with an area of 20 square meters. meters with bunk beds. At the same time, there should be at least 75 cm to the ceiling from the top of the bed.

GOST does not prohibit the organization of mixed dormitories for women and men. However, guests must be notified about this in advance. By the way, there are no special requirements for mandatory kitchen equipment, although there must be a place for preparing food. In any case, even before checking in, clients should be notified about the features of their establishment.

Fire safety requirements require posting an evacuation plan in case of an emergency.

Is it possible to organize a hostel in an apartment?

Paragraph 5.7.18 of GOST 56184-2014 states that the law does not prohibit making a hostel out of your apartment. To do this you need to undergo legal registration. Well, then the hostelier is obliged to comply with “hygienic standards for noise, sound, vibration, electromagnetic radiation and rules for living in residential buildings.” That is, complaints from neighbors can become grounds for stopping a business.

Marketing

After opening a hostel, there is no point in waiting for it to promote itself. A successfully organized advertising campaign will make it popular and recognizable among future guests. What can you do to promote the project:

distribute flyers near educational institutions;
promote the hostel via the Internet on social networks, websites, using banner advertising;
tell employees of travel companies about yourself, offer them bonuses in return for advertising cheap accommodation to tourists;
organize discounts and promotions for potential residents.

Advertising promotion must be organized on an ongoing basis.

Distributing business cards, leaflets, advertising in the media, on local radio, in print publications - any way to convey to the target audience the contacts and benefits of accommodation in your hostel is welcome.

Promotion of hotels and hotels

There are many ways to promote a hotel on the Internet. All options have their pros and cons, so you need to understand what can bring you the most profit.

Website and search engine optimization (SEO)

Website . Any hotel business needs representation on the Internet. An adaptive design and a clear interface should be developed that allows you to quickly get acquainted with the number of rooms and the services provided. This includes the possibility of pre-booking, transfer, studying the price list and business services. Photographs that reliably “describe” the rooms and surrounding area are a definite plus.

Having a website allows you to use the maximum number of marketing tools with the greatest impact. The most profitable in this case are direct bookings.

You should not expect that after the start of promotion, the site will immediately reach the TOP. This is a long process. Significant competition can only be overcome by using additional marketing tools.

SEO optimization . An excellent website design does not guarantee that it will be found by search engines, which means that the client will go to a competitor. Promoting a hotel website through search engine optimization improves rankings. A semantic core with the most popular keys (search queries) is compiled. Text content, photographs and videos are optimized for the relevance of queries.

Information on the site must be constantly updated, and the content must meet the requirement of relevance. To increase your place in search results, in addition to the web page, additional promotion methods must be used.

Working with aggregators

Travel aggregators . These are specialized hotel search engines based on specified criteria, with a ranking system based on selected parameters (price / quality of services / location, etc.), with reviews and the ability to book. Booking.com is considered the most popular TA. Such resources help you choose the best offer from a huge number of similar ones in the shortest possible time.

By placing additional advertising about the hotel on the Internet, you can count on an increase in the flow of customers. Aggregators are often used by tourists who go to completely unfamiliar places and are looking for reliable information about living conditions and services provided. Due to the indexing carried out by TA, the recognition of hotels increases and their ranking in search engines increases.

To increase the number of guests booking rooms, you can use paid promotion of hotels in the hotel services market. Aggregators also use internal contextual advertising, increasing the chances of finding the most suitable offers for user requests. An absolute plus is the real reviews left in the hotel card.

Contextual advertising in Yandex.Direct and Google AdWords

Contextual advertising . Based on the behavioral characteristics of Internet users, it is guaranteed to direct interested people to the hotel website. The target audience is selected based on key queries. To achieve good results when issuing exactly the request that the user is looking for, it is better to use Yandex.Direct, Google AdWords.

Contextual advertising for hotels is equally in demand during the season and the off-season period. It is suitable for hotels providing space for conferences, ski resorts, mini-hotels, hostels.

By launching contextual advertising, the goal is to increase the recognition of the hotel. Search queries cover the maximum target audience with continuous monitoring of filtering out rejected queries. Ads are adjusted to increase CTR and reduce cost per click. As a result, people come to the site who are ready to book and check in “right now,” which increases conversion.

SMM and social networks

SMM hotel advertising . Social networks allow you to quickly exchange information at any time. People aged 18 to 34 tend to scour social media pages to find hotels to book, not trusting those who don’t have accounts. Thanks to certain groups, it becomes possible to communicate with hoteliers and their guests, ask questions before making a decision to book. The presence of geotags allows you to find real guests, view their accounts to search for information about the hotel, as well as reviews posted on the social network.

Selfie lovers will never pass by the selfie zone in a hotel, which means they will definitely post photos on social networks. Along the way, in their own or thematic account they will talk about new and interesting things, about where to go, what to see and where to stay. This is also advertising.

Creating an account for a hotel on social networks (Instagram, Facebook, VK) will help orient travelers and optimize their online presence. Moreover, the account is acceptable both user and official. Psychologically, users tend to trust recommendations from friends on social networks more.

Instagram

Attracting users must begin with popularizing the hotel. Instagram is the largest business platform, so it is possible to reach a huge audience with a very specific “pain”. To increase the number of subscribers and increase activity on their profile, hoteliers are recommended to publish:

interesting text and photo content, with recommendations for rooms for holidays, important events, and varied recreation;
various tourist routes (attractions) nearby;
beautiful videos;
stories about life and behind the scenes of the hotel;
promotional videos;
stories about employees, guests;
reviews or a series of posts from opinion leaders over several days of stay;
amateur footage of guests with a hotel account stamp;
articles about current trends and news in the hotel business;
polls and voting;
competitions promoting reposts;
VIP offers for account subscribers;
link to the website in the profile header to collect a client base;
targeted advertising as a means to remind oneself.

