WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:03.500 Yeah, well, I yeah, I think that what Kyle is 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:05.700 getting at a little bit is that shift from just 00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:09.800 being cheap lodging in the area to being a place 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:12.560 to connect, a place where you realize like that 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:14.460 you have a lot in common with the people around 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:17.839 you. I just think that is so. so meaningful and 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:20.559 we get that feedback from people every day um 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:22.879 that and you know we get the reviews like i've 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:24.719 never stayed in a hostel before i was nervous 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:27.160 of what might happen and then the staff were 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:29.640 so friendly and we carved pumpkins in the common 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:32.320 room and like this was the best way to start 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:34.939 like transitioning to my new job or going on 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:36.939 a road trip or i'm going through something at 00:00:36.939 --> 00:00:39.299 home and like i didn't know that i needed this 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:41.479 and like that's that's the magic and the fact 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:43.899 that that just happens consistently is like yeah 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:46.439 it's ridiculous i feel like with like Hello, 00:00:46.500 --> 00:00:48.299 friends and travelers. Thanks for listening. 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:50.579 You are riding along on the Hostel Road Trip 00:00:50.579 --> 00:00:53.420 podcast. Our mission is to spread awareness of 00:00:53.420 --> 00:00:55.979 the true hostel experience in the Americas and 00:00:55.979 --> 00:00:58.159 share stories from the fascinating hosts who 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:00.820 create those unique facilities. I'm your host, 00:01:00.899 --> 00:01:03.119 Jimmy Black, joined alongside co -founder of 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:05.799 International Travelers House, Bobby Dyer. Each 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:08.519 session, we sit down with hostel operators or 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:11.579 travel influencers to hear about their road success, 00:01:11.980 --> 00:01:15.459 discuss trending hostel topics. and close with 00:01:15.459 --> 00:01:17.900 tips for travelers who are seeking to have the 00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:20.239 ultimate experience when visiting each destination. 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:23.540 You can't afford to miss this trip. Now fasten 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:30.560 your seatbelts and let's hit the road. Welcome 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:34.280 back to the Hostile Road Trip Podcast for another 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:37.640 fun -filled episode. My name is Jimmy Black. 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:41.370 I'm live from the ITH Big Bear. Hostel location. 00:01:41.469 --> 00:01:44.829 I'm joined with my co -founder and handsome partner, 00:01:44.969 --> 00:01:49.250 Robert Dyer. He's down in San Diego. Great to 00:01:49.250 --> 00:01:53.409 be here. Very excited to have the Conway Hostel. 00:01:53.769 --> 00:01:58.209 You know the slang, the Coho Hostel. We've got 00:01:58.209 --> 00:02:01.769 the founders with us here. Just so happy to have 00:02:01.769 --> 00:02:06.780 you and join us on the episode here. We're excited 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:09.039 to hear about what you've created here in Conway 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:11.580 and want to hear a little bit more about what's 00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:13.400 going on up in New England with the hostel industry. 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:15.699 As we know, there's some really exciting stuff 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:17.219 in the past couple of years. So thank you so 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:19.939 much for joining us. Thank you so much for having 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:23.520 us. We're stoked to be here. Yeah, rock on. Okay, 00:02:23.580 --> 00:02:29.599 so I always love to just, before we get into 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:32.960 the hostel, in the facility, in the town you're 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:36.349 in, tell us a bit about your journey. And how 00:02:36.349 --> 00:02:38.729 you got into hostels personally. Haley, do you 00:02:38.729 --> 00:02:42.229 want to start? Yeah, sure. Yeah. So I, I'm one 00:02:42.229 --> 00:02:44.530 of those people, I feel like classic in, in the 00:02:44.530 --> 00:02:46.969 U S I didn't really think about hostels at all 00:02:46.969 --> 00:02:48.770 until I was in my twenties and I was going abroad. 00:02:48.969 --> 00:02:51.009 Right. And then everybody says, Oh, are you going 00:02:51.009 --> 00:02:53.069 to stay in hostels? And I stayed in a hostel 00:02:53.069 --> 00:02:55.830 in Ireland and had a really memorable experience. 00:02:55.870 --> 00:02:58.750 Of course, like now I realize it's one of the 00:02:58.750 --> 00:03:01.409 classic hostel experiences. You stay up all night, 00:03:01.509 --> 00:03:04.370 like playing music and chatting and meeting new 00:03:04.370 --> 00:03:06.990 people. And I remember thinking after that trip, 00:03:07.009 --> 00:03:09.050 like, wow, that hostel experience was really 00:03:09.050 --> 00:03:12.229 cool. Okay. ever i went back to real life um 00:03:12.229 --> 00:03:15.969 i ended up being in uh outdoor ed for a little 00:03:15.969 --> 00:03:19.610 while and working in outdoor education and that's 00:03:19.610 --> 00:03:22.789 where i met kyle and uh well i don't want to 00:03:22.789 --> 00:03:25.550 step on your hostel experiences either but yeah 00:03:25.550 --> 00:03:27.930 i i other than that i stayed in a couple hostels 00:03:27.930 --> 00:03:29.969 i stayed in a couple in the u .s even though 00:03:29.969 --> 00:03:32.719 i know and that's when i kind of realized Again, 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:35.259 what everybody starts to realize is there aren't 00:03:35.259 --> 00:03:38.039 quite as many hostels in the U .S. as maybe abroad. 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:41.479 But slowly and surely there are more popping 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.460 up and some definitely some gems, a lot of gems 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:47.080 out there. But, yeah, kind of slowly but surely 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:49.259 whenever I was traveling, it's like I got on 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:51.300 my radar. Oh, I guess I'll stay in a hostel. 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:53.840 But maybe I'll hold off on how we started running 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:56.280 a hostel before I won't take your floor away. 00:03:56.520 --> 00:04:01.409 Yeah. Yeah. Kyle, how did you get into it? Yeah, 00:04:01.409 --> 00:04:06.469 I had never heard the term hostile prior to college. 00:04:06.530 --> 00:04:09.990 And it's probably like the end of college. I 00:04:09.990 --> 00:04:14.490 had a friend studying abroad in Prague and the 00:04:14.490 --> 00:04:19.670 classic like, oh, come on over. And it took my 00:04:19.670 --> 00:04:23.149 college like overcharging me one semester and 00:04:23.149 --> 00:04:25.089 then issuing me a refund check. I was like, oh, 00:04:25.149 --> 00:04:27.629 surprise cash. All right, we're going to Europe. 00:04:28.470 --> 00:04:33.259 Nice. yeah um yeah i stayed in a bunch of hostels 00:04:33.259 --> 00:04:36.660 around like eastern europe uh and just incredible 00:04:36.660 --> 00:04:39.800 like uh traveling just totally by myself i eventually 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:43.000 met up with my friend over there um but yeah 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.100 just so cool to like show up meet people from 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:48.079 all over the world and then like ending up in 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:51.519 like a bar beneath the city in bradislava with 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:53.939 like a dozen other people just talking about 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:57.480 like their travels and just uh yeah like the 00:04:57.480 --> 00:05:00.459 cities and everything were gorgeous but I just 00:05:00.459 --> 00:05:02.800 see like that was my biggest takeaway was just 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:06.600 to meet other people like going solo and then 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:08.959 like leaving with friendships. Like I was only 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:12.639 out there maybe two weeks. And yeah, that was 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:16.040 like that was the lingering sentiment for me. 