How to open a hostel in a residential area. How to open a hostel from scratch: pros and cons

Inexpensive short-term accommodation without the star aplomb is gaining momentum around the world, bringing home owners a good income. Let's consider the approval procedure and all the documentation that will be required to open a hostel in an ordinary apartment, in a non-residential premises, as well as the risks and nuances of each option.

Hostel as a business: are there any prospects?

Hostels are not mentioned in official Russian documents. However, in fact, in our country, as well as throughout the world, they operate quite legally, and their number is growing every year. In the tourism industry, this is a very specific concept: inexpensive premises for short-term accommodation of guests with the provision of the minimum necessary service (bed).


The hostel is not just a low-budget hotel. This is a certain philosophy and lifestyle. Many travelers cannot afford to stay in luxury hotels. Affordable alternative accommodation options are popular among young people and those who prefer to spend money on excursions and entertainment rather than luxury apartments. Besides, it’s fashionable, fun, and expands your circle of acquaintances and new experiences.

A mini-hotel that does not require major investments and generates constant income is the dream of many entrepreneurs. Read about how to open a hostel from scratch in this article.

Hostel - what is it?

This is a rather new phenomenon for Russia, which has not yet had time to gain a foothold in people’s understanding.

Some people consider a hostel to be an ordinary hostel in which there are people of different nationalities. This is a little wrong; below we will talk about the reasons for the emergence of such a stereotype.

In practice, the hostel is a fashionable trend that came from Europe. Many young people, traveling around countries, stay overnight in small rooms that can accommodate several people at once.

The building has a place for preparing and eating food, rooms for two or more people, a bathroom, and often a common living room. This is what they call a hostel.

Prices here are significantly lower than in regular hotels, and the level of service is sufficient for those who want to live comfortably in a foreign city for several days.

Video - how to open a successful hostel:

Unfortunately, many Russian entrepreneurs They call hostels places where several dozen two- or even three-story beds are placed in one room, there is one toilet for everyone on the floor, and there is no place for eating at all.

These underground shelters, proudly called hostels, influence the entire industry. A foreign tourist, looking for his usual hostel, may find himself in a place where he wants to run away without looking back, cursing the harsh Russian service.

Types of hostels

  • aimed at a youth audience;
  • intended for conference participants.

These two types of hostels differ significantly from each other, primarily in their price range. Another difference is that most often the first type of hostel occupies a smaller area compared to the second.

Well, the second one is often empty, while the first one can reach 80-90% occupancy per month. However, even one delegation arriving for only three or four days can cover all the costs of hostels of the second type. This is also worth considering.

Requirements for hostels in Russia

Our legislation, with a delay of only four years, managed to notice that something new has appeared in Russia - hostels, from which both individual entrepreneurs and legal entities make money.

Therefore, in January 2015, special GOSTs appeared regulating the operation of hostels.

In addition, an official definition of a hostel has appeared - now it is an economical place intended for low-budget tourism. The GOST notes that the hostel has rooms of varying capacities, and the bathroom is located outside the rooms.

The legislators did not lose sight of what gives the hostel a special romance - a place for guests to communicate; it should be a must in every hostel.

But when it comes to food, the requirements turned out to be lenient. The hostel does not have to be equipped with a place for preparing food if there is a place where you can eat within walking distance. The only thing you need to provide is the availability of clean drinking water and a kettle.

Finally, the requirements for the rooms were determined. There must be at least four square meters per bed, and the ceiling height in the rooms must be at least 2.5 m.

There are also requirements for the bathroom: for 15 people there must be at least one shower and one toilet stall. Therefore, if the hostel has 46 beds, then four bathrooms will be required.

There is one more requirement for hostels. If previously it was unclear whether it was allowed to place hostels in ordinary apartments, then from January 1, 2015 this question has been removed: placing hostels in apartments is officially permitted.

Before this, the apartment had to be converted into non-residential premises, and then commercial activities should be carried out in it.

And therefore, now hostels are subject to the requirement of Part 4 of Article 17 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation: they must not disturb the peace and living conditions for all citizens in this house, and comply with sanitary and fire standards.

What does it take to open a hostel from scratch?

The main one is a premises located in the city center and meeting the requirements of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation.
Then you need to purchase furniture and equipment, decorate the rooms and resolve sanitary issues. Registration as a .

But the most important thing that a hostel owner needs is a clear understanding of his target audience and the places where to look for them. Only by creating a constant flow of clients can the hostel achieve profitability.

Hostel space

You can set up a hostel in an ordinary apartment with several rooms. But this will be a small level that will not be able to bring constant profit.

Larger projects start with an area of ​​150 square meters. Then you can create several individual rooms at once, a common living room, decorate everything in a youth style and create a kind of center of attraction for travelers, hipsters, young entrepreneurs and many other representatives of progressive youth.

If the hostel owner wants to immediately reach the business class level and host conference delegates in his hostel, then he will need a room with an area of ​​at least 300 square meters.

