Post: #26

(02-18-2013 06:40 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

(05-12-2012 03:27 PM)FretDancer Wrote:  Guys check out this hostel: http://rockingjs.com/

Its the hostel I stayed at Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica when I went a month ago.

I saw the owner (he's pretty popular around apparently) around the hostel many times. It seems he likes to party alot with the backpackers and get blasted.

He also has a recording studio on the hostel that its called The Ark apparently. I never saw it but my friend that was travelling with me had the opportunity to go in and record some dumb songs with other drunk backpackers.

Haha I know about RockingJs. It's kinda filthy, isn't it? A lot of people I met in PV were staying there. I opted for a small lodge a little ways down the main road after the point where it curves and is parallel to the coast. Man, I miss PV!

I stayed at Rocking J's when I went to Puerto almost 10 years ago, it was one of my favorite hostels I've stayed at. I was about 20 at the time, so my standards were a bit different, but yeah it was a bit grungy, but had a great atmosphere and really cool people.

It's like a cross between a party hostel, chilled out hippy hostel, and surfer vibe. There's a lot of people drinking, smoking weed, and doing coke if that's your thing. It was fun hanging out there and they got a real lassiez-faire attitude regarding just about everything. If they have private rooms I'd for sure stay there again.

Also regarding the original post, I think owning a hostel or a cool, hip boutique hotel would be just about the perfect gig. Obviously there would be a shit ton of red tape, headaches, and hurdles to overcome to start one up. The first issue would be finding a spot that not only would do well business-wise, but also one that you genuinely like enough to want to spend most of the year living at.

Otherwise the upsides and possibilities are great. In fact, this is something I will give more thought to over the next decade. Opening a hostel in the U.S. would be the safest bet, but there are only a few cities where I think they could legitimately do well at.

Post: #27

hostelmanagement.com/marketplace

I would love to do this though I think it would be very hard work.

Burma is openin up and getting fast increasing numbers of backpackers. Big opps there but major risk especially regarding corruption etc

Post: #28

Doing it as a social enterprise might be a good idea as there is fuck all profit in it in most cases anyway

Post: #29

(05-13-2012 03:35 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  I'm not sure if the posts are still there, but an American guy who is partial owner of Piratas De Ipanema hostel in Rio De Janeiro blogged about his time while he was attempting to open/buy in to a hostel. He ended up buying into a hostel and it was a super interesting read. Made me think about starting/buying a hostel someday. The posts may have gotten lost though, I can't remember. Go to the very end of the blog pages and see. If not, maybe email him. He might have them saved somewhere.

http://piratasdeipanema.com/

I know this guy. His name is Brian. I stayed in this hostel for 10 days. The guy is super friendly and the hostel is a fun but rowdy place.

Post: #30

Your margins will be next to zero, don't expect to make any money from it but consider it a snatch faucet.

Post: #31

(02-19-2013 05:39 AM)Vicious Wrote:  Your margins will be next to zero, don't expect to make any money from it but consider it a snatch faucet.

Exactly from what I have heard from speaking to many owners

Post: #32

id love to open one in zagreb, might wait for EU entry come June

Post: #33

(02-19-2013 06:12 AM)Jbk Wrote:  

(02-19-2013 05:39 AM)Vicious Wrote:  Your margins will be next to zero, don't expect to make any money from it but consider it a snatch faucet.

Exactly from what I have heard from speaking to many owners

So what's the advantage vs another biz?

Relatively low cost to set up?

If you are doing it strictly for girls, you might as well shoot for a different demographic than the dirty feet, flip flops and dreadlocks girls, no?

Post: #34

I just found out some family built a nice house in Belize for 30k. I am interested in building a hostel now. I have an account down there with some bread. I can actually start the foundation. The town my family is from is called PG. I am headed down there for thanksgiving and will throw some more money in the account.

I like the idea and wouldnt mind living down there and running it. If not I have a few family members I can trust. Ill keep the forum posted if I end up building the foundation. My only concern is the land we own isnt in prime location. We will see

Post: #35

Thread bump.