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:18.639 You know, you both hit on something here for 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:22.120 me that I had. on my experience as well haley 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:24.439 my experience is literally like mirror image 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:27.360 of yours didn't know what they were went studied 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.980 abroad in ireland and then every weekend we would 00:05:29.980 --> 00:05:31.699 go travel to a different country and stay in 00:05:31.699 --> 00:05:33.680 these things called hostels and i was looking 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:35.540 around and you know i'm 20 years old and i'm 00:05:35.540 --> 00:05:39.339 like why don't we have these yeah yeah exactly 00:05:39.339 --> 00:05:42.480 what the fuck you know like where did this come 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:44.879 from but me and my buddies would travel in these 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:47.230 all the time and then i went you know, back to 00:05:47.230 --> 00:05:49.189 the real world and ended up in a cubicle for 00:05:49.189 --> 00:05:51.610 five years. And then thank God I found myself 00:05:51.610 --> 00:05:53.910 spinning out of that and being like, well, I 00:05:53.910 --> 00:05:59.509 remember being happy. That was the last time 00:05:59.509 --> 00:06:03.689 I remember being happy. Right. Yeah. Let's go 00:06:03.689 --> 00:06:06.870 chase after that happens. And then Kyle, did 00:06:06.870 --> 00:06:09.709 you say that you were in Prague in like a, like 00:06:09.709 --> 00:06:13.569 a bomb shelter bunker bar? Yeah. I had some crazy 00:06:13.569 --> 00:06:16.300 story from that night actually. Yeah. I think 00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:18.860 I was in that same bar because I went to Prague 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:22.100 as well. And I remember being like three levels 00:06:22.100 --> 00:06:25.439 below the surface in what was like a World War 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:28.779 II bunker bar. And I was like, what's going on 00:06:28.779 --> 00:06:31.259 in here? You know, it's just so cool. It's like 00:06:31.259 --> 00:06:33.660 elaborate. And like everyone down there was so 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:35.720 chill and traveling and in the same mindset. 00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:37.720 And so I think we might have been in that same 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:40.939 exact spot before. But, you know, it makes me 00:06:40.939 --> 00:06:44.860 think that like without studying abroad. Hostiles 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:47.680 in America might not exist because besides that, 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:51.120 they have such a bad reputation in a lot of ways. 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:55.519 And we're really like the shining light of people 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:58.120 that like, no, they're not bad. You're not going 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:02.939 to get murdered. I promise. But in America, we 00:07:02.939 --> 00:07:04.959 have this horrible stigma because of these horror 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:07.660 movies. And that's what we're trying to do with 00:07:07.660 --> 00:07:10.800 this podcast. And the genesis of this podcast 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:15.079 was. about hostels in the Americas because there 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:18.399 are so many cool spots and there's more opening 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:21.579 and we've got to do our darndest to make sure 00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:23.939 that people know about that as much as possible. 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:28.680 And also to encourage others to open up more 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:33.160 good hostels. So that's why we're excited to 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:35.319 do these episodes more and more with these places 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:38.300 like yours that are opening up. But okay, enough 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:42.149 about us. Let's talk about... The Conway Hostel, 00:07:42.149 --> 00:07:45.850 the Coho. When did you open up this place? Tell 00:07:45.850 --> 00:07:50.209 us the journey. The journey? Okay, yeah. Despite 00:07:50.209 --> 00:07:54.910 advice to the contrary from everyone we knew 00:07:54.910 --> 00:07:57.610 and loved, we opened it at the tail end of the 00:07:57.610 --> 00:08:01.310 pandemic. Good for you. Glutton for punishment, 00:08:01.370 --> 00:08:03.769 I guess. Oh yeah, like the whole world is shut 00:08:03.769 --> 00:08:06.220 down. And you can't be in the same room as each 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:11.120 other. Let's open a hostel. Sure. I like it. 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:13.319 Just bulldog through that right there. I love 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:18.139 it. Yeah. Okay. I will say it was a little bit 00:08:18.139 --> 00:08:20.120 of a gateway. That's how we got into the building. 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:22.420 You know, the previous owner was like, you know, 00:08:22.459 --> 00:08:24.759 been in hostels for a while, ended up just moving 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:26.939 on to other things. They're going to school for 00:08:26.939 --> 00:08:30.040 social work now, just transitioning. And we were 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:33.200 the only folks to put an offer. on the building 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:35.279 who wanted to keep it a hostel. Everybody else 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:37.600 wanted to acquire it for apartments or office 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:39.659 buildings and the town wanted to keep it a hostel. 00:08:39.779 --> 00:08:41.679 So that was our gateway. That's what got us in. 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:45.840 yeah that we wanted to have a hostel at the end 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:48.080 of the pandemic yeah our initial bid was like 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:50.659 offensively low we're like there's no way this 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:53.100 is gonna happen we were we thought like if this 00:08:53.100 --> 00:08:54.860 goes through we'll we'll move back because we've 00:08:54.860 --> 00:08:56.299 been living in colorado and we thought if it 00:08:56.299 --> 00:08:58.620 doesn't you know we'll find another plan but 00:08:58.620 --> 00:09:02.779 like we might as well try yeah but this is this 00:09:02.779 --> 00:09:06.000 is a beautiful example of some highlights for 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:08.100 listeners out there that might be thinking of 00:09:08.100 --> 00:09:10.259 hostels one of the things that we always talk 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:13.980 about is it's so much easier in our experience, 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:18.159 in how we've expanded, is to take over existing 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:21.000 hostels. They're already set up. The bones are 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:22.740 there. The permits are there. The licenses are 00:09:22.740 --> 00:09:25.240 there. And then you also do bring up another 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:28.899 great highlight where there is perceived risk. 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:32.100 There's actually a lot of opportunity. So because 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:35.259 you were willing to do that in the same situation 00:09:35.259 --> 00:09:37.279 we were in, there were a lot of hostels during 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.389 the pandemic that either closed. because they 00:09:40.389 --> 00:09:42.330 just couldn't stay in business or close because 00:09:42.330 --> 00:09:44.490 the owners were like, I don't see this ever coming 00:09:44.490 --> 00:09:46.990 back around or being a good idea. So it created 00:09:46.990 --> 00:09:48.950 an opportunity for people to get in hostels. 00:09:48.990 --> 00:09:50.730 And the last thing I want to touch on that you 00:09:50.730 --> 00:09:54.330 highlighted is there's been a recent flip with 00:09:54.330 --> 00:09:57.730 local municipalities. In our time of doing this, 00:09:57.769 --> 00:09:59.769 it used to be you'd go in and you'd say, I want 00:09:59.769 --> 00:10:01.330 to open a hostel. And they'd be like, what is 00:10:01.330 --> 00:10:03.830 that? And then they'd have to create a whole 00:10:03.830 --> 00:10:07.230 new zoning thing. And, you know, good luck on 00:10:07.230 --> 00:10:11.200 how long that takes. With more recent housing 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:17.120 crises caused by Airbnb and all kinds of rent 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:21.259 hikes and affordable accommodations and affordable 00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:25.100 housing has become a really big issue. And we 00:10:25.100 --> 00:10:30.019 can slide in under that movement, and I encourage 00:10:30.019 --> 00:10:33.779 people to tap into that because we had that situation 00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:35.779 in Santa Barbara where the building was sitting 00:10:35.779 --> 00:10:38.059 there and everyone else wanted to do something 00:10:38.059 --> 00:10:41.649 else with it. But the city mandated this has 00:10:41.649 --> 00:10:44.570 to stay a hostel because they don't have any 00:10:44.570 --> 00:10:47.769 affordable lodging. It's all very high -priced 00:10:47.769 --> 00:10:50.769 hotels, and it makes the Motel 6 $400 a night. 