How to Open a Hostel

Starting a hostel is a big and expensive adventure. Generally hostels cater to young adults who are traveling with limited funds. You will have to make a business plan as your first step. There is a lot of information on the Internet to help you with this. You may also look into funding in order to buy a building, and you may be able to buy a fixer-upper and exchange work for a room during the renovation stages of your hostel.

1. Find your property. As mentioned above, you may get a loan to buy a building that you can turn into your hostel. You may also look into buying one that is already established. This will probably be the easiest and least expensive way to get started. You can also look into renting a space. Be sure to check zoning and legal issues before signing any papers for the property.


2. Purchase furniture and accessories. Figure out how many beds you will be able to fit into your space, buy the beds, pillows and linens. You will need blankets for cool weather and fans or air conditioning for warm weather. Get a TV, table, chairs, a couple of computers. Consider some games or sporting equipment, as well. Some hostels have guests either pay for linen or use their own, with the rise in bed bugs, it is a better idea to provide it yourself included in the price.


3. Decorate. Making your place inviting will help attract more guests. You may want to hang large pictures of the city on the walls. Make the rooms colorful and pretty. For the flooring you might want to avoid carpeting, as young college aged guests may come to their room "late night." Floors that are easy to clean are preferable for stained carpets.


4. Hire help. Choose friendly people to work in your hostel. Having some workers that speak more than one language is also a good idea. This will help when you have guests from other countries. Have your staff up to date on events going on in your city. It is a good idea to have a bulletin board with a list of places to go and things to see.


5. Get your hostel listed on hostel websites and with hostel organizations.