This could be an entire floor, or one of the sections of the building, which should be decorated in the same style. At the same time, the requirements for hostel premises remain unchanged: at least four square meters per bed.

Is it possible to organize a hostel in an apartment?

Since January 2015 it is officially possible. But you should immediately think about the specifics of the hostel’s operation. It will take considerable effort to load it to at least 50% of its maximum capacity.

In addition, the consent of other residents living in the house will be required. This often becomes a stumbling block between entrepreneurs and residents.

What about in non-residential premises?

If it meets the standards of SanPin and Fire Supervision, then it is possible. But if the room is located on the ground floor of a building or even in the basement, without windows, then the law is strict - people cannot be accommodated in the basement.

Documents for opening

  • lease agreement or ownership of the premises;
  • conclusion of the sanitary service on the suitability of the premises for habitation;
  • a similar conclusion from Pozhnadzor;
  • registration documents legal entity or individual entrepreneur.

Furniture and equipment

A hostel without beds is like a car dealership without cars. Therefore, you will have to buy beds. You will need a lot of them: the number of beds plus spare ones.

Beds must also meet certain requirements: minimum dimensions are 80 by 190 cm for a single bed and 140 by 190 for a double bed. And placing them closer than 75 cm to each other is prohibited. The only exception is for beds separated by a partition.

Video – how to open a hostel (success story):

In addition to beds, you will need wardrobes for clothes, bedside tables for personal belongings, tables for eating, a minimum set of dishes, a washing machine and possibly more than one. Many hostel visitors ask for Internet access, which must be provided.

In the common living room, a TV, a sofa, several armchairs and poufs will not be superfluous. They will help create an atmosphere of comfort.

Don't forget about irons and ironing boards, your visitors will really need them. And if you also think about having several hairdryers in your hostel, then women will kiss you. Well, unless they're married and have wet hair.

Name for the hostel

Nobody limits you here. But if tourists often come to the city, then do not forget to provide an English version of your name. A bright sign that will help you find your way in an unfamiliar place and advertising booklets with your name will attract new guests.

Staff

An administrator will be required who will monitor the check-in of residents, resolve emerging issues and accept payments. You also need to consider how the room will be cleaned: a cleaning service or a hired person.

Accounting is simpler, and the functions of promoting the establishment are assigned to the administrator.

To eliminate theft by staff, consider a system for recording guests and the total time they spent in the establishment, as well as a reporting system for all current expenses.

Or spark your team with the idea of ​​creating the best hostel in the city, involve them in the development, and then you can forget about theft, you will become a single team focused on results.

Business processes

The whole essence of the hostel’s work can be built in the form of a chain of actions.

Promotion – booking by a potential client – ​​check-in – payment – ​​accommodation – provision of additional services – eviction – collection of feedback – recommendations = promotion.

In more in simple form this chain looks like this.
First, you promote your establishment by advertising it to your potential target audience. Afterwards, your hostel is booked, after which the person finds you in the city and checks in.

He pays for accommodation for a certain number of days or hours. At the same time, you provide him with Additional services, starting from hot breakfasts ordered in a nearby cafe and ending with organizing city tours.

After the person is evicted, you find out his opinion, correct mistakes and do everything so that he gives recommendations about you to his friends. This is also a promotion that again leads to the launch of the entire chain.

An additional system can be built into each of these points to increase the reputation of your hostel. For example, meet a person at the airport to help find you without problems. These and many other actions are normal practice for European services. In Russia they are still getting used to this.

Promotion

Now we come to the most interesting part. Your entire ideal hostel will not survive even a month without active promotion. Traditional channels are not suitable here; you need targeted advertising aimed only at those who have arrived in your city and are looking for a place to spend the night.

A bonanza for you is Facebook and others. social media. Most young people traveling to different countries first find a place to stay for the night through FB, contact the administrator, book a room, and only then arrive.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time and effort promoting on this social network. Reputation plays a very important role in this business, so the first clients attracted through FB will begin to promote you on their pages.

Don't forget about the various conferences taking place in your city. Organizers can become your partners, referring participants to you and receiving a percentage of it.

This is the only way to develop a hostel and ensure 100% occupancy.

conclusions

Hostel is good way to make money, but it requires a lot of effort and patience, just like any business. Much depends on the reputation and quality of service provided. In all other respects, this is a mini-hotel with a special atmosphere that attracts adventurers and travelers.

Video – 10 steps to take to open a hostel:

Discussion (15)

    A hostel is an excellent opportunity for a traveler to relax inexpensively and clean up in clean conditions. For an entrepreneur, if the right place is chosen, this is an opportunity to have a stable income.

    We have a studio apartment in Kazan. We wanted to rent it out as a hostel during the 2018 World Cup, but decided to leave it as is. They just posted it on Avito and found a client, so they didn’t break the agreement. A friend of mine runs a hostel in St. Petersburg, and, in my opinion, she also rented out places there via the Internet.