00:10:51.129 --> 00:10:53.110 Oh, yeah. You're preaching to the choir because 00:10:53.110 --> 00:10:54.850 we're in a mountain town. So we're, you know, 00:10:54.889 --> 00:10:57.450 around ski resorts that have been recently acquired 00:10:57.450 --> 00:11:00.289 by Vail. And we've got mountain biking trails 00:11:00.289 --> 00:11:02.190 and some of the best ice climbing in the country. 00:11:02.490 --> 00:11:05.929 And, yeah, the town knows it, and the hotels 00:11:05.929 --> 00:11:08.740 know it, and the prices are high up. That was 00:11:08.740 --> 00:11:11.820 our main shtick when we got in here. We were 00:11:11.820 --> 00:11:14.100 like, we have to have affordable lodging in this 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:19.080 valley. It just has to exist. It's so good for 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:21.379 the local businesses as well. That's something 00:11:21.379 --> 00:11:25.179 that I've often done in recent years. A lot of 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:27.559 times hostels will have a perception of, again, 00:11:27.700 --> 00:11:31.139 it's a homeless shelter. Actually, you'll get 00:11:31.139 --> 00:11:35.720 a lot of young Americans and people now that 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:39.509 they haven't spent all of their nut on the lodging 00:11:39.509 --> 00:11:40.950 and accommodations. They actually have money 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:42.830 to go out to eat. They actually have money to 00:11:42.830 --> 00:11:45.529 go out into the town. So I think these are all 00:11:45.529 --> 00:11:48.269 very good things that your example can highlight 00:11:48.269 --> 00:11:51.470 to others of what they could use to get their 00:11:51.470 --> 00:11:55.809 foot in the door. So now the hostel itself, the 00:11:55.809 --> 00:11:58.830 coho, what's the, what's the size? What's the, 00:11:58.950 --> 00:12:01.389 what are you working with as far as like how 00:12:01.389 --> 00:12:03.389 many bunks, what's the layout, what's the style? 00:12:04.289 --> 00:12:08.700 Sure. okay i guess i'm the logistics one yeah 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:13.559 so we we're which i feel like there's we're not 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:16.220 alone in this but we're kind of like hybrid hostel 00:12:16.220 --> 00:12:18.720 like we have a handful of private rooms uh they 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:21.480 still share the common room community kitchen 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:24.700 dorms all restroom facilities and that kind of 00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:28.159 thing um and then we also have uh bunker rooms 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:33.320 as well uh so 12 rooms in total um For now, three 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:37.539 of which are bunk rooms. We've just kind of evolved 00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:39.639 actually over the years because we opened during 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:43.980 Delta or Omicron or insert whatever like variant 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:48.080 of the day for COVID. We opened during that just 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:50.940 to get something in the door to help keep us 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:53.899 afloat. And so we were fully private at first 00:12:53.899 --> 00:12:56.080 and slowly, but surely we've just been like evolving 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:00.139 over the years. And as like tastes, uh, soften, 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:04.179 uh, people are embracing the community style 00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:07.539 lodging more. We've slowly, but surely like transitioned 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:10.320 more. We've got plans to convert one of our existing 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:12.860 private rooms now to another bunk room. So we'll 00:13:12.860 --> 00:13:15.539 have, uh, eventually we're hoping to have four, 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:19.539 six person bunk rooms, um, and be a little bit 00:13:19.539 --> 00:13:22.610 more evenly. split and we have camping in the 00:13:22.610 --> 00:13:25.309 summer too we've got four campsites and isn't 00:13:25.309 --> 00:13:28.330 it funny that folks will come in and use the 00:13:28.330 --> 00:13:30.370 private room for the first day if they've never 00:13:30.370 --> 00:13:32.049 stayed in a hostel before like of course they're 00:13:32.049 --> 00:13:33.809 gonna book a private room and then the next time 00:13:33.809 --> 00:13:36.009 they come they try the the bunk room it's like 00:13:36.009 --> 00:13:38.870 a funny i don't i think we'll always have a couple 00:13:38.870 --> 00:13:41.070 private rooms for that purpose it's a good way 00:13:41.070 --> 00:13:43.009 to like test the waters yeah like they start 00:13:43.009 --> 00:13:44.529 with a private room and then they leave with 00:13:44.529 --> 00:13:46.769 like we have these real like punch cards that 00:13:46.769 --> 00:13:49.669 are only for bunks it's like you know five bunk 00:13:49.669 --> 00:13:52.590 stays and you get a bunk night free kind of thing 00:13:52.590 --> 00:13:56.190 nice i don't know coffee shop ask yeah yeah no 00:13:56.190 --> 00:14:00.049 i love that but yeah it's a great like transition 00:14:00.049 --> 00:14:03.230 well i think i think you bring up some good uh 00:14:03.230 --> 00:14:07.409 strategies here that should be embraced one off 00:14:07.409 --> 00:14:11.149 the bat you know i think that the model you're 00:14:11.149 --> 00:14:12.789 running is the model everyone should be running 00:14:12.789 --> 00:14:15.919 everyone should have private rooms because We're 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:18.679 trying to entice the American demographic in 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:20.220 to try it out, and they're going to want to have 00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:22.919 that private room to expose them. But just like 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:24.740 you say, once they get exposed, then they're 00:14:24.740 --> 00:14:28.059 more fluid in trying it out. And we've always 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:31.299 been a believer in be a chameleon to your season. 00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:36.519 In our places, we're always changing bunk rooms 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:38.639 to private rooms and vice versa, depending on 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:42.950 the season and the trends and past data. So I 00:14:42.950 --> 00:14:45.029 think that everyone, you know, listening should 00:14:45.029 --> 00:14:48.070 keep that in mind as far as, you know, be bold 00:14:48.070 --> 00:14:50.490 and trying out different configurations, see 00:14:50.490 --> 00:14:53.289 how it works, study your data, but having the 00:14:53.289 --> 00:14:55.230 mixture of the privates and the bunks and then 00:14:55.230 --> 00:14:57.610 campgrounds outside in the summer, all those 00:14:57.610 --> 00:15:00.169 things are, are great. And I love the size. So 00:15:00.169 --> 00:15:01.789 it sounds like you're right around like a 30, 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:05.350 40 bed hostel, right? Yeah. 30, 40 folks. Cause 00:15:05.350 --> 00:15:07.809 we've got full beds and queen beds. Yeah. Yeah. 00:15:07.970 --> 00:15:10.990 I think that's the sweet spot. You know, we. 00:15:11.710 --> 00:15:14.850 We come from USA Hostels, which was a company 00:15:14.850 --> 00:15:18.029 that doesn't exist anymore, but at its time was 00:15:18.029 --> 00:15:21.909 one of the best operators in the game. But they 00:15:21.909 --> 00:15:24.070 kind of had a rule of you could never have a 00:15:24.070 --> 00:15:27.769 hostel less than 100 beds because it didn't make 00:15:27.769 --> 00:15:31.029 sense from the overhead and having a team on, 00:15:31.110 --> 00:15:34.990 a management team and all this stuff. But we 00:15:34.990 --> 00:15:39.450 actually kind of evolved into believing that. 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:42.919 we never want a hostel over a hundred beds and 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:45.159 people thought we were crazy when we were like 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:47.179 oh you know and you'll never be able to open 00:15:47.179 --> 00:15:49.240 up more than one and things that nature but we're 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:52.299 a big believer in the the smaller the hostel 00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:55.399 around that 30 40 50 number it's actually more 00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:57.019 intimate you can actually remember everyone's 00:15:57.019 --> 00:16:01.059 name absolutely that's the magic that's the Yes. 00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:04.779 And it creates that vibe. Otherwise it feels 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:08.440 like a cattle barn. I wouldn't be doing this 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:10.259 if I were just churning people through for money. 