How to open a hostel: a detailed plan and 3 tips from experts

How to open a hostel - a step-by-step plan: necessary documents, advertising promotion methods, equipment, detailed calculations and payback periods.

Capital investment in business: from 500 000 rubles
Hostel payback period: 1-2 years

Not so long ago, few people knew about this type of budget hotels as a hostel.

The practice, so widespread in Europe, has begun to gain popularity in Russia over the past 5-7 years.

The opportunity to live in a comfortable environment with everything you need for little money has caused great demand among the population.

Therefore, many entrepreneurs began to wonder, how to open a hostel.

Some of them have used this method of budget overnight stay and appreciated its benefits.

They have determined for themselves how they want to see the hostel, they know a lot of secrets and "tricks", but they absolutely do not understand the organizational side of the issue.

While others are experienced entrepreneurs who know how to profitably invest in real estate.

But organizing a hostel requires a more soulful approach than the ability to calculate costs.

What documents are needed to open a hostel?

Paperwork to open a hostel is something that intimidates first-time owners.

Actually, you shouldn't worry.

Yes, registering a business is a long and stressful process.

However, you can delegate the collection of papers to specialists for a fee.

The only thing you definitely shouldn't do is open a hostel without permission.

Such a move is fraught with fines, problems and a complete failure of the hostel idea.

To legally open a hostel, you will need the following documents:

• or LLC;
• certificate of tax registration;
• a document confirming the ownership of the premises;
• permission to operate the hostel based on the results of the inspection of the fire inspection and SES;
• garbage collection agreement with the relevant organization.

The above list is the basis, which can be "overgrown" with additional papers, depending on the current legal requirements for business.

The relevance of the data before registering the hostel should be carefully checked.

It is better to play it safe at the start than to have problems with regulatory authorities in the future.

We analyze the market before opening a hostel

The mere fact that a hostel as a business must be in demand is not enough to organize the business.

It is important to analyze the niche in which you are going to open a hostel.

To do this, pay attention to competitors in the region and the general development trend of hostels.

Now there are more than 5,000 hostels and establishments of a similar format operating in the country.

Their number has doubled over the past 2 years, which indicates an accelerated pace of niche development and high customer demand.

It is noteworthy that half of the hostels are concentrated in two cities - St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Thus, in order to open your hostel in one of them, you will have to “fight” with competitors.

At the same time, the prospects for business development in large cities are much better.

If we analyze the hostel organization formats, the leader is rooms with an average capacity (30-50 guests).

This business option is beneficial for entrepreneurs due to relatively modest capital investments and quick payback.

What are the risks of opening a hostel?

Such an idea, how to open a hostel in Moscow or St. Petersburg, has risks not only because of high competition ...

Any mini-hotel can face circumstances that can ruin a business.

Entrepreneurs must analyze potential risks before opening a hostel, and think over ways to minimize them.

Risk	What is dangerous for business?	How to avoid?
All kinds of emergency in the hostel	Emergencies can cause harm to the property of the hostel or its residents. In extreme cases, lead to a suspension of work.	Hostel property must be insured. Employees to be briefed on how to behave in emergency situations. It is important to equip the premises with fire extinguishing systems.
Seasonal fluctuations in demand	Decrease in income and profitability of the business.	It is important to be able to interest the client of the hostel during the recession. Think over an advertising campaign, enter special offers.
Poor hostel location	Audience reach is falling. Along with it - the profitability of the hostel.	The problem needs to be “cut in the bud” even before the opening of the hostel. Pay attention to a preliminary analysis of the location. Assess its prospects.
Low qualification of employees	Loss of clients, emergence of conflict situations.	You have to hire people in person. Do not save on training hostel workers.

How to open your hostel and promote it: advertising methods

It is important to understand not only how to open your own hostel according to all the rules of the law, but also how you will promote it to the masses.

And the service sector - those areas that can not do without a marketing strategy.

You should immediately tune in that high-quality cheap advertising does not exist.

There are rare exceptions, but you should not rely on them.

Consider 3 main channels for promoting hostel services:

Website and promotion of the hostel on the Internet.

A modern business cannot do without its own website.

Do not be stingy and order its creation to specialists.

After all, the electronic page will be the face of the hostel.

The site itself does not attract customers so actively, but rather is an important image attribute.

For guests to find you, use seo-optimization, contextual and banner advertising.

This pleasure is not cheap, but the effect is noticeable.

Another important element of the marketing policy of modern business.

Most of the hostel visitors are students, young people, and budget tourists.

They are attracted not just by the opportunity to spend the night, but by the spirit that reigns in hostels.

It is worth opening the pages of the hostel on Facebook and Vkontakte.

This will allow you to share news, hold promotions, collect feedback from guests and create your own special atmosphere that you want to plunge into.

Websites for booking hotels and hostels.

Few people are unaware of the existence of online accommodation booking resources.

Hostels that are not there lose up to 90% of their potential target audience.

Just listen to this number!

But the registration process is simple and, as a rule, free.

How to choose a building to open a hostel?

To choose a location and decide, how to open a hostel in non-residential premises or apartment, first select the format.

