It all started with a trip to Europe in 2014 by a young traveler – Pranav Dangi. When he reached Geneva to board a train to another town, bad weather caused the train services to be canceled. Now, staying back for that night in Geneva was the one and only solution. But finding a budgetfriendly and safe hotel to crash is not a piece of cake in such places. Hotels would have quite heavy on their pockets, hence, his friend suggested to consider a hostel there. To his surprise, he found one hostel near the train station for under 10 Euros. After reaching the place, both of them found the place fantastically clean and lively, full of travelers hailing from all across the globe.
Pranav reminisces it as a life-changing experience for them. After one stay at the hostel, he was hit with a deep realization to start a similar venture in India too. When 1 out of every 4 people travels on budget and 25% of the 1.3 billion Indians as youth, Pranav realized a huge potential in this segment and became optimistic about the growth of the sector in coming years. He is extensively experienced in the hospitality sector, real estate space utilization, team development, scaling up startups, co-living/co-working/co-sharing sector and online sales. He wishes to create an impact with his innovative venture – The Hosteller. We are in a freewheeling conversation with Pranav who is spearheading the company as the Founder-CEO and scaling it to higher aloft.
COMPANY AT A GLANCE
The Hosteller is a chain of backpacker hostels located across 30+ locations in India. It is the perfect pit-stop for global as well as local travelers to relax, rejuvenate and experience India’s rich heritage while not worrying about a clean, safe and affordable place to stay. Today, it is portrayed as India’s most preferred backpacker hostel chain that is specially designed, filled with activities & experiences for travelers to enjoy and offers a quality budget accommodation.
The service doesn’t end here. They cover a variety of services like mountain treks, bungee jumping, river rafting, food walks, photography walks, city pub crawls, game nights, movie nights, star gazing bonfires and overnight camping trips. “With us, you can make the most out of your special backpacking trip. We pride ourselves on creating authentic experiences and friendships for our travelers, that stretch well beyond the vicinity of our hostels; and last well beyond the vicinity of your vacation,” asserted Pranav.
Targeting the trips and tours segment, the company has a special vertical that ranges from 2-3 day mountain getaways to 8-10 day expeditions. For those craving adventure, these expeditions are carefully curated, full of exciting activities and managed by experts. Needless to mention that the hospitality market has evolved in the most drastic ways. Here, one more interesting thing about the evolution of travel is the shift from more traditionally curated trips to longer, slower and more spontaneous trips. This philosophy has seeped into all categories of travel bookers ranging from solo travelers to large family groups.
COMMON ROADBLOCKS
Across the B2C sector, there are several single players that are mushrooming at a higher pace. Moreover, the delayed tech advancements in the hostel industry and seeking the reliable talent suitable for the backpacker are also the common challenges we are dealing with. “To add value to our guests and improve our LTV, we make sure to flood guests with great activities, experiences and highly standardized stays, so that they always leave happy and recommend us ahead. In terms of tech, The Hosteller has incorporated several automations and tech-driven processes in the company to alleviate human labour and create symmetry in internal workings. It also helps us methodize reporting and keep a check on quality. Hiring is a tricky one as the backpacker hostel industry is fresh and not many job seekers have experience working in or with one. But we take extensive measures to provide them with a rich and thorough training so that they are fully equipped,” reveals the Founder-CEO on dealing with the challenges thriving the industry.
WHAT SETS THEM APART?
The alternate accommodation industry has been significantly disrupted since the inception of the company with its highquality hostels and best-in-class hospitality. Today, it has served over 500,000 customers and over 9000 trekkers and has managed to scale splendidly even during the pandemic period. In fact, it witnessed 125% growth rate despite Covid. The factors that gives its an edge in the market are –
- An operational model for high-quality delivery assurance
- Offbeat locations & quality unique real estate infrastructures
- Variety of experiential activities to make each stay memorable Standardized service standards across multiple locations
- Single funnel hiring & training program specially catering to hostel-like hospitality SOPs
- Budgeted offering starting at as less as at INR 500/- per night
- Design standardization • Experienced & self-driven team
- Best available pricing • High online ratings
THE CULTURE WITH A DIFFERENCE
The company is led by an enthusiastic group that is being nurtured under the guidance of Pranav Dangi. He is a passionate traveler and young entrepreneur with considerable experience in the areas related to budget travel & tourism (backpacking sector) in India. Working for his startup, The Hosteller, since its inception in 2014, he and his team has catered to 500K travelers from all around the globe and provided services ranging from hospitality, F&B and travel packages. Inclusive, energetic, creative, collaborative and progressive – are the terms that define the culture at the company perfectly. Adding more to it, Pranav states, “We always encourage the thirst for knowledge and make sure we are doing our best to put a little bit of ourselves in all our products. The team at The Hosteller has been pivotal in the growth of the company with their incredible hard work, stoic dedication and absolute resolve to blitz the market and always bring the best for our customers.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Pranav endeavors to make his venture the world’s largest self-operated and standardized chain of backpacker hostels. He conveys, “This includes getting to 250 locations comprising 10,000 beds by the end of 2024. With the expansion into South India already on its way, we plan to become pan India sooner than later. The company’s future endeavors will also include setting up experiential backpacker hostels in neighboring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka to name a few.”
