Hostels are popular around the world for a couple of big reasons. They offer budget-friendly accommodation and the opportunity to meet other intrepid travelers. They attract adventurous souls looking to connect with people from all walks of life. While the majority of hostel guests are typically backpackers, shared accommodations are starting to appeal to a wider audience as more and more hostels offer boutique stay experiences.

Here’s how to ensure your hostel attracts plenty of bookings and great reviews.

Keep Your Property Secure

Guests won’t stay in a place where they believe that they and their belongings are unsafe. Check ID and don’t let anyone into the hostel who hasn’t paid to be there. A property management system (PMS) is crucial for managing guest records effectively. 

Locks and lockers are important (make sure lockers are big enough for a backpack). Ideally, guests should only be able to access the dorm room where they are assigned to sleep. Whether you use keycard, keypad, or mobile key locks, consider integrating your lock system with your PMS for more efficient and secure access management. 

If a guest makes other guests feel unsafe, they need to leave. Do not put up with harassment of any kind. Cameras are helpful in common areas. 

In this day and age, security includes the online world as well. Take the steps necessary to protect your Wi-Fi against hackers. (Yes, your hostel does need Wi-Fi.) 

Know Your Audience

Not every hostel-goer is a stereotypical backpacker in their 20s with a wispy beard and a beanie. Use your PMS to gather data to find out what kinds of guests stay at your hostel so that you can cater your services and offerings specifically to them. 

Consider Your Layout and Amenities

The layout of your hostel matters. What types of rooms do you offer, and how are they organized? Don’t cram beds into one huge dorm. Smaller dorms with fewer beds each are better as they provide flexibility for offering gender-based accommodation choices and space for individual groups. 

Think about what you need going to sleep and make sure those things are within easy reach. For instance, there should be power outlets near beds so guests can plug in their devices. Privacy curtains are a blessing as well, along with a dim nightlight to keep people from banging their shins on the way to the bathroom. The bathroom should have space for clothes and toiletries where they won’t get wet. 

A laundry is a necessity for guests who have been living out of their backpacks. They can travel light without having to switch off dirty t-shirts for the whole trip.

Ensure common areas are inviting and comfortable and encourage guests to mingle, perhaps over a board game. These common areas are the heart and soul of your hostel, so use them to define the style and personality of your property. Do your best to incorporate local design elements for a unique and memorable experience. 

Promote Your Location

Guests aren’t only there for the dorm living. They’re off to see the world, so show them what your corner of it has to offer. Whatever there is to do and see should be communicated in your marketing. A blog or “Things to Do” page on your website is a good place for this, and it can improve your SEO. Display local gems on your hostel’s social media channels as well.

Think beyond the main attractions and share your own insider tips. Travelers are always looking for hidden hotspots. Not only are these hotspots (hopefully) less crowded, but it’s gratifying to visit a place first before it blows up on Instagram. 

Equipment rentals are a good idea too. Many hostel-goers are in it for the outdoors, and the outdoors can require specialized gear to explore. Consider offering bikes or snowshoes, for example, to rent or loan out.

Provide practical tips and recommendations too. What restaurants and supermarkets are close by? Where can guests catch public transit? Chances are your guests do not have cars with them. 

Prioritize Customer Service

Friendly, polite customer service costs nothing, though you may have to pay more to hire the right people. It’s better to hire someone with experience—and interest—in hospitality than to let a guest manage things in exchange for a bed. Look for emotional intelligence and problem solving skills in your candidates and communicate expectations clearly. 

Showcase Local Events

If there’s an event or festival going on, make sure guests know about it. You can be old school and post it on a bulletin board, but also be sure to spread the word through your website and social media. You may attract new guests this way. 

If local events are thin on the ground, you can always host an event or activity of your own. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Trivia nights, BBQs, and guided tours all work well to enable solo travelers to socialize and make new friends. 

Focus on Cleanliness

From the kitchen to the bathrooms, the lounge areas to the dorms and private rooms, all areas of your hostel must be clean. This is arguably more important for shared accommodations than hotels! 

While you can’t force all guests to be tidy, you can give your staff a leg up with the right tools. WebRezPro’s housekeeping features help ensure a high standard of cleanliness across your property. Integrated with the front office, the housekeeping report provides all users with an overview of live room status at a glance. Housekeeping checklists are particularly useful for maintaining standards and ensuring no task is missed. 

Offer Free Food

Everyone loves free food, especially travelers on a budget, and any meals they can eat at the hostel are meals that they don’t have to pay for elsewhere. Meals don’t have to be elaborate; breakfast is an easy one to provide. Think about staples like cereal, eggs, and pancake mix. Don’t clear it away at the crack of dawn though. Let your guests sleep in. Pro tip: Later checkouts (around noon) are attractive as well. 

Grab-and-go options are a helpful choice if you don’t have the facilities for a full meal, or you and your guests are in a hurry. 

Use the Right Tech

Keeping track of operations is much more effective if you’re not doing it with a spreadsheet. A cloud-based property management system allows you to manage reservations, billing, inventory, housekeeping, and much more from a single automated dashboard. Use one like WebRezPro that offers features tailored to hostels.

WebRezPro allows you to sell both private rooms and beds, which can be assigned to either single gender or mixed dorms. Because it’s cloud-based, the system is accessible from any device connected to the internet. You don’t have to tromp back to the front desk computer every time you want to look something up or make a note. 

Choose a PMS that includes a commission-free online booking engine so guests can make bookings through your website and those bookings are automatically recorded in your system. 

Make Sustainability a Priority

Eighty-three percent of vacationers claim that sustainability is a priority for them, which means that you could miss a significant slice of the market if you don’t adjust accordingly. Go beyond cosmetic improvements and commit to sustainable practices throughout your operations with energy efficient systems, locally sourced food and beverage options, and green amenities (if you haven’t reduced your plastic usage yet, you’re behind the curve). 

Hostels are a wonderful option for budget-conscious travelers looking for a fun, shared social experience. Use these tips to ensure a great stay for guests—and a profitable business for you!