It’s fair to say that the concept of hostel stays is fairly new in the industry, but in no way has its novelty led to reluctance among travelers. Rather, travelers embraced the whole experience of a hostel stay with open arms. To see the industry grow year after year, only to suddenly have it snatched out from under you – too many of us know the feeling all too well.
Over the past year and a half, we’ve all gone through a trial of fire, thanks to a microscopic virus with an urge to kill. Now that we’re (hopefully) emerging on the other side of things, I sat down to gather my thoughts on what has been an unpleasant roller-coaster ride for us at goSTOPS, for the rest of the travel and hospitality industry, and of course, the rest of the planet.
When Strengths Became Weaknesses
Sure, the fact that hostels offer cheap accommodation is a pretty big draw for many travelers. But it’s the other things about a hostel stay that truly attract them, things like meeting like-minded strangers, attempting to cook in a communal kitchen, bonding over board games or movies. Ticking off the Instagrammable aspects only makes it better – throw in the right combination of colors, fairy lights, and cushions, and travelers follow like moths to a flame. After all, it was this sort of experience and the urge to share its delight with other travelers that drove Pallavi and me to start goSTOPS.
Hostels act as a bridge to that Pinterest-picture perfect idea of interaction while traveling – what was idealized can finally be fulfilled, and more importantly, without blowing a hole through your pockets. It gives travelers a sociable, shared space that you can step back from as soon as you want to, nailing the balance between socializing and unwinding. This sociable aspect, undeniably the most important and distinct feature of hostels, is what the Coronavirus attacked.
Procedures, Protocols & Precautions
While a hostel stay implies shared sleeping arrangements, 21st-century hostels take care to give their travelers the convenience of choice. Hang out in the social space, but retreat to the privacy of a smaller dorm or your own room once social fatigue sets in. But in the dawn of a socially distanced reality, we were left wondering who, if anyone, would prefer shared spaces anymore.
Everything changed – marketing strategies took a more humanistic approach, letting people know they weren’t alone amidst the isolation. Big plans for expansions came to a grinding halt, funds that were to go into bigger projects went instead into sanitation drives. Terms like ‘Covid SOPs’, ‘social distancing norms’, and ‘safety protocol’ aren’t just terms we hear all the time, but we live them all the time too.
At the most basic level, goSTOPS was striving to meet the bare minimum while making sure we did more. Daily temperature checks, staff covered in protective gear, fumigation, and sanitization became the need of the hour, as they rightly should’ve been. This was a new, upgraded us, a goSTOPS 2.0, literally leveled up to make sure we were up-to-date with a pandemic. Workations and Covid-escapes are the new demands, and we’re making sure we meet them.
Innovation And Adaptation
Now that the travel industry is slowly limping back to pre-Covid times, it’s safe to say that we emerge from the pandemic as changed people. As much as we hope the numbers go back to what they were before Corona struck, we had to admit that things can’t be done the same way if we want to sustain ourselves in a post-pandemic world.
While basic Standard Operating Procedures continue to be in place, there’s a lot more that can be done. For instance, all our hostels have single-use plates and cutlery for the sake of safety and hygiene. They’re all biodegradable of course; no sense in giving nature even more reasons to turn on us! We’ve got antiviral disinfectant mats, so even shoes stay sanitized.
And in a first, our dorms are physically distanced, enabling better safety measures with low occupancy and safe distances between the occupants. Finally, a 24/7 sanitization service for any part of the hostel, at any time of the day or night. These changes aren’t to be lauded, or praised – they come out of necessity and concern, at a time when not just us but our peers are making such moves as well.
Rising From The Ashes
They say learning never truly stops, but the pandemic had us all on our toes, learning to adapt every second of the day. And all of this while we saw industry peers lose the fight for survival, being forced to shut shop for good.
Echoing Pink Floyd, we’re still running to catch up with the sun, and it continues to race us around, but for once, I think I’m thankful for the constant passing of time. Reality is finally shedding its dystopian skin, and at the risk of a jinx, things are finally beginning to look up.
This reality is, dare I say it, our “new normal”, and we welcome the change it brings. Tomorrow certainly seems hopeful, but as the day winds down, the biggest lesson I’ve learned is how integral it is to be open to change, and how grateful we are to see eager travelers walk through our doors again.
Authored by Pankaj Parwanda, co-founder of goSTOPS.
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