Hostel Business in 2010

[Alberguinn]

Hi this is Laura,
owner of Alberguinn Hostel in Barcelona.
We opened this small hostel in 2005 and are very happy with the business and the customers that we are receiving.
But, this 2010 has started quite worse than the previous january and we are selling now cheaper than when we started in 2005.
I would like to ask wether everybody is having the same trouble so I can feel a bit better
Thanks!!!
http://www.alberguinn.com

[Hostels]

Welcome to the site

(I don't have a hostel so I can't answer your question, but hopefully someone will be along to answer it soon...)

[santa klaus]

A LOT of new hostels have opened in Barcelona since 2005. Little surprise they don´t all fill up in January any more.

Same in Berlin, probably worse. Better get used to it. I thought some hostels in Berlin might go out of business, but none has in the last years.

[stozza]

Same in Edinburgh, so many hostels now that the off season is really really bad. You just have to find a way to keep guests there longer and reduce overheads. Unfortunately hostels never seem to close here, they just change owners if they go under, and new ones keep popping up. The cheapest hostel bed in Edinburgh on hostelworld tomorrow night is £4.50 (€5.40)...when I got here 12 years ago the cheapest was £9 (€10.80). Now thats a massive change in a bad way. In the same time wages have doubled.
Its still fun though!!!

[santa klaus]

London seems to be pretty crazy too. I went there in November and paid 6 Pounds for a bed. That would have been pretty unthinkable a few years ago.

[Hostels]

I think those kinds of prices should be advertised to people in the US. Many people in the US think that Europe is a very expensive destination, especially with the weak dollar. If more people knew that accommodation was under $10 per night, I think more people would go. Just reading this thread already gave me an idea for my next trip

I think hostels could be collaborating with other hostels in their city, travel bloggers and the media to promote the low prices available in their destination.

Here's an example post that is being passed around Twitter today:
http://nodebtworldtravel.com/2009/09...taying-in.html

The accommodation cost for each city is spelled out. If a hostel would blog about how cheap it is to stay in the city I think it would generate some interest. (Social media = online word-of-mouth advertising.)

10 Days in [City X] [encourage longer stays -- "slow down and explore"]
Accommodation in 6-bed dorm: $xx USD
Free breakfast: $0
Meals at [restaurant]: $xx
etc.

I would list costs for various itineraries, how to get to connecting cities, and how cheap those connecting cities are too.

[stozza]

Great idea, although we do have to be careful about making sure people understand its only in the off season when they will get those prices.

I sometimes forget that some people are making decisions whether to stay at a hotel or hostel, or haven't even heard of hostels. I focus too much on competing with other hostels I guess. And the idea that we can get people traveling to us in the first place is one of the most important to remember in marketing the hostel, thanks.

Gee this sort of brainstorming makes me wish I registered for the hostelworld conference...woops.

[Hostels]

Originally Posted by stozza

Great idea, although we do have to be careful about making sure people understand its only in the off season when they will get those prices.

Blogs are good because they are chronological. Put the word "winter" or "low season" in the title and people won't get confused by the prices when they show up in summer...

If there are 5 or 10 really cheap cities in Europe in the winter, a good blog post might be one that gives a couple different itineraries for traveling all around Europe on a super cheap budget. Collaborate with a couple of hostels in each city on the content and it could be a good way to make connections with other hostels too

None of the hostels would even have to create a blog for an idea like this -- many popular travel blogs are looking for good content and they already have a lot of readers. Most travel blogs will accept guest blog posts. The bloggers will even do the promotion of the content...

[santa klaus]

Originally Posted by Hostels

I think those kinds of prices should be advertised to people in the US.

No, it should be advertised to people in Europe. Nobody crosses the big pond for a cheap weekend in London, but within Europe, with cheap hostel beds combined with cheap airfares, a spontaneous city trip for as little as € 50 for flight and accomodation should look seductive enough.

Originally Posted by Hostels

If there are 5 or 10 really cheap cities in Europe in the winter, a good blog post might be one that gives a couple different itineraries for traveling all around Europe on a super cheap budget. Collaborate with a couple of hostels in each city on the content and it could be a good way to make connections with other hostels too

I´m almost motivated to do put an itinerary like that together right now, but I know that would keep me in front of the screen until 4am - and it´s been a long day already, so no.

Anyway, I have seen this happening real time a few weeks ago. I met those two Aussie girls in Naples in July, they live in London. They told me in December they´ve got two weeks left before they return to Oz and want to use the time. They didn´t really care where to go, just as long as it´s cheap and we can catch up somewhere for a few days, so we started deliberating about an itinerary like that. They ended up covering a lot of ground (London-Paris-Budapest-Cluj(Romania)-Budapest-Berlin-Amsterdam-London), always booking the cheapest flight and cheapest bed. I should have asked them what they paid for the entire trip, but I´m sure it was only a fraction of what it would have cost in high season.

[Hostels]

Originally Posted by santa klaus

No, it should be advertised to people in Europe. Nobody crosses the big pond for a cheap weekend in London, but within Europe, with cheap hostel beds combined with cheap airfares, a spontaneous city trip for as little as € 50 for flight and accomodation should look seductive enough.

I think it would be good to target both. The benefit of targeting North America is that people are likely to travel for a longer period of time, and spend more money over the entire course of the trip. Also, they all speak English and are heavy social media users, so are likely to spread the message online. Someone who isn't planning on traveling won't fly to London for a weekend, but if they're planning on traveling and the choice is between Argentina and London, they may take a second look at London if it offers cheaper accommodation than in Buenos Aires

Originally Posted by santa klaus

I should have asked them what they paid for the entire trip, but I´m sure it was only a fraction of what it would have cost in high season.

Interviews make great, fast, high-quality blog content, and if the guests have a travel blog, they will link back to your website and tell all their friends that they were featured in a famous hostel's blog...

(How to record Skype calls)