    Do you know that on average, in order to open a hostel with 30 beds, it will take approximately 1 million rubles. But often this amount is not enough if there is no experience in this area, since without knowing many of the nuances, it is impossible to minimize costs. The most important element in the expense item is rent, of course, if this is your premises, then I think everything will work out!

    I want to open a small hostel, I inherited a large apartment from my grandmother, and also provide services for conducting city tours for hostel residents and just tourists who come to the city. Please tell me what is the best thing for me to do - open an individual entrepreneur or LLC? What are the pros and cons of each case? If any of you can help in this matter, I would be very grateful.

    The hostel was a good idea and I immediately liked it. I even started developing a business plan, but recently problems have arisen at the legislative level - deputies decided to tighten this type of activity with some prohibitions (for example, opening a hostel in a residential building). Who knows?

    I think that it makes sense to open a hostel in less touristic cities and in the center, because this topic is not yet very popular in Russia and great success doesn't use it. When I started my business, I thought about opening a hostel, but my friends advised me to start with a regular store, although that was really a long time ago.

    No matter how tempting the idea of ​​opening your own hostel may seem, it seems more unprofitable to me! You have to be a genius, at the very least. Be prepared for the fact that at first you will incur more losses than profits and may only earn headaches from inspection visits! I consider it inappropriate to open a hostel in an apartment - our apartments are too small for this. If your priority is tourists, then they will definitely choose a more spacious place. It will be more comfortable for them to rent, for example, an apartment for daily rent, than to huddle in a tiny hostel with other guests.

    A hostel is one of the most profitable assets in the real estate market, but if not own premises, finding it in Moscow is problematic, because not all owners accept this form of rent.

    Personally, I have been seriously thinking about converting my square meters into a hostel for a long time.
    Now the apartment is rented daily, given the convenient location, it is also a profitable deal, but the idea of ​​a hostel seems more attractive to me. I visit Europe periodically and sometimes stay in hostels. It is always full of people, students and workers, who are not able to rent separate housing.

    Hosting is a profitable business if you approach it with full responsibility, because you need to observe not only ideal cleanliness and legal aspects, but also come up with an individual design for your hostel so that people, having stayed once, come back again and recommend it to their friends and acquaintances

    The idea to open a hostel came about by chance; I inherited a four-room apartment on the ground floor in the city center. The apartment, of course, was “destroyed”; I had to take out a loan to make repairs, but after 4 years everything paid off. The main thing is not to be afraid, but to act. An idea came to you - implement it, no matter how crazy it may seem.

    The most important problem that will haunt the hostel owner is communication with neighbors, especially if you plan to open it in an apartment. Officially, this is not prohibited, but you will have to go through “all the circles of hell”, because such things are perceived with hostility by people, of course! - hangout on the landing. Therefore, if possible, try to avoid apartment options, ideally in a non-residential building or a separate entrance to a non-residential premises. If this is not possible, then I advise you to go around to all your neighbors in advance and convey to them the idea of ​​​​the hostel movement. This will help avoid problems in the future.

    I bought an apartment in the city center, usually three rubles. I wanted to rent it out, but the idea came up to open a hostel. As far as I understand, there is no need to convert the premises into non-residential space now, since in the future the growing daughter may need it.

    I read in the news of our city about the opening of a hostel, so to speak, “for migrant workers.” On the one hand, this seemed like an excellent business idea to me - the only hostel of its kind in the city, there are a lot of guest workers, there will be demand, the quality of housing is low, the cost is minimal. But then I started thinking about the accompanying problems... it’s necessary to take into account all the peculiarities of life and customs of “guests from neighboring countries.” They need an eye and an eye, they like to quarrel among themselves, especially if there are representatives of different diasporas. We need security, we need special control over sanitation... and these are additional costs. And it becomes unclear whether the game is worth the candle.

Among all the diversity on the hotel accommodation market, hostels remain especially attractive for budget travel. Inexpensive overnight accommodation in a clean, heated room, in fun company students and tourists, has conquered the domestic temporary housing market in a matter of years. Many who want to test their strength in hotel business, turn their attention to this particular format of mini-hotels. The relatively low barrier to entry into the hostel business makes it attractive for novice hosteliers, and the popularization of budget tourism in the world promises high profitability for the establishment. The organization of the work of hostels, the legislative framework for mini-hotel services, the arrangement of premises for guests and other issues that a hostelier needs to know will be discussed in this article.

The fashion for European hostels came to us relatively recently. St. Petersburg and Moscow remain the pioneers and flagships in terms of the number of hostels in Russia. Today, these megacities have thousands of operating hostels in all corners of the city and beyond. The downside to the popularity of hostel housing is the so-called. apartment hostels that often violate regulations housing code and disturbing ordinary citizens. Hostel clients scurrying around the entrance in the middle of the night, with huge bags, do not inspire confidence in residents of apartment buildings.