There are three main types:

A large hostel that is ready to accept more than 100 guests.

In Russia, this format is not in demand due to the lack of demand and the high financial entry threshold.

If you are still interested in this hostel option, you will need to rent a large non-residential premises.

To ensure fullness, work should be done to conclude agreements with firms that can hold seminars or conferences.

Hostel with medium capacity (30-50 guests).

The most requested. For their organization, they usually buy out 2-3 apartments located on the floor and combine them.

This is enough to equip the hostel with a kitchen, two bathrooms, a hall and 5-6 bedrooms.

In an ordinary apartment, you can arrange a hostel for 10-15 guests.

The mini-format of the hostel is chosen by those who like to relax in a cozy home environment.

This option requires the least investment, but pays off over a long period.

The peculiarity of such hostels is that the price of a bed can be 10-15% higher than that of competitors.

And this will be justified, because the level of comfort in mini-hostels is much higher.

• advantage - the close location of the hostel to the city center;
• it’s good if there are interesting sights nearby the hostel;
• it is important for guests that there is a good transport interchange near the hostel;
• it should be easy for visitors to find the hostel, so a noticeable sign, signs are needed.

Hostel as a business: necessary equipment

Those who have already stayed in hostels more than once know perfectly well what they should be equipped with.

If knowledge is limited to your own apartment and expensive hotels, here is an indicative list of the necessary equipment:

Equipment	Description	Price (in rubles)
Furniture	Usually hostels buy wooden furniture. From the basic, you will need: a wardrobe in the hallway, a large shelf for shoes, beds and bedside tables in the bedrooms, a table and chairs in the kitchen, sofas and armchairs in the rest room.	100 000
Technology in the hostel	The list of necessary equipment depends on what services will be provided in the hostel. The minimum set includes: Wi-Fi router, washing machine, iron, refrigerator and microwave, plasma TV, luggage storage for valuables.	90 000
Other things for the hostel	Do not forget that you have to provide guests with textile accessories. Experience shows that for each bed in a hostel, 3 sets of bed linen are useful. You will quickly see that such a reserve justifies itself. A sign of good taste is the issuance of towels and disposable slippers to customers.	80 000
Creation of comfort	As already mentioned, a hostel is not just a "bedroom". This entourage place, which for many is associated with a special setting. A good hostel has its own distinctive style, which is created by interior details. These can be interesting pillows, panels, a rack with books, special lamps.	30 000

Calendar plan how to open a hostel from scratch

To plan how to open a hostel from scratch, it is worth making a calendar plan.

It will allow you to monitor whether all stages of the organization are going according to the planned schedule.

Hostel opening stages	1 month	2 months	3 months
Registration of an individual entrepreneur or LLC
Carrying out marketing research
Conclusion of a lease agreement
Repair and redevelopment of premises
Staff search for a hostel
Obtaining permits from SES and fire inspection
Advertising campaign planning
Purchase of equipment and furniture
Internet connection
Installation of equipment in the hostel
Interior design
Start of the hostel

It is worth noting that in the business plan of the hostel, the calendar plan should be supplied not only with deadlines, but also with an indication of performers and responsible persons.

Recruitment for the hostel

In order to open a hostel in an apartment or non-residential premises, you will need to assemble a team of professionals who will work there.

Often family members are involved.

It is important to take people "from the outside" only with work experience.

A big plus is the knowledge of foreign languages.

The number of staff depends on the size of the hostel.

Often the level of cleanliness is the weak point of hostels.

To avoid problems, sign a contract with for periodic general cleaning.

Also, do not forget about laundry, and conclude an agreement with a dry cleaner for the provision of this service.

How much does it cost to open a hostel?

"The biggest risk in business worldwide is the risk of being inefficient."
Mikhail Prokhorov

So from organizational issues, we came to the question of how much does it cost to open a hostel?

Regular investments in the work of the hostel

We must not forget that a business needs not only start-up investments.

To operate the hostel, you will need to invest a certain amount every month.

Payback periods and profitability of the hostel as a business

Due to the price advantage over expensive hotels, the hostel pays off faster and requires less investment.

Dry calculations show that 100% load of the hostel will bring about 115,000 rubles per month.

However, at the beginning of the hostel and the low season, such an indicator cannot be achieved.

It is realistic to achieve 75-85% profitability of the hostel with the active use of advertising methods.

With this indicator, it is possible to recoup the investment in 1-2 years.

How to make good money by opening your hostel, you will learn from the video:

The hostel is a place for a budget holiday, but not for the poor.

Guests should not see shabby doors, broken locks, mold, or a broken electric kettle.

Follow the details at the hostel.

Many people stay in a hostel for the sake of impressions.

Develop a special hostel style.

It could be a Soviet Union theme or a psychedelic creative space.

Many guests are tourists.

Enter additional services in the hostel: excursions, the ability to call an inexpensive taxi, free city maps.

thinking through how to open a hostel, it is worth managing only personal funds, not credit.

But when things go uphill, you can contact the bank or investors to get money for the development of the business.

In this case, the risks are lower, and it is easier to get consent from sponsors.

After you promote one point, you should think about opening new hostels.

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