Ray Nolan (WRI) Interview

[Hostels]

There is an interview with Ray Nolan here.

Excerpt:

Your company already has successful travel sites like Hostelworld.com. Why did you launch another in the form of Boo.com?
Hostelworld is a well-established brand with a niche of its own. The rationale of developing Boo was that for a lot of our customers, once they see out their hostelling days, we have nothing to offer them.
If they liked what they saw on Hostelworld they should like what they see on Boo.
[...]
What is Hostelworld’s global reach?
We probably have about 55,000 properties online. There was a very logical need for the existence of Hostelworld and I think we were lucky in that the web was so nascent at the time.
[...]
The per-transaction commission we make pales into insignificance compared to some of the hotel transactions that happen out there. We provide the property management system that makes sure that every bed is sold.

[St Christophers]

We will soon be launching a flight search engine that will have flight comparison.

I wonder sometimes if Hostelworld focus is a little blurred from their core business sometimes?

[santa klaus]

Hey you guys at WRI. I know you read this forum.

With online reviews people have been there, they’ve had their experiences and they’re as well placed as anybody else to write their opinions on what they thought of a property, destination or airline.

I´m actually glad you say this now, because it is true. The zillions of user reviews are WRI´s biggest asset. We always relied on word of mouth (or word of mouse) rather than ordinary marketing. Deliver a good service is the most sustainable approach to have a successful business. It is good that hostel owners are no longer allowed to make bad reviews "inactive", because that renders the good ones worthless. This also helps hostels going the "word of mouth" way. I take your word you are sticking to this policy despite the rants of hostel owners who get more bad reviews than others.

We will soon be launching a flight search engine that will have flight comparison. You’ll be able to see, simultaneously, all the airlines that fly out of Dublin and their destinations.

Ray, don´t re-invent the wheel. That sort of stuff is already out there.
Duncan makes a valid point about minding the core business. When you make 20 millions a year, there is nothing wrong with throwing huge piles of cash on other things, knowing full well that half of it will be wasted on bad ideas - as long as you mind your core business. I have sometimes the impression you don´t. Example: when I emailed my contact person at Hostelworld a few years ago, I always got a reply within an hour. That´s what I really liked about Hostelworld: if I had a problem, it was sorted immediately. That´s not always the case anymore, and this is not to be blamed on my contact persons. They deserve a raise, but the crux of the matter is: you are understaffed. I know something about understaffed businesses, because hostels are understaffed by nature. That´s the whole point about hostels, when you think of it. So take my word on that.

We provide the property management system that makes sure that every bed is sold.

Ray, with all due respect: your property management system makes sure that every bed is sold through Hostelworld. That´s just a heretical remark I can´t resist to make. There is basically nothing wrong with that. We couldn´t care less how beds are sold, as long as they are sold. My real rant is a different one: what else is made sure with your property management system? Not much IMHO. We´d love to use it (not least because it´s free), but please make it user-friendly. Put a techie in a plane to Vienna, we´re willing to help.