Any more insights on this. In particular western countries like the States, Canada and Europe.

It is something I have been thinking about all day.

Post: #36

I stayed at a hostel in Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria about 7 years ago and talked to the owner. He moved there from the UK to open the hostel because at the time there wasn't much competition around in Bulgaria and he saw an opportunity. And he moved with his gf so he wasn't even doing it to get girls. Just checked now - the hostel is still open, so they must be making enough money to at least keep going.

The idea has appealed to me since my early twenties, although it's a pretty big commitment. It still appeals to me as a social venture - do it for a year say and have lots of fun while aiming to break even financially. I've stayed at many hostels and have a pretty good idea of what would make a good one.

From that point of view Burma might be a good place like somebody mentioned above, as it seems to be an up and coming tourist destination, and would attract a more adventurous crowd. With regards to local corrupt police or mafia types, I suspect it's probably rather 'organized' and there'd be one group that runs the area and you just have to pay them off a certain amount/month and nobody else will bother you. It's annoying of course, but probably not a show stopper.

Post: #37

Like most people have said, I think it could be a pretty cool venture if you are not heavily dependent on income from the venture. If it is a fun project that gives you a huge social circle and you enjoy it it's all good.

Post: #38

Anyone ever stayed at Black Sheep in Medellin?

It was one of the first hostels in Med. Last time I was there in 2009 the owner a Kiwi was doing some major construction on it, I think putting on a second floor of rooms. Anyway, from some FB sleuthing I see that he has since married the Colombian girl he was with. She gave Spanish lessons to guests while I was staying there.

From looking at his FB page, he does a lot of traveling. And the young Colombians who were working for him in 2009 are still working for him. Maybe he puts enough trust into one of them to let them manage it and he only checks in from time to time.

Though I bet for the first couple years he was either physically at the hostel everyday or on call 24/7.

Post: #39

I've seen some hostels which are Hostels/Bars which is a decent idea.

They get a DJ, sell beers, charge at the door, and suddenly they're making huge bucks 3 nights a week. And because of that the hostel gets known and they fill out the rooms. One place in Bogota called El Horno/Casa Violeta used to do this really well. They charged about 60 USD a night, when most places charged 10-15. The parties were always packed, they'd obviously make a ton of money selling beer, and then the rooms were packed too.

The facility they used to host the parties was also used to host art shows during the days, and the place was full of cool local art. For these reasons they could charge 60 dollars a night, which is less than a "hotel" in the area would charge but not much.

On a trip back to Bogota I booked a room there and they had stopped hosting parties to try to make the atmosphere more chill, but really they just killed the vibe and no one had booked a room there. Its possible it was only my girl and me staying there at the time...

Hell, I knew a private residence that did the same thing in Bogota. It was like calle 10 con 1a, some people here may have gone. It was just this huge old house with a courtyard in the entrance, always shared by a bunch of foreigners. They would just host parties put on music sell beer and rake in the cash. Usually they'd run out of beer by the end of the night, so they made back every penny they spent no doubt.

That may actually be a better idea, it had the same flow of tourists and foreigners, the same chill vibe as a hostel, but you didn't have to actually deal with running a hostel, just a party a few days every week. That'd free you up to do other things with your life too.

Post: #40

with Airbnb just get a 4 bedroom apartment and try it out that way.

Post: #41

I have been seriously working on opening a small hostel in western Europe. It took me almost half a year of planning and writing the business plan that was required for the credit. The amount of strict rules is crazy, especially when it comes to fire protection.

I bailed last minute as the imagination of being stuck at one place for the next few years was to scary. It would have taken atleast 2-3 years till I could pay off everything and would have not been obligated to stay and work full-time.

Looking back I am super happy that I did not do it. Now I rather spend a few years building a passive income stream. Then I can still open a guesthouse in some exotic place which can be turned into a holiday home for my family or a place to retire. With much less paperwork needed... I am just not sure if I will still enjoy being around backpackers by the time that I have earned the money to build it.