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:12.379 Like none of us would be running a hostel to 00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:15.139 make money, right? Like we're there for the face 00:16:15.139 --> 00:16:17.179 -to -face interaction and for the connections. 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:20.580 Yeah. I don't know if you all attended. There 00:16:20.580 --> 00:16:22.659 are so many people in attendance. Forgive me 00:16:22.659 --> 00:16:25.120 if I just don't remember, but there was that 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:28.299 conference in Copenhagen two years ago, maybe, 00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:31.580 or something. Oh, I didn't know. Yeah, and there 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:34.059 was one hostel that they put a lot of folks up 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:36.460 in, and some of the events were hosted. And it 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:39.200 was actually not a city block. It took up an 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:43.539 entire city block. The lobby had its own... tattoo 00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:45.980 artist on retainer that was operating out of 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:49.179 the lobby there was a soccer field in the basement 00:16:49.179 --> 00:16:54.279 like indoor soccer wow i mean it was it was impressive 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:58.240 and everyone walking through that door is hostile 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:01.220 guest number 1 300 something yeah i think there 00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:04.319 were like 500 beds or something there are a lot 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:07.900 of yeah it was insane um yeah and you just don't 00:17:07.900 --> 00:17:11.180 get like what i don't know In my mind and in 00:17:11.180 --> 00:17:13.299 my experience and what we try to do here, that 00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:15.779 like that hostile magic of connecting people, 00:17:15.940 --> 00:17:21.779 especially now. Yeah. And we're such a big advocate 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:24.259 of that. And one of the things we try to do with 00:17:24.259 --> 00:17:27.700 this podcast is really go after and try to highlight 00:17:27.700 --> 00:17:30.740 hostiles like yourselves that have the owner 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:34.420 operator, old mom and pop feel type of operation. 00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:37.940 And then have that number of beds that keeps 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:41.220 that intimacy level. So that you can have those 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:43.619 experiences, those connections. Otherwise, it's 00:17:43.619 --> 00:17:45.440 overwhelming sometimes, you know, and you can 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:46.960 just see people that kind of just go into their 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:49.700 turtle shells, you know, and now they're just 00:17:49.700 --> 00:17:51.480 on their screen, you know, like, oh, my God. 00:17:51.660 --> 00:17:55.380 Yeah. Yeah. I think that what we're doing is 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:58.799 more of like the genuine backpacker hostel. And 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:01.599 it's such a different experience that we want 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:04.079 the people to know about. Yeah, because something 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:08.319 that we want, I feel really compelled to highlight, 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:10.839 something that we're trying to do, being something 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:14.559 new for our culture, the idea, staying at a hostel, 00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:17.500 sure, but also walking into a room, sitting down 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:19.940 and going, what did you do today? What did you 00:18:19.940 --> 00:18:22.400 hike today? It's such a new thing and not a usual 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:24.500 thing that happens in any other space in our 00:18:24.500 --> 00:18:27.099 country. So for people to be comfortable enough 00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:30.130 to do that. we have found that they need a baseline 00:18:30.130 --> 00:18:33.130 of comfort they need a baseline of like i'm safe 00:18:33.130 --> 00:18:35.490 here like whether that's staying in a private 00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:37.750 room or whether that's not you know hundreds 00:18:37.750 --> 00:18:39.869 of people walking by in either direction right 00:18:39.869 --> 00:18:41.730 like a little bit of comfort to get out of the 00:18:41.730 --> 00:18:43.849 comfort zone to actually engage in what the hostel 00:18:43.849 --> 00:18:46.390 is offering and what the space is offering um 00:18:46.390 --> 00:18:50.509 yeah absolutely nice what uh with your property 00:18:50.509 --> 00:18:52.769 there what made you guys pick i know you said 00:18:52.769 --> 00:18:54.390 you wanted to take over that hostel but what 00:18:54.390 --> 00:18:57.299 was kind of like you said your magic and we we 00:18:57.299 --> 00:18:59.000 can relate to that term i guess what is your 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.619 magic that you chase there at your hostel like 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:03.460 what is the experience that you guys offer and 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:06.299 then you know our our stump speech has kind of 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:09.619 changed in the last year uh from sort of like 00:19:09.619 --> 00:19:12.299 our people ask like oh like what do you do tell 00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:14.460 me about coho or anything we used to say like 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:17.599 oh it's like we would lean into the like it's 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:20.839 it's economic lodging uh we're trying to increase 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:23.319 accessibility to outdoor spaces which we were 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:24.819 like coming out of the outdoor and we still are 00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:28.619 yeah absolutely um but now when people ask like 00:19:28.619 --> 00:19:33.619 oh what is coho now we say oh it's a hostel and 00:19:33.619 --> 00:19:38.460 community third place uh for gathering um and 00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:43.220 i think that kind of like encapsulates the magic 00:19:43.220 --> 00:19:46.859 here like yeah we're a few years in now and i 00:19:46.859 --> 00:19:48.180 feel like we've kind of figured out the economic 00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:50.099 lodging side and that's great and the word's 00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:52.619 gotten out and like people are showing up um 00:19:52.619 --> 00:19:56.799 but especially definitely working it's working 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:59.160 well and the uh to congratulate you guys too 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:03.839 on the oscar yeah you guys are doing it doing 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:05.599 a lot of things right i was gonna add to that 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:07.779 what it you know it's a hard it's that's the 00:20:07.779 --> 00:20:10.799 dream of every hostile owner so kudos to you 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:14.019 guys for that what do you what do you yeah i 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:16.299 guess would you say that community focus or what 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:18.859 would you feel was your biggest reason that you 00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:24.599 guys won that award for yeah well i yeah i think 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:27.180 that what kyle is getting at a little bit is 00:20:27.180 --> 00:20:30.920 that shift from just being cheap lodging in the 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:33.640 area to being a place to connect a place where 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:36.079 you realize like that you have a lot in common 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:38.140 with the people around you i just think that 00:20:38.140 --> 00:20:41.039 is so so meaningful and we get that feedback 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:44.400 from people every day um that and you know we 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:46.279 get the reviews like i've never stayed in a hostel 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:48.359 before i was nervous of what might happen and 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:50.779 then the staff were so friendly and we carved 00:20:50.779 --> 00:20:53.720 pumpkins in the common room and like this was 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:56.319 the best way to start like transitioning