Display advertising

Advertising banners on thematic resources . Such placement allows you to accurately display your ad to a target audience interested in recreation and travel. These can be travel sites, city portals, sports-related online stores, business platforms, etc. Contextual banner advertising is tied to specific search queries. Banners provide the opportunity to rotate various offers, for example, rooms of different price categories.

Reviews

Reviews . It is necessary to encourage hotel visitors to leave reviews on a social network page, website and travel aggregator. Since all responses are rarely positive, it is important to carry out prompt work to correct the image. This means timely work to maintain reputation.

Any negative feedback can be turned to your advantage by providing dissatisfied guests with solutions to correct the situation or receive certain bonuses in the future. As a rule, people try such situations on themselves and draw appropriate conclusions.

Email newsletters

Email newsletters . They should be infrequent to avoid being classified as spam. It is important to ensure that the client independently subscribes to the newsletter, wanting to receive notifications about interesting or special offers and seasonal promotions. For clients who have visited the hotel, such mailings may provide additional discounts or bonuses in case of repeat visits.

Adviсe

To open a hostel that will generate a stable income, you should listen to the recommendations of experienced hoteliers:

Give your project originality. Make the hostel unique and memorable, come up with a “zest” of the project.
Anticipate the needs of your future client and provide him with not only comfortable accommodation, but also useful leisure time.
Take care of the cleanliness and pleasant atmosphere. Attentive and responsive staff, fragrant bed linen, and immaculately cleaned premises make you want to come back again and again.
Remember safety. Think through all possible risks in advance. This may be due to the unfavorable criminal situation in the area. Equip your rooms with safes for storing valuables, secure cabinets for storing laptops, phones, and luggage.

Increase the popularity of the hostel in every possible way. The more people know about you, the greater the chances of prosperity.

First formalities

Premises intended for temporary residence of people must fully comply with certain sanitary requirements. In particular, in order to open a hotel business, you should take care of finding an object that can not cause criticism from Rospotrebnadzor. Most often, buildings that were previously used for similar purposes are purchased for these purposes. For example, a ready-made business can be organized without special expenses on the site of a former temporary residence dormitory. To open a hostel, the facility must have its own catering units and bathrooms that meet sanitary standards.

Rooms equipped for human habitation are equipped with fire safety systems, alarm equipment that can notify of a fire, and means for extinguishing fire. Before welcoming the first guests, the hotel owner will have to convince Rospotrebnadzor that his enterprise meets all established requirements and standards.

Conclusion

So, now you know how to open a hostel. To launch your project in the hotel business, you do not always need huge capital and a large amount of accompanying documentation. To achieve high financial efficiency when organizing a hostel, it is important to work not only for monetary results, but also for the comfort of future clients. Good service, cleanliness and safety of the hostel captivate residents and form the basis of a good reputation.

We are wondering if you have considered the option of staying in a hostel? Write your opinion in the comments and don’t forget to rate the article!

Rate this article:

[Total: 3 Average: 5/5] (Article Rating: 5 out of 5)

Author of the article Victoria Pchelinova Freelancer, creative and business

We are drawing plans: to find a room and create a hostel in it

The first thing you need to do is find a good place. What does “good” mean?

The hostel is easily accessible

A place two hours walk from the nearest bus or metro stop? It is not suitable for business. Travelers are divided into two groups: some think through the route, others go “wherever they look.” And no one plans to vacation in such places.

Convenient access from the hostel

More importantly. A motel in the middle of nowhere won't make much money. A motel in the middle of nowhere with no attractions will earn you nothing at all.

As a result, the most necessary places to create a hostel are in the center of Moscow. High traffic, proximity to transport, good views. Guests who choose a hostel for a business trip, as well as tourists on vacation, will be able to quickly get anywhere.

Alternatively, a hostel could carve out a narrower niche by settling into outlying attractions. Cons: fewer clients, business more dependent on the season. Pros: there is a tangible advantage over competitors. Rent outside the center is lower.

What is a hostel

Hostel is an accommodation system that provides a guest (usually for a short period) with a bed in a room for several people. A hostel is the most affordable alternative to hotels and apartments for daily rent. Hostels are found all over the world and have made travel and travel to other cities more affordable for students, young people and the middle class. Most hostels are located in the USA and Europe, but in the last 10 years hostels have been actively developing in Russia.

The first hostel appeared in Germany more than 100 years ago, in 1909. It was founded by schoolteacher Richard Schiermann, who took students from poor families out of town on weekends. At first, schools were used for overnight stays, and then the idea of budget accommodation for young people on a permanent basis emerged.

The hostels are quite comfortable for their price category: clients are provided with a bed, a small wardrobe/bedside table for storing things, a common area and a shower/toilet shared with other guests and breakfast. The number of people in one room varies from 4 to 10.

Risks of investing in a hostel

The main risks of opening a hostel:

Legislative ban on hostels in residential premises. If the bill is adopted, it will be impossible to create a hostel in an apartment building without transferring the apartment to non-residential use. The solution is to immediately buy or rent commercial real estate for a hostel.
Lack or insufficient number of clients. This risk is removed by competent testing of demand before the start of the project and a well-thought-out advertising campaign.
Problems with neighbors. Residents of apartment buildings often do not like the proximity to the hostel. Hostel owners need to be prepared to establish rules of behavior (such as no noise at night), and monitor cleanliness in and around the entrance.

The reliability of investments in a hostel is assessed by experts as quite high.