Other businessmen rented office space for their business that was not designed to accommodate people and could not withstand the most minimal sanitary standards, and fire safety standards. Hostels often occupied the basement and attic floors, warehouses. Although hostels were initially conceived as a means of budget accommodation, in quite comfortable conditions, in fact, the comfort of the guests was often neglected. To protect the rights of the hostel’s neighbors, as well as its guests, GOST on hostels was developed, which came into force in 2015.

A year later, the standard was supplemented by a package of necessary amendments, further limiting the activities of apartment hostels in favor of other residents of the building. The new conditions have put most hostels on the brink of closure. We will consider the main provisions and requirements of GOST, including new amendments, below.

Types of hostels

The modern classification of hostels divides them into three types:

  • Large hostels, designed for 50-100 or more guests. The clients of such hostels are often participants in international conferences and youth gatherings. When arriving in large groups, guests do not experience any difficulties in staying in one large room. Meeting participants, for example, can continue communication in an informal setting, which the hostel offers. Such hostels are often equipped with a conference room and are ready to offer quite a decent hotel set, in the form of restaurant services, a spa salon and gym. City hostels of this type usually occupy entire floors, always the first ones, and in their structure they are close to traditional hotels, adjusted for shared accommodation and correspondingly low prices.
  • Average hostels, from 20 to 50 guests. A very promising type of hostel despite the fact that, according to the new rules, hostels can only occupy the first floors of buildings (we will explain why below). When buying premises for a hostel, taking into account all the costs of arranging it, it is wise to use the area with maximum efficiency. Sometimes medium-capacity hostels can be opened on the principle of roadside motels, but this is rare. Hostels are often used as overnight accommodation for budget tourism, and therefore accommodation within the city will be more appropriate.
  • Small hostels, or mini-hostels, with a capacity of up to 20 guests. Until recently, the most popular look temporary housing. In the absence of a clear legislative framework, numerous apartment dwellers have become such hostels. With a little effort, the apartment turned into a hostel, bringing the rental price to new level profitability. Often the hostel apartments themselves were rented; sometimes such hostels existed only during the tourist season.

There is no need to talk about the inconvenience caused to the neighbors of such a hostel. It’s easy to imagine a flurry of indignation when an apartment on one staircase turns into a dormitory.

Sometimes apartment hostels used as guesthouses, offering overnight accommodation for only two or three guests. Is it fair to call such an establishment a hostel?

It is worth mentioning this type of hostel as a dormitory. These are hostels in which 20 or more guests simultaneously live in one room. Usually 4-8 people can live in one room, but dorms are a little cheaper than other hostels, and are almost ideal for a large company.

A question that has set many hosteliers on edge. As we said, GOST introduces several standards for hostel premises, which not all mini-hotels can comply with. So, for example, the minimum ceiling height of 2.5 m, stated in GOST, may not correspond to individual Khrushchev buildings with a height of 2.48 m.

In general, the stated standards can be called quite democratic; most residential premises easily fit into the established standards. The height of passages in corridors is rarely lower than 2.1 m, and the GOST position on the arrangement of kitchens and common rooms is purely advisory. According to the current law, the hostelier is not obliged to take care of the kitchen if catering establishments are located within walking distance from the hostel. In the realities of the city, among dozens of coffee shops and restaurants, it is impossible to find such a place.

Affects GOST and sanitary issues. According to the new amendments, a sanitary unit includes a toilet, shower and washbasin, and can serve no more than 10 guests. For thirty guests, the hostel will now need three bathrooms, or one expanded one, taking into account the standards.

cornerstone latest edition, the question arose about transferring premises to hostels from residential to non-residential. There are a number of requirements for non-residential premises, the main of which is location on the first floors of the house and the establishment of an entrance separate from the general entrance. Such premises can only occupy the second floor if the first floor has already been converted to non-residential use. With the adoption of the amendments, most apartment hostels will be illegal. It becomes practically impossible to organize a hostel in a rented apartment, since the procedure for transferring it to a non-residential property requires the participation of the owner of the area, and in most cases the latter is not interested in such an event.

The reform in the law on temporary accommodation was the result of numerous complaints from residents about violations of order in the house by hostels. It is worth recognizing that often such complaints are quite justified. Hostel clients are mainly students and young people on vacation. Without strict internal regulations and careful control by the administrator, the hostel can easily turn into an ordinary hostel with all that it implies. And on the contrary, the respectable attitude of hostel owners towards forced neighbors allows such establishments to flourish even now, working contrary to the law.

The main rule in the work of a hostel should be the daily routine. After a certain hour, the hostel does not accept new guests, silence is observed. The hostel regime often prohibits guests from bringing guests, including for lovemaking. The soundproofing of the hostel plays a decisive role for its neighbors.

Alcohol and tobacco are prohibited in most hostels. The staircase must be kept in exemplary cleanliness and order. There are cases when hosteliers organized the renovation of the entire entrance. Good relations with neighbors are the key to long-term operation of the hostel, not marred by a series of complaints and inspections.