to my 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:58.740 new job or going on a road trip or i'm going 00:20:58.740 --> 00:21:00.859 through something at home and like i didn't know 00:21:00.859 --> 00:21:03.279 that i needed this and like that's that's the 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:05.339 magic and the fact that that just happens consistently 00:21:05.339 --> 00:21:07.759 is like yeah it's ridiculous i feel like with 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:11.400 like as all like owner operators i'm sure do 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:14.460 like going like doing your monthly loops through 00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:18.359 all the reviews just like micro analyzing um 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:21.759 but yeah that's a consistent theme that i've 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:24.680 taken away through our like review culture which 00:21:24.680 --> 00:21:27.299 i have a whole that's an entire different conversation 00:21:27.299 --> 00:21:31.720 um so i know yeah but uh yeah going through i 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:35.000 think that's the like uh sort of the distillation 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:37.819 of what i've seen and what other people have 00:21:37.819 --> 00:21:40.019 to say whether it's in the guest book or like 00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:43.059 in reviews and it's that transition of maybe 00:21:43.059 --> 00:21:45.980 first time in a hostel it's like okay a hostel 00:21:45.980 --> 00:21:48.680 is a place and they stay in a hostel and then 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:52.480 they realize oh a hostel is an experience and 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:57.019 there's just such tremendous value in that sort 00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:59.880 of transition of mindset of just from a i to 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:03.180 we well even just from like uh from like a warm 00:22:03.180 --> 00:22:08.089 bed and like under a dry roof to an experience. 00:22:08.369 --> 00:22:11.670 Yeah. But the last, the last thing I'll say is, 00:22:11.750 --> 00:22:15.630 uh, yeah, it's just, it's, it's such a powerful 00:22:15.630 --> 00:22:18.309 experience and I think it's really heightened 00:22:18.309 --> 00:22:20.130 for us. And the magic is really heightened for 00:22:20.130 --> 00:22:22.789 us just with the climate in the U S right now. 00:22:22.849 --> 00:22:25.029 It's, and not to mention just the culture of 00:22:25.029 --> 00:22:27.750 looking at our phones. It's really easy to see 00:22:27.750 --> 00:22:30.650 other people as other people and not the same 00:22:30.650 --> 00:22:34.420 as me. And. We need more spaces where you see 00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:36.319 the humanity in people different than you and 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:37.839 you find things in common with people different 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:40.059 than you. I think it's really important right 00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:43.079 now. That definitely like lights my fire around 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:47.339 this place for sure. It's a sense of, go ahead, 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:49.579 Kyle. Oh yeah, we were chatting with a friend 00:22:49.579 --> 00:22:51.700 who was up recently and they were kind of asking 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:54.099 like, what are some of the big like profound 00:22:54.099 --> 00:22:57.599 things that we experienced? Like what's our favorite 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:00.480 part about it? And I don't know how it came up, 00:23:00.539 --> 00:23:04.049 but the phrase like, When someone walks through 00:23:04.049 --> 00:23:11.410 our door, I become as we. Very nice. Yeah. And 00:23:11.410 --> 00:23:19.170 yeah, I think that's the experience. It's kind 00:23:19.170 --> 00:23:22.289 of a twinkle in the eye I've found over the years. 00:23:22.509 --> 00:23:24.730 We have a lot of people that obviously through 00:23:24.730 --> 00:23:27.210 our locations come in to our management team. 00:23:27.289 --> 00:23:29.789 And I can quickly see the ones that are going 00:23:29.789 --> 00:23:32.970 to catch that fulfillment. and get that warmth 00:23:32.970 --> 00:23:35.589 from that and that fire in the belly and some 00:23:35.589 --> 00:23:37.670 of them just don't and they kind of have that 00:23:37.670 --> 00:23:40.049 bewildered look at you at like why are you so 00:23:40.049 --> 00:23:44.130 like into this you know like and it's just that 00:23:44.130 --> 00:23:46.849 reality of like oh man they can't put it in you 00:23:46.849 --> 00:23:49.089 and they can't take it out of you yeah but but 00:23:49.089 --> 00:23:50.990 if you're feeling it you're gonna feel it brother 00:23:50.990 --> 00:23:54.390 you know yeah and i i so much agree with both 00:23:54.390 --> 00:23:58.450 of you of like now even though the pandemic from 00:23:58.450 --> 00:24:01.519 that situation of like shared spaces and everyone 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:03.599 with the sickness it seemed like hospitals were 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:07.079 the worst thing i actually feel like we're needed 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:11.000 more than ever right now uh because of the youth 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:14.440 generation with this detachment into the screens 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:16.799 and not communicating and not having that human 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:19.900 touch anymore you know But they're still yearning 00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:22.839 it. And they come in and they get it and they're 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:24.799 like, what is this? What is this warmth? What 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:27.319 is this human connection? And you see them and 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:31.960 that fulfills me. And then you also bring up 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:35.319 the political situation that we're in and the 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:37.599 cultural situation in this country. You feel 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:40.440 the barriers going up again. And that's a scary 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:42.880 thing. It's a scary thing when the wall is going 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:45.140 up and the people stop talking and people stop. 00:24:45.710 --> 00:24:49.470 debating and it's but we have this amazing thing 00:24:49.470 --> 00:24:51.970 of and i always go back to this of the moment 00:24:51.970 --> 00:24:55.509 i knew that i was like bit by the hostile bug 00:24:55.509 --> 00:24:58.069 and really wanted to do this as i was at a usa 00:24:58.069 --> 00:25:00.829 hostels and hosting a dinner and i looked around 00:25:00.829 --> 00:25:05.390 and i was like muslim christian jewish black 00:25:05.390 --> 00:25:09.490 white asian we're all here together under one 00:25:09.490 --> 00:25:13.109 roof at the same table loving each other, laughing 00:25:13.109 --> 00:25:14.910 with each other, having a great time. I was like, 00:25:14.950 --> 00:25:18.630 this is what the UN tries to do on a daily basis, 00:25:18.690 --> 00:25:22.809 and they can't get it done. But here we are for 00:25:22.809 --> 00:25:26.130 some reason, and all of these barriers have been 00:25:26.130 --> 00:25:30.150 broken down. And now we're forever, everyone 00:25:30.150 --> 00:25:32.970 at that table. was forever enlightened because 00:25:32.970 --> 00:25:36.069 now if someone came up to me and said oh you 00:25:36.069 --> 00:25:38.609 know have you ever met someone from taiwan or 00:25:38.609 --> 00:25:40.509 you know they're all real just bad people i'd 00:25:40.509 --> 00:25:42.309 be like well i'm sorry i can't agree with you 00:25:42.309 --> 00:25:45.609 you know i've met kim sung from taiwan and he's 00:25:45.609 --> 00:25:48.109 a great friend of mine you know and it really 00:25:48.109 --> 00:25:51.170 it just it really just rattles out all of that 00:25:51.170 --> 00:25:54.250 uh bigotry it rattles out a lot of the reason 00:25:54.250 --> 00:25:56.769 the closed -mindedness it opens people up and 00:25:56.769 --> 00:25:59.279 enlightens them And that, for me, has always 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:02.759 been something of a, what a cool job we have. 00:26:03.059 --> 00:26:05.799 So much better than the cubicle. People come 00:26:05.799 --> 00:26:10.619 in here every day, and they might fall in love 00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:12.660 with their significant other. They might make 00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:16.160 a new best friend. Or they might become enlightened 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:18.240 in a way to the point where when they walk out 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:21.079 of your doors, they're a different person with 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:23.240 a different energy and a different mindset for 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:26.400 the better. And, you know, that's special. you 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:28.220 know that's a special feeling and if you can 