The innocent stays in hostels during the study days one day became an idea of opening a hostel of our own, actually two hostels, in Slovenia. Two good friends Samo and Sanel used to travel and sleep in hostels, which allowed them a well enough price and attend many international rowing tournaments.
When their rowing carrier ended, this became the inspiration to open their first
hostel in the very centre of Koper. Somewhat confused and still green in the field they’ve encountered many problems and complications but with a firm resolve and being ready to tackle any kind of problem they’ve even expanded their business and opened another
hostel in Bovec, which is among the biggest tourist destinations in Slovenia. We could say it’s an adrenalin lover’s paradise. All along they’ve also received the support of the
Hostelling International Slovenia, which is trying to improve the visibility of these two hostels around the world. And here is their story.
Your first contact with hostels?
Our first contact with a hostel is from the student years. We were training rowing and as a student team of eight people and competing in various places in Europe, such as Belgrade, Budapest, Wroclaw, Split… As we usually had to cover the expenses ourselves, we were always looking for the cheapest place to stay, so we slept in hostels, making many friends along the way.
Why did you decide to open two hostels, of which one is on the coast and the other in the centre of Bovec?
Hostel Histria in Koper was open in 2011 as a challenge. After the completed student rowing carrier we were reflecting about the people visiting the city and realized that there is nowhere to stay in Koper except in regular hotels, so there was nothing to offer the younger backpackers. So with no experience we rented an old Istrian house in the centre of the city and made it into a hostel. Once we realized the hostel in Koper has visitors only in the high summer season we’ve decided to find a place that would be visited in the winter as well. Sanel always loved Bovec, ever since he was a kid, so yes, he got a good deal right in Bovec, which – like Koper – hadn’t had a hostel before. Lady luck was not on our side, because as you know, the cable cart at the ski slopes on Kanin is not operating, but we hope in the next years this will change and the
Hostel Bovec will become attractive in winter.
We currently have two hostels and tell the guests of one about the possibility of the other, as the various activities and different surroundings of both hostels complement each other.
What do you understand under the word hostel?
For us hostel means offering people a place to sleep in, but also a possibility to meet and mingle with people from all over the world, making new friends in a relaxed atmosphere while being open to different culture and habits. People who prefer a stay in a hostel are generally more open and with wider view of the world and like to discover new, still unknown parts of the world.
Why did you decide to become a part of the Hostelling International network?
Hostelling International is the biggest NGO in the world and connects over 4000 hostels worldwide. It’s an honour to be part of the network with both our hostels. HI has certain standards, which we need to meet in order to be a member, meaning, it’s also a synonym for quality. Guests know the organization and often this is the reason why they chose to stay with us.
How satisfied are you with the membership?
Very. The logo of HI (the house and a tree) gets us noticed and the guests are more relaxed upon entering the object that is part of the HI. We are in the network where we can learn many things through the best practice examples and get new ideas on how to improve our offer. HI is not just another booking portal, but a whole organization, which takes care of its promotion and the promotion of the network itself, but also of promotion of individual hostel through various internet channels. We believe that the new portal HI-360 as the next step as it will offer not only the booking of a nightly stay, but promotion of the entire destination, along with trips that the hostel can offer the travellers once they arrive.
What does the HI logo mean to you? How do you use it?
As I’ve said, it’s a recognizable brand and a synonym of trust and quality. We use it everywhere we appear. It’s on advertising boards, catalogues, flyers… It’s on all the deliverables and on all portals we state we are the member of HI. Many guests decide to stay with us based on the logo they see.
What are the problems you encounter while running a hostel and how do you solve them?
We solve all the problems right away. There are several troubles, mostly with Slovene bureaucracy and getting various documentation, but also with the small size of Slovenia. It’s just not the part of our tradition.
Many Slovenes still associate a hostel with poor people, loud people and so on. As in Koper, so in Bovec, the neighbours were very sceptical of the hostel, but with time we are proving ourselves, mostly since we’re able to survive the global recession with the offer of a budget friendly board. The biggest problem we have is during the high summer season, as it gets really hard to find good help. In our hostel we need to take care of all the errands ourselves: receive guests, make beds, clean toilets and all with a smile on our face. The work is always done by the person that has the current shift, but during summer we try to get them help.
How do you promote your hostels?
We promote hostels through social networks, the online magazine the
Globetrotter and through blog
Say HI to Slovenia. We try to be a part of all initiatives the HI Slovenia organizes. We made brochures that we distribute among various locations such as tourist info centres, bus stations and railway stations, and similar. This year we also entered a cooperation with the city municipality of Koper, where we attended the tourist fair of Alpe Adria and arranged an agreement for a common representation at upcoming bigger tourist fairs.
We are also part of larger online booking portals. It’s true, they charge a fee for every booked room, but they also bring in many reservations for rooms and a possibility to rate our accommodations. The ratings are the feedback information we get as to where to improve, what to offer in the future and generally to get to know our weak and strong points. 80% of current backpackers book their stay for the night in advance, meaning that an accommodation that is not present on online booking portals virtually doesn’t exist. And although there are fees to be paid, the most expensive thing a hostel can have (the most expensive for the hostel meaning the least profitable) is an empty bed.
What does a promotion through blogs, written by world travellers, mean to you?
Blogs that are written by world travellers and are followed by a large population of other traveller are a great additional promotion for the hostel. We can say it’s a worldwide advertisement with no additional costs, for these blogs do reach the largest of audiances.
How do you promote through social networks?
We have open profiles on
Facebook and
Google+. We use these channels to promote the location itself, but also the events and special offers we can give to our guests. We also get various questions through Facebook ad even some bookings. By publishing many of our pictures, of the hostel and the events around us, we make sure the guests know in advance where they are coming to and how they will be able to relax once they arrive.
We try to take part in every initiative involving promotion, especially since they are free. Every publication, picture or comment makes us more visible in the online community. When a traveller looks for a place to spend the night, our hostel pops up very high, so the chances are, it’s the hostel that will be selected.