Internal routine will help maintain order inside the hostel itself. Strict rules guarantee of a safe and comfortable stay for all guests. But sometimes the rules are specific and work more towards the image of the establishment. These include an upper limit on the age of guests. Thus, some “youth hostels” are ready to provide their comfort only to clients no older than 25 years. Other hostels limit maximum term stay is a fairly common practice for budget temporary housing, which allows you to maintain this status.

To ensure the successful operation of their establishments, hostel owners often form professional associations. Hostel unions exist all over the world as it provides a number of benefits.

When traveling around the country, tourists often learn about other hostels along the route from the previous hostel. The fame of such establishments also depends on word of mouth, and hosteliers try to help each other by spreading information about other hostels.

Being part of the association, the hostel can purchase consumables from detergents and incandescent lamps, to furniture, at competitive wholesale prices.

Exist large networks hostels operating under a general franchise. By purchasing the right to use a franchise, a hostelier saves himself from a number of problems associated with promoting his establishment. Experienced specialists will help you get comfortable in this business and resolve possible legal issues. On the other hand, working as a franchise deprives your hostel of its individuality, forcing you to work according to a proven scheme.

ABOUT internal structure hostels and how to start a hostel, observing the latest GOST requirements, read on our website.

Good afternoon. My name is Rostov Peter, I'm from Voronezh region. Seven years ago, I became interested in how much it costs to open a hostel and began to “dig” all the information on this type of business. Within six months I managed to organize my own business. Over the course of six years, the hostel became successful and popular, and I received regular customers and achieved a stable profit.

The characteristics of the business are as follows:

  • two-story building. The first floor is non-residential, with an area of ​​300 square meters. There is a high-quality door at the entrance, there is video surveillance, there are roller shutters on the windows;
  • on the second floor there are ten rooms with six beds. The total capacity of the hostel is sixty people. All rooms are almost always occupied;
  • There is a kitchen with everything you need for comfortable stay– microwave oven, extractor hood, washing machine, boiler, electric stove and electric kettle;
  • Each room has a shower and toilet. The beds have high-quality orthopedic mattresses. The rooms have been renovated to a high standard;
  • payment for accommodation – 600 rubles per day;
  • monthly profit is about 600 thousand rubles per month (depending on the influx of clients).

What is good about a hostel as a business?

This type of business is increasingly developing in big cities, where people constantly come to study, on business trips, and visit friends and acquaintances.

The peculiarity of the hostel is its low cost. Payment for one night can range from 280 to 350 thousand rubles and more, while hotel prices are several times higher.

Not everyone can spend 1000-1500 rubles per day on a cheap single room.

There is an opinion that such establishments are only for tourists and poor students. Indeed, such a trend could be noticed earlier, but today the vector is shifting towards respectable people with money, but a special philosophy of life.

A hostel room is very similar to a dorm room. Unless the living conditions could be more comfortable. In rooms, as a rule, it is better to install bunk beds - this way you will save space and accommodate many more clients.

Among the main advantages of business, I would like to highlight a stable income, minimal tariff rate, constant demand for services, ease of registration in various authorities and minimal initial costs.

Therefore, the question of what is needed to open a hostel can be answered simply - desire, apartment, money and free time.

Do you need a hostel business plan?

Despite its simplicity, opening a small hotel requires special attention and certain preparation.

Before you create a hostel, you must order (or draw up your own) a business plan, think through the sequence of your actions, and provide possible risks and stock up on the necessary amount.

A business plan will help you find your bearings in time and remember the main expenses.

How to open a hostel?

When organizing a business, act strictly according to the plan. In doing so, pay special attention to the following aspects:

1. Find a room. An excellent option is a dormitory building. All you need to do is spend renovation work and furnish the rooms.

As an option, a large apartment on the first floor of a residential building is suitable. In this case, the number of rooms must be at least three. If there is already available housing, then this is only a plus.

The cost of renting one square meter of apartment per month is 1000-1500 rubles.

Moreover, this value is not fixed - it can change depending on the location of the housing (district, house), its arrangement, number of floors, and so on.

One room of 12-15 square meters can easily accommodate up to three people.

Thus, the capacity of the 3-room hostel is nine guests.

Over time, you can buy (rent) neighboring apartments and expand your business.

But renting is only the first step.

You must make high-quality repairs to the premises, taking into account all the requirements of the fire inspection and SES. This will simplify the approval procedure in the future.

2. Register. It will not be possible to start an activity illegally - you must register as an LLC or individual entrepreneur. As a rule, this does not take much time or money.

Choose a simplified tax system, for example, the simplified tax system. Before opening a hostel, read the regulations, study the requirements of the fire service and the SES (we have already mentioned this above). Be sure to read the law on tourism activities.