00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:31.099 capture that and feel that it is a very fulfilling 00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:33.700 job and i always remind myself of that when i'm 00:26:33.700 --> 00:26:38.359 head deep in a clogged shitter yeah have you 00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:40.339 guys worked in hostels before did you just go 00:26:40.339 --> 00:26:43.220 straight into buying it and running it straight 00:26:43.220 --> 00:26:46.720 in yeah swan dive into the deep end yeah what 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:49.160 was that experience like tell us tell us like 00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:51.039 i don't know what what it was like what you learned 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:54.789 looking back to give us some knowledge Yeah, 00:26:54.809 --> 00:26:58.089 we were. So both of us had some experience or 00:26:58.089 --> 00:26:59.950 a lot of experience in the outdoor education 00:26:59.950 --> 00:27:04.210 world, working with kids and adults and families 00:27:04.210 --> 00:27:07.890 in outdoor environments and either, you know, 00:27:07.890 --> 00:27:09.930 going on a hike or going on a high ropes course 00:27:09.930 --> 00:27:11.869 or whatever it may be. And that's something that 00:27:11.869 --> 00:27:14.730 we both loved. And when we saw when we saw the 00:27:14.730 --> 00:27:17.869 hostel experience, we saw really tied to the 00:27:17.869 --> 00:27:20.450 context of this area. People come up here for 00:27:20.450 --> 00:27:24.160 all those outdoor experiences. selfishly personally 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:27.039 it was a great way to stay in that industry sort 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:29.140 of in a more sustainable way because you know 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:31.500 in in those jobs we're sleeping in tents and 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:34.839 we're getting paid you know per day and then 00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:37.380 you're working 22 of the 24 hours in the day 00:27:37.380 --> 00:27:39.500 so this seemed like a sustainable way to stay 00:27:39.500 --> 00:27:41.980 in that industry to keep serving those people 00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:45.240 and and serving those like transformative experiences 00:27:45.240 --> 00:27:48.119 we saw in the outdoors and we also felt like 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:49.859 we might have had we might have a leg up because 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:52.119 we know those people and we know these communities 00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:55.779 and feel like hmm i feel like like those are 00:27:55.779 --> 00:27:58.299 some pretty like understanding reasonable people 00:27:58.299 --> 00:28:02.769 and we know how to like have productive conversations 00:28:02.769 --> 00:28:04.589 and we know how to grow and i feel like if we 00:28:04.589 --> 00:28:07.269 can just do our damn this to be like clean and 00:28:07.269 --> 00:28:10.250 comfortable and safe we can go we can learn from 00:28:10.250 --> 00:28:14.029 there and and and do an all right job yeah i 00:28:14.029 --> 00:28:16.329 feel like also like with the sort of expedition 00:28:16.329 --> 00:28:19.250 -based stuff like there is a lot of hospitality 00:28:19.250 --> 00:28:22.049 we've realized like yeah we came in or at least 00:28:22.049 --> 00:28:23.930 i don't speak for you but i came in and just 00:28:23.930 --> 00:28:26.329 like oh shit like hospital like i've never done 00:28:26.329 --> 00:28:28.650 hospitality like this is like this is a brand 00:28:28.650 --> 00:28:31.180 new thing that we're gonna have to learn And 00:28:31.180 --> 00:28:34.720 then really like the guest facing side of things, 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:38.700 it was a really easy segue from sort of the expedition 00:28:38.700 --> 00:28:40.700 based stuff, like taking people out in the woods, 00:28:40.740 --> 00:28:42.880 like you're making the meals and you're making 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:45.079 camp cozy. You're setting up, breaking down tents. 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:49.000 You're doing all of these things. And yeah, from 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:51.619 that aspect, like when you're making your, you 00:28:51.619 --> 00:28:53.200 know, you have your like leg locked around the 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:55.079 frame of a bunk and you're doing the top bunk 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:58.000 for the hundred. thousandth time and you're like 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:00.480 oh this sucks it's like 100 degrees outside i'm 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:03.000 sweating my ass off it's still like it's still 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:05.480 better than like oh i could be breaking down 00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:09.480 a tent in like 35 degrees and raining uh yeah 00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:12.640 like i could i could do this yeah this is all 00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:14.720 right yeah there was a lot i think we were lucky 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:17.359 to see like when we were first excited about 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:20.289 the idea like there wasn't enough You know when 00:29:20.289 --> 00:29:22.029 you have a good idea and you're almost waiting 00:29:22.029 --> 00:29:24.849 for a reason not to do something? Kind of felt 00:29:24.849 --> 00:29:28.410 like that. We thought, oh, we have this experience 00:29:28.410 --> 00:29:30.450 that could kind of translate and this experience 00:29:30.450 --> 00:29:32.529 kind of translates and we just have to figure 00:29:32.529 --> 00:29:35.170 out a couple bits in between and it made too 00:29:35.170 --> 00:29:38.390 much sense. Nice. Are you guys living on site? 00:29:38.990 --> 00:29:42.710 We are, yeah. That makes such a difference, being 00:29:42.710 --> 00:29:45.369 able to shape that experience really in your 00:29:45.369 --> 00:29:49.839 little literal house. One last question. You 00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:53.599 guys have a lot of experiences there. We operate 00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:56.140 a lot of beach locations and surf hostels and 00:29:56.140 --> 00:29:58.740 focus on that surf experience. Are you guys finding 00:29:58.740 --> 00:30:02.420 a lot of people are, you know, looking to pick 00:30:02.420 --> 00:30:04.599 up new experiences and you guys are, are you 00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:07.599 doing like package deals to try to connect with 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:09.980 some of these upper, you know, expedition operations 00:30:09.980 --> 00:30:11.900 or outdoor adventures? Are you finding that's 00:30:11.900 --> 00:30:14.200 working well or people are guests are responding 00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:16.359 well to these package deals, trying to make it 00:30:16.359 --> 00:30:19.079 easy for them to come stay and. have fun in the 00:30:19.079 --> 00:30:22.160 mountains yeah mostly it's out of the hostel 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:25.140 it's uh we've got a couple guiding services that 00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:27.559 we partner with that take on the bulk of that 00:30:27.559 --> 00:30:30.920 um we came into this wanting to do our own programming 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:33.559 and that's definitely still a dream of ours but 00:30:33.559 --> 00:30:35.880 for now we've got some really trusted outdoor 00:30:35.880 --> 00:30:38.799 professionals that we just work with and that 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:41.460 That has been, yeah, a really, really awesome 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:44.019 pairing because somebody stays here, they go 00:30:44.019 --> 00:30:46.559 out with John or Luke or Haley, and then they 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:48.519 come back and we get to hear all about it. And, 00:30:48.539 --> 00:30:51.460 yeah, it's been a really cool way to elevate 00:30:51.460 --> 00:30:55.519 that experience here. That's so true. Yeah, we 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:56.920 did the same thing and tried to do it ourselves, 00:30:57.099 --> 00:30:59.019 and you quickly realize, like, oh, man, I can't 00:30:59.019 --> 00:31:00.460 be out here on the trails while I've got to be 00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:02.579 making beds, you know, or I've got to be cleaning 00:31:02.579 --> 00:31:05.519 beds and making the hostel nice. Exactly. Yeah, 00:31:05.519 --> 00:31:07.240 it's tough. Partnering with an operator like 00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:09.980 that is key for success, especially in these 00:31:09.980 --> 00:31:12.859 outdoor locations, destinations, or really anywhere. 00:31:12.960 --> 00:31:15.279 Just collaborating with other good tour companies 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:18.500 can help your hostel a lot. Kyle and I have been 00:31:18.500 --> 00:31:20.339 lucky enough to take a couple folks out on mountain 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:24.720 bikes. That's our jam. If we end up in the common 00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:26.500 room talking about mountain biking in the summer, 00:31:26.579 --> 00:31:28.079 it's like, okay, well, when are we going to go 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:30.140 out? Do you want a guided ride? People usually 00:31:30.140 --> 00:31:32.900 take us up on it. That has been really fun. That's 00:31:32.900 --> 00:31:37.000 just been informal, though. That's great. I hope 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:42.299 that we see more and more of the outdoor -style 00:31:42.299 --> 00:31:45.799 hostels that are in the mountain towns. uh like 00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:48.539 you know or you know on the lake or you're even 00:31:48.539 --> 00:31:50.779 in the desert type of stuff yeah these are the 00:31:50.779 --> 00:31:54.200 types of smaller hostels that can be run in our 00:31:54.200 --> 00:31:57.079 fashion that i i hope to see more of in the future 00:31:57.079 --> 00:31:59.339 because a lot of a lot of people just look to 00:31:59.339 --> 00:32:01.440 the big city like oh i can only go to a big city 00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:03.240 because that's where all the volume is and that's 00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:06.420 where all people fly into and sure you know that's 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:08.900 kind of that old mindset of You need to have 00:32:08.900 --> 00:32:11.240 a minimum of 100 beds and you need to be in a 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:13.920 Tier 1 city. That was another big talk back in 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:16.380 the day. It's going to be a Tier 1 city. And 00:32:16.380 --> 00:32:18.579 then, you know, what that really did is it left 00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:20.980 a lot of these Tier 2, Tier 3 cities or these 00:32:20.980 --> 00:32:24.380 mountain towns and lake towns, it left them untouched. 00:32:24.380 --> 00:32:26.640 So I think that's a great opportunity for people 00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:29.440 to continue. Another one I really like are farm 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:31.460 hostels. I think those could be really cool too. 00:32:32.039 --> 00:32:38.380 Yeah, farm stills. So I hope that we see more 00:32:38.380 --> 00:32:41.700 of this. Now, on that topic, I want to make sure 00:32:41.700 --> 00:32:46.519 I mention this before we wrap up. How many hostels 00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:49.900 are in New Hampshire now? Do you know that? Like 00:32:49.900 --> 00:32:52.359 off the ballpark? I feel like there's been a 00:32:52.359 --> 00:32:55.740 search. Yeah, so which answer do you want? Because 00:32:55.740 --> 00:33:00.539 there's... Legal or illegal? yeah there you go 00:33:00.539 --> 00:33:04.200 yeah yeah total legal appalachian trail runs 00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:06.099 through new hampshire and there are a lot of 00:33:06.099 --> 00:33:10.000 like trail hostels oh okay okay you know and 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.859 yeah as far as like above board uh proper like 00:33:14.859 --> 00:33:18.700 businesses hostels go uh i think in new hampshire 00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:22.380 in new hampshire i think there's probably five 00:33:22.380 --> 00:33:24.740 i was gonna say five i was waiting to see but 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:27.359 five to ten if you're including everybody in 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:30.960 transition or yeah sure hostels or yeah or sort 00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:33.839 of a hostel but sort of an airbnb i don't know 00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:35.799 but yeah i'd say at least i think we got a solid 00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:38.740 five yeah yeah that's but that's great though 00:33:38.740 --> 00:33:40.819 you know and i and i know that there have been 00:33:40.819 --> 00:33:43.779 some that's come and gone i know we did a we 00:33:43.779 --> 00:33:46.819 went through there on the first season of our 00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:49.140 hostel road trip podcast before the pandemic 00:33:49.140 --> 00:33:51.880 we used to have a hostel or we tried to have 00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:56.000 a hostel in newport rhode island and it didn't 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:59.019 work out because forth across the country and 00:33:59.019 --> 00:34:02.819 that was a a wild time but while we were there 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:06.859 we we went up into vermont maine new hampshire 00:34:06.859 --> 00:34:10.119 on a Hostel Road Trip podcast tour on the road 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:12.960 physically. And that was that was really cool 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:16.239 to see. And I remember thinking, like, what a 00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:19.159 cool space for hostels, these three states up 00:34:19.159 --> 00:34:20.940 here. Yeah. And, you know, you're talking about 00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:24.659 like guided partnerships and partnerships with 00:34:24.659 --> 00:34:26.800 people who are doing like doing the cool thing 00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:30.460 outside. And those have been, yeah, absolutely 00:34:30.460 --> 00:34:34.940 invaluable. But on the same token. Partnerships 00:34:34.940 --> 00:34:39.039 with other hostels for us have been just an absolute 00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:42.380 game changer. It's one of my favorite parts. 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:45.280 Here in the greater northeast New England area, 00:34:45.400 --> 00:34:49.500 we have our own northeast hostel network. That 00:34:49.500 --> 00:34:51.900 was one of my next questions. Let's hear about 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:54.260 this secret network. It's like skulls and bones. 00:34:54.579 --> 00:34:59.949 Yeah. I know you've already talked to Dave over 00:34:59.949 --> 00:35:02.230 at Barn Door. I've been telling you to Dave Cook 00:35:02.230 --> 00:35:06.710 all the time. You won't break him. He won't speak. 00:35:09.369 --> 00:35:12.889 I feel like you all sat down with Serena, I bet, 00:35:12.969 --> 00:35:16.130 too, right? Yeah, we know Serena at Notch. Yeah, 00:35:16.130 --> 00:35:19.730 I've been there. Yeah, so we're kind of in the 00:35:19.730 --> 00:35:23.269 center of the three of us kind of make a border 00:35:23.269 --> 00:35:25.730 around the White Mountains here. That's great. 00:35:26.989 --> 00:35:29.489 the central like three hostels and then you go 00:35:29.489 --> 00:35:32.289 up into maine you got hostel of maine you got 00:35:32.289 --> 00:35:35.650 black elephant up there yep portland um yeah 00:35:35.650 --> 00:35:38.090 there's awesome over there and there's just just 00:35:38.090 --> 00:35:41.590 a slew in vermont um but like vermont is starting 00:35:41.590 --> 00:35:43.130 to really figure it out and they're popping up 00:35:43.130 --> 00:35:45.750 around that's really awesome okay well that's 00:35:45.750 --> 00:35:47.710 good to hear because i know that there was like 00:35:47.710 --> 00:35:53.170 we went to one in uh vermont and it was interesting 00:35:53.170 --> 00:35:56.760 it had no doors remember that one bob It was 00:35:56.760 --> 00:35:59.239 just, it was Burlington, the Burlington, which 00:35:59.239 --> 00:36:02.739 I think closed down now. Yeah. But it was interesting. 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:04.880 Like you took off your shoes and there were, 00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:07.320 no one was wearing shoes and there was no doors. 00:36:07.380 --> 00:36:09.320 I was like, this is kind of a hippie feel, you 00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:12.820 know, this wasn't the yellow deli hostel. No, 00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:16.179 no, we did not. We did not get converted. We 00:36:16.179 --> 00:36:19.599 did not get converted. I don't drink anything. 