3. Consider organizational issues. Opening a hostel in a residential area (for example, an apartment) requires the mandatory conclusion of an agreement with each guest in the form of a separate registration card.

To avoid such problems, it is better to transfer the apartment from residential property to non-residential status. This is not difficult to do if the living space is not higher than the second floor and is not in the basement.

In this case, an additional requirement is the consent of the neighbors and the presence of a separate entrance.

A separate issue is the arrangement of the hostel. There are some rules that must be followed. So, one person should have about 5-6 square meters of space.

In addition, there should be one sink for six people, one toilet for twelve, and one shower for fifteen guests.

If the hostel is located in a residential building, then solve the issue of sound insulation to protect your clients from quarrels behind the wall and avoid problems with neighbors.

About the most latest news and trends in business with a franchise can be read

If you have a free room, organize a relaxation area. It can be equipped with board games, a PC, a TV, a comfortable sofa and armchairs. Pay special attention to cooling in summer period(you will need air conditioning) and high-quality heating in winter.

4. Purchase equipment and furniture for your business. For a multi-bed room you will need bunk beds (average cost - 10-15 thousand rubles per piece).

For your kitchen, be sure to buy a refrigerator (from 15 thousand rubles), a coffee maker (from 2 thousand rubles), a microwave oven (from three thousand rubles), a kitchen set (from 15 thousand rubles), a washing machine (from 8 thousand rubles).

If the hostel has a recreation area, then install a laptop in it (the cheapest one is possible - from 15 thousand rubles), connect to the Internet (350-450 rubles per month) and buy a Wi-Fi adapter.

Stock up on everything you need for your bathroom - buy a shower stall (from 11 thousand rubles), 2-3 washbasins (from a thousand rubles apiece), a toilet - from 3 thousand rubles.

In addition, do not forget about renovation work in the bathroom (laying tiles on the floor and walls, finishing the ceiling, repairing plumbing) - from 30 thousand rubles.

The total cost of arrangement is from 120 thousand rubles.

5. Hire staff. For the first time, three people will be enough - an administrator (task - receiving and settling guests, monitoring the condition of the premises), a maid and an accountant. Total labor costs range from 45-50 thousand rubles per month.

How to organize hostel promotion?

Discovery is just the first step. You must know how to promote a hostel and attract clients to it. There are several effective ways here. First, place your ad on various international sites.

Hostel business success story

On many of them you can do this for free, but on some you will have to pay.

It depends on the number keywords, according to which the hostel is promoted. If you have no experience in choosing “keywords”, then it is better to turn to the experts in their field.

Thirdly, your ad must be on the main online booking services. This will allow the client not only to choose a hostel, but also to find a place for himself. The cost of such a service is usually 200-300 rubles per month.

Fourth, make high-quality business cards offering services and hand them out in cafes, universities, train stations and airports. In general, you need to visit wherever there is potential clients. In this type of promotion, the costs will be small.

To print thousands of business cards you need to spend from 1300 rubles.
Total costs for promotion – from 20 thousand rubles per month.

Table: Hotels and similar accommodation

What are the features of opening a hostel as a franchise?

If you have no more than 200-300 thousand rubles on hand, but really want to open your own business, then you can work “under the wing” of already existing companies.

Thus, the hostel chain Like and BM Hostel are very popular in Russia. All that is required is to make a lump sum contribution (from 200 thousand rubles) and allocate from 150 thousand rubles to start a business.

At the same time, the company provides a high-quality website for use, ensures step by step instructions to action, gives advice in times of difficulty, allows you to work under your own brand, and so on.

Table: Number of persons accommodated in hotels

What are the owners' reviews about the hostel as a business?

This direction is popular among young and active people who do not have large savings. I know this from myself, since I have been in this business for a long time and was very young at the time of opening.

At the same time, most entrepreneurs successfully develop their business and recoup their costs within 8-10 months after starting work. The average monthly profit can range from 170-200 thousand rubles. Over time, you can reach 400-500 thousand rubles per month. It all depends on the capacity of the hostel.

If you don’t have the desire or time to develop the business yourself, then you can find advertisements for the sale of a hostel business and buy a suitable option. In this case, all that remains is to develop the current project and generate income.

Quite a lot of people wonder how to open a hostel in an apartment legally, but not everyone knows the answer. All because they didn’t study the information. To know the answer for sure, you just need to carefully read this article.

Disadvantages of the hostel

Before you open a hostel in an apartment, legally or not, you need to know all the disadvantages of this business.

The first thing I would like to note is the presence of strangers in the same room. Not all hostels allow you to rent a room. Usually tourists are provided with a bed in a large room. Not everyone will be comfortable being in the same room with strangers.

Also, before you open a hostel in an apartment legally, you need to take care of a place to store valuables. A very big problem for guests is where to leave valuables, because there are many strangers in the room.

In addition, a shared bathroom also scares off visitors to some extent.

  • Firstly, it is impossible to visit it, because there is always someone there.
  • Secondly, even with very good cleaning, it is unhygienic.

Hostels don't offer extras because they're a cheap place to stay, not a five-star hotel. And this upsets many visitors.

There is also a disadvantage on the business side - it is quite difficult to find premises for a hostel. After all, special requirements are placed on him.

The downside is that marketing alliances are very poorly developed in our country, although this practice is widespread in Europe. This is just an agreement between the hostel owner, for example, and the owner of a cafe working nearby, so that guests are provided with free or discounted breakfasts.

Another point that is worth thinking about before opening a hostel in an apartment legally is whether the room complies with European standards. Of course, in our country there are no such standards, but such compliance, although it will cost a lot, will quickly pay off with grateful guests.

Most entrepreneurs, after opening a hostel in an apartment legally, decide that it is better to work without the help of intermediaries. At first, of course, yes, but over time this can lead to a narrowing of the target audience and a small hotel occupancy.

Advantages of the hostel

Everything is clear about the shortcomings, but what are the advantages of this business? What do you need to know before opening a hostel in an apartment?

The main reason why hostels are popular is their inexpensive cost of living.

You can rent not only a room, but also a bed. This is a great solution for single travelers.

Main the target audience- this is youth. This means that they will be interested in communicating and meeting new people. This means that they will not be embarrassed by life in a hostel style.

Most often, hostels are located near the center, which attracts tourists even more.

What is needed to open

Of course, every novice businessman thinks about how to open a hostel in an apartment. You need to start by understanding the purpose of the hostel. It belongs to the tourism sector, and therefore does not require many documents to open it.

First of all, you need to visit the tax office and register as an individual entrepreneur or as a company with limited liability. After registration, you need to open a current bank account to which all transfers will be made.

It turns out that before you open a hostel from scratch in an apartment, you don’t need to run through all sorts of authorities and collect documents. However, there are several mandatory conditions.

  1. For each person in the hostel there must be at least five square meters of living space.
  2. One sink should be installed for six people.
  3. The toilet is designed for twelve people.
  4. One shower can be used by no more than fourteen people.

The same applies to questions of how to open a hostel from scratch in an apartment. But there are also some nuances:

  • It is prohibited to use basements and basements for the hostel;
  • the premises must comply with fire safety standards;
  • Hostel owners must keep migration records of foreigners.

That is, to open a business you also need to obtain permission from the fire service and the SES.

How to prepare documents

If you cannot register with the tax office, you can turn to online services for help. Specialists will help you collect the package of papers required for registration, this saves a lot of time.

When the organization has already been formalized, the question of business support arises. You can also contact accounting services for this. They will help you collect documents and save time and money. They are interested in clients, so there are practically no mistakes.

How to choose a room

Before you think about how to open a hostel in your apartment legally, you need to analyze the territory. Naturally, it is best to open a hotel of this type in the center. Especially if it is not the capital. The size of the room is selected based on the number of beds. So, you cannot make less than ten beds in a hotel. An ordinary residential apartment is perfect, provided the footage is respected. If we assume that the price per square meter will be around fifteen thousand, then a three-room apartment with ten beds will be enough.

How to open a hostel in your apartment is more or less clear. But how to do the same in a separate room? This is also a good option. In this case, the possibilities increase, for example, you can rent several floors. The price per square meter is approximately the same as for an apartment, but you can find a room where they ask for ten thousand. Redevelopment along with repairs will cost eight thousand per square meter.

Against the backdrop of all these calculations, the construction of a separate building, which will cost no more than six million, no longer seems such a crazy idea.

The important thing is that the opening of a hotel in non-residential premises complicates everything. For such a business, registration of an LLC, the presence of partners and an additional package of documents are required.

Algorithm of actions for opening a hostel in

apartment

It's not all that complicated, you just need to follow a certain order. How to legally open a hostel in an apartment in Russia?

Before renting an apartment for a hostel or using your own, you need to conduct a number of studies. For example, find out what kind of people live around, their social status, transport links of the area, the location of the house itself, the presence of shops and other necessary institutions around it.

To correctly assess the competitiveness of a future hostel, you need to find similar establishments nearby.

Much of the hotel business depends on neighbors. To prevent the local police officer from visiting the entrepreneur often in the future due to the huge number of complaints, you need to find a common language with your neighbors.

It would be nice to write a business plan: “How to open a hostel in an apartment.” If it is compiled correctly, it will take no more than six months to pay off.

When the place is chosen, they begin to arrange the arrangement. The first thing you need to do if you run a business in your own apartment is to remove it from the housing stock. If this is not done, each guest will be required to sign a rental agreement. According to the hostel rules, there are no single rooms. For this reason, it is necessary to make a redevelopment. In connection with such problems, you need to think ten times whether it is possible to open a hostel in an apartment and whether this is necessary.

Nuances of redevelopment

As a rule, in such hotels it is customary to have a certain number of double rooms, and the remaining rooms are occupied by bunk beds. The renovation should be of a middle class, so it is easier to purchase the necessary furniture and materials from a domestic manufacturer. With such repairs, you can meet six hundred thousand. There is no need to make any unimaginable decor in the rooms; clean and bright rooms will be quite enough. But you need to choose very high quality beds, because healthy sleep is important for many tourists.

The distance between the latter should not be less than seventy-five centimeters. The color scheme is preferably bright, because mostly young people will live there. This once again suggests that before opening a hostel in an apartment for illegal immigrants or foreign tourists, you need to think through the design very carefully.

Recruitment

It is the individual approach that distinguishes a small hostel from a huge hotel. Quality service can make a hotel very popular or force it to close soon. Therefore, you need to select personnel very carefully.

In order for the hostel to function normally, it is enough to:

  • hotel manager;
  • administrator;
  • pairs of maids;
  • cooks;
  • assistant cook

It has long been known that it is by the administrator that a hotel or hostel is judged. Therefore, to the question of what is needed to open a hostel in an apartment and it generates income, you can answer - a good administrator. And indeed, the more pleasant and responsive the person at the reception, the more good reviews remains about the hostel. His ability to speak English also plays an important role. English language. Ideally, the administrator must be fluent in spoken language.

How to advertise correctly

Nowadays, most people seek refuge on the World Wide Web. This means that the main emphasis should be on advertising on the Internet.

  1. Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki work well. Recently, Instagram has gained enormous popularity and traffic.
  2. Word of mouth still working. If a person liked the service, he will recommend the hostel to all his friends and acquaintances.
  3. Contextual or banner advertising (when a photo is added to the text) also show good results. The cost of such a service is rather high, but it will also bring good results. So, this kind of marketing will cost up to sixty thousand.
  4. Good old business cards also show good results. They need to be placed in public places (cafes, bars, train stations, educational establishments). This also includes advertisements in free newspapers. This is not a very expensive advertisement, because a text ad in it can be published for two thousand, and a modular ad can be published in the region of five thousand.
  5. For travel agencies And corporate clients You can develop special discount programs. But we must not forget about sports clubs, schools or other institutions that are often on the move.

Only Full time job can make the business successful. You cannot first find out how to open a hostel in an apartment in Moscow or a provincial town, and then just sit and wait for the profit to flow into your hands. Only constant updating of services, improving the quality of service and new advertisement can ensure prosperity.

Secrets of a profitable business

The main function of hostels around the world was considered to be the provision of overnight accommodation. But over time, everything changes. Now even a hostel requires at least a minimum package of services. Tourists need Internet access, as well as toiletries and cosmetics, and they are willing to pay for this.

In addition, you can put a hairdryer, coffee maker, microwave, refrigerator and other equipment in common areas.

Regarding nutrition, the issue can be resolved in different ways. One of them is to give the guest the right to prepare their own food. The second option is to have a chef on staff, which means you need to create a menu. The third option could be an agreement with the owner of the nearest cafe to supply food or a discount for guests. It is important not to stand still and to constantly develop and introduce diversity.

Some nuances

Today travel business very popular both in our country and in the world. This means that competition even among hostels is enormous. Therefore, the services provided must correspond to a given level. A modern tourist is accustomed to comfort; for this reason, he is unlikely to return to a hostel that does not correspond to one star. And it is not the consumer who is to blame for this, but the entrepreneur. Due to competition, it was businessmen who increased the level of comfort for the same money. This trend has led to the fact that opening a hostel now requires a lot of money.

A modest interior and list of services will be in demand only if there is no competition.

Among other things, it is very important to build the correct algorithm for registering guests. Everything must happen on time and according to all the rules.

Concerning household appliances, then there are also some nuances here. For example, it is better to refuse ordinary teapots. It will be much more convenient to use thermopots. They are much larger in size and boiling water is always at hand.

You can also try to create a hostel website. Firstly, it builds trust among tourists. Secondly, where else if not on your own website can you post complete information about your business?

To summarize, we can say that it’s not enough to figure out how to organize a hostel in an apartment. It is important to learn how to conduct and develop it correctly. Because time passes very quickly, and the level of development of mini-hotels is high. And consumer demands are constantly growing. But it’s very interesting to create something from scratch and bring it to some grandiose level. It is quite possible that one hostel will lead to a whole network of prestigious hotels around the world. To do this, you just need to work hard and not give up.

But not everything depends on the leader. Many issues are related to the hotel staff. It should consist of professionals who not only do their job well, but also love it. It is the person who plunges headlong into a business who will be able to make it better, not because the boss demands it, but out of personal desire. The collective mood is no less important. The key to success is a friendly team that knows how to solve all problems internally. Only when people are ready to help each other and listen will things progress. If the team is quarrelsome, then they will simply drown the business with their squabbles. Therefore, the manager must take the most responsible approach to the selection of employees. After all, he does not take servants for himself, but chooses a family on which the success of his brainchild depends.

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