00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:25.269 Yeah. I know all about those guys. One of them 00:36:25.269 --> 00:36:29.170 came out west and they came to one of our hostels 00:36:29.170 --> 00:36:31.230 in San Diego years ago and they were like, would 00:36:31.230 --> 00:36:34.949 you like to be a yellow deli hostel? And I looked 00:36:34.949 --> 00:36:37.389 at him and I was like, I know all about Jim Jones, 00:36:37.590 --> 00:36:42.389 motherfucker. Not getting me that easy. Don't 00:36:42.389 --> 00:36:44.869 do it. You're welcome to stay, but stop preaching 00:36:44.869 --> 00:36:51.230 your shit right now. Yeah. They're not on our 00:36:51.230 --> 00:36:58.099 network. Just to make that a bugger. Okay, so 00:36:58.099 --> 00:37:00.159 that's great to hear about the New England Hostel 00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:04.360 operation now. But on that, you've got your New 00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:07.380 England network, and this was actually a hot 00:37:07.380 --> 00:37:11.000 topic. You guys brought about, this was about 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:14.539 a year or two ago, as the NAHA, the North American 00:37:14.539 --> 00:37:17.960 Hostel Association, was forming, which took over 00:37:17.960 --> 00:37:21.880 from the American Hostel. conference which was 00:37:21.880 --> 00:37:26.039 in south carolina that was before the naha existed 00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:28.619 and before the pandemic so there's always been 00:37:28.619 --> 00:37:32.900 these attempts to create this national association 00:37:32.900 --> 00:37:35.119 where we could kind of have strength in numbers 00:37:35.119 --> 00:37:39.280 and have more advocacy for hostels and awareness 00:37:39.280 --> 00:37:43.739 and and try to beat out the all of these uh negative 00:37:43.739 --> 00:37:48.260 uh movies and different things going on but at 00:37:48.260 --> 00:37:52.090 the same time I see the argument from the side 00:37:52.090 --> 00:37:55.849 of, okay, national is one thing, but how is it 00:37:55.849 --> 00:37:58.849 relevant? I'm in California, and I'm dealing 00:37:58.849 --> 00:38:00.550 with a whole different set of laws than you're 00:38:00.550 --> 00:38:04.309 dealing with. So it then becomes difficult, and 00:38:04.309 --> 00:38:08.809 then Naha has gone the route of inclusive to 00:38:08.809 --> 00:38:13.070 Canada and Mexico, which I love the inclusiveness, 00:38:13.210 --> 00:38:16.210 and I love the number, but now we're getting 00:38:16.210 --> 00:38:18.289 to different countries, and we have one hostel 00:38:18.289 --> 00:38:21.280 in Mexico. It's our second one we've tried opening 00:38:21.280 --> 00:38:23.559 down there. Let me tell you, a whole world of 00:38:23.559 --> 00:38:27.559 different rules down there. So, I mean, I see 00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:32.980 the reasoning and the logic behind the more regional 00:38:32.980 --> 00:38:37.539 association. One thing that I've gone to bat 00:38:37.539 --> 00:38:41.900 for, I actually supported you all on this, we 00:38:41.900 --> 00:38:47.219 should embrace these regional coalitions. and 00:38:47.219 --> 00:38:50.440 have them be affiliated with the Naha. The original 00:38:50.440 --> 00:38:55.380 chapters of Naha? Yeah. Some of these, like yours, 00:38:55.480 --> 00:38:57.440 are already existing, so it's just easy enough 00:38:57.440 --> 00:39:00.880 to be like, okay, this secret society is just 00:39:00.880 --> 00:39:06.900 an affiliation. Yeah. We don't need no handshake. 00:39:07.420 --> 00:39:13.369 Yeah, it's okay. i make dave laugh every once 00:39:13.369 --> 00:39:15.050 in a while when we shake hands i'll like tickle 00:39:15.050 --> 00:39:17.369 him in the middle of the finger is that is that 00:39:17.369 --> 00:39:24.590 it now in that a regional thing you have what 00:39:24.590 --> 00:39:26.570 do you all do like how do you do you meet up 00:39:26.570 --> 00:39:28.769 monthly do you have monthly calls like how does 00:39:28.769 --> 00:39:32.409 it work we wish we try to do more than once a 00:39:32.409 --> 00:39:35.150 year if we we have a chat that goes off every 00:39:35.150 --> 00:39:37.750 week but we'll meet in person for a couple days 00:39:37.750 --> 00:39:40.750 once a year and kind of just offload everything 00:39:40.750 --> 00:39:44.469 and we do like yeah a really intense day or two 00:39:44.469 --> 00:39:48.349 or there's that one of your hostels yeah we rotate 00:39:49.599 --> 00:39:52.019 I see. And that's exactly how I think it could 00:39:52.019 --> 00:39:54.019 be really cool within that regional thing of 00:39:54.019 --> 00:39:56.639 like you have your regional meetup type of thing, 00:39:56.659 --> 00:39:59.039 and then it rotates on who might host it, maybe 00:39:59.039 --> 00:40:03.519 monthly or quarterly or whatever. Now, so you 00:40:03.519 --> 00:40:05.739 have that support system on the regional basis. 00:40:05.860 --> 00:40:10.719 Do you plan on continuing to participate in the 00:40:10.719 --> 00:40:13.559 Naha? association as well like will you be going 00:40:13.559 --> 00:40:15.920 to the Montreal conference or it's a regional 00:40:15.920 --> 00:40:20.360 thing okay so so you're cool with both yeah they 00:40:20.360 --> 00:40:22.059 don't I don't see them conflicting at all in 00:40:22.059 --> 00:40:23.960 my head you know it's so nice like you were saying 00:40:23.960 --> 00:40:26.340 the regional thing is great because we can talk 00:40:26.340 --> 00:40:29.239 about the laws in New Hampshire and often in 00:40:29.239 --> 00:40:31.460 our regional thing we're already talking about 00:40:31.460 --> 00:40:33.380 the discrepancies just between Maine and New 00:40:33.380 --> 00:40:35.340 Hampshire and Vermont but there's a lot that 00:40:35.340 --> 00:40:36.800 we have in common and we have a lot of the same 00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:38.579 clientele we're getting the same folks who are 00:40:38.579 --> 00:40:42.289 hiking mountains and doing the skiing um so it's 00:40:42.289 --> 00:40:44.949 it's and we're a lot like similar size too and 00:40:44.949 --> 00:40:47.289 you know we'll go to naha and sometimes we we 00:40:47.289 --> 00:40:49.469 all learn things that like we didn't have any 00:40:49.469 --> 00:40:51.230 idea like we'll learn something about cloud beds 00:40:51.230 --> 00:40:53.750 or something you know that is really interesting 00:40:53.750 --> 00:40:56.349 information coming from the southwest but we 00:40:56.349 --> 00:40:58.210 won't have another we might not meet another 00:40:58.210 --> 00:41:00.530 hostel that like has the same folks coming through 00:41:00.530 --> 00:41:03.840 or is the same size so i see benefits to both 00:41:03.840 --> 00:41:06.320 and maybe that thing is that they're raising 00:41:06.320 --> 00:41:15.880 their rates again yeah that is i will say that 00:41:15.880 --> 00:41:19.119 is the one thing that is like really uh we've 00:41:19.119 --> 00:41:22.179 really enjoyed the regional thing um because 00:41:22.179 --> 00:41:23.920 it's just something that we can do sustainably 00:41:23.920 --> 00:41:27.159 on our own uh like with without sponsors and 00:41:27.159 --> 00:41:28.880 things like going to copenhagen was great it's 00:41:28.880 --> 00:41:31.940 great to travel to europe and like spend a week 00:41:31.940 --> 00:41:35.619 over there um what was marketed to the group 00:41:35.619 --> 00:41:38.239 as like this is like a world hostile conference 00:41:38.239 --> 00:41:41.460 sponsored by hostile world it no bullshit it 00:41:41.460 --> 00:41:43.800 was a hostile world conference where it was basically 00:41:43.800 --> 00:41:46.500 like the pitch deck of all of the new updates 00:41:46.500 --> 00:41:48.239 coming for hostile worlds like we flew across 00:41:48.239 --> 00:41:51.360 the world for like i don't know for you to give 00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:54.179 us like a tech spiel and it was just like it 00:41:54.179 --> 00:41:57.400 just felt like such a yeah waste of time no and 00:41:57.400 --> 00:42:00.360 i that's why i do think that the regional smaller 00:42:00.360 --> 00:42:02.599 groups should be embraced because they can be 00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:06.019 more efficient and impactful and the reason i 00:42:06.019 --> 00:42:08.360 bring this up is because i i had mentioned yours 00:42:08.360 --> 00:42:11.940 as a model as i had said like hey you know we 00:42:11.940 --> 00:42:15.139 should embrace this a bit more like i think california 00:42:15.139 --> 00:42:21.260 should have its own um you know subgroup or you 00:42:21.260 --> 00:42:24.690 know uh Its own secret society. And I thought 00:42:24.690 --> 00:42:27.389 they were going to tar and feather me when I 00:42:27.389 --> 00:42:29.570 said it. But I was just like, well, I think it 00:42:29.570 --> 00:42:33.849 makes sense from the efficiency and being relevant 00:42:33.849 --> 00:42:36.369 with all. There's a lot of hostels in California, 00:42:36.610 --> 00:42:39.190 so it could be a very nice group. And then it 00:42:39.190 --> 00:42:43.170 could be within affiliated to Naha. But I think 00:42:43.170 --> 00:42:44.809 that's stuff that we should continue to talk 00:42:44.809 --> 00:42:46.750 about even in this upcoming conference, because 00:42:46.750 --> 00:42:49.690 I think that should be embraced by Naha instead 00:42:49.690 --> 00:42:52.920 of them being. more concerned of like oh this 00:42:52.920 --> 00:42:56.619 is people going rogue or breaking out of yeah 00:42:56.619 --> 00:43:00.639 because it clearly yeah you're you're both a 00:43:00.639 --> 00:43:03.460 great example of that's not the case as well 00:43:03.460 --> 00:43:05.960 as dave cook was down there and you know heather 00:43:05.960 --> 00:43:09.079 lober is still involved you know so i think that 00:43:09.079 --> 00:43:11.559 we should continue to push and use yours as a 00:43:11.559 --> 00:43:14.639 model and example of how that can be a very useful 00:43:14.639 --> 00:43:17.380 thing and very impactful yeah i see tremendous 00:43:17.380 --> 00:43:21.760 value in like the large scale like naha or this 00:43:21.760 --> 00:43:26.639 international one. I love that for there's strength 00:43:26.639 --> 00:43:29.579 in numbers. If we really are going to shift public 00:43:29.579 --> 00:43:32.420 perception of hostiles and move the needle on 00:43:32.420 --> 00:43:34.920 that, we need the numbers. We need everyone all 00:43:34.920 --> 00:43:40.380 hands on deck. Join. Secret handshake. Sign the 00:43:40.380 --> 00:43:41.880 dotted line. Hand over your membership fees. 00:43:43.320 --> 00:43:47.139 We're all doing this thing. Get on board. It 00:43:47.139 --> 00:43:49.539 helps all of us. and that's great for like a 00:43:49.539 --> 00:43:54.360 public facing uh mission right to like move forward 00:43:54.360 --> 00:43:57.659 on perception and i think as far as like support 00:43:57.659 --> 00:44:00.480 and partnership and like keeping the doors open 00:44:00.480 --> 00:44:02.519 and developing our systems and like there's just 00:44:02.519 --> 00:44:07.239 something regional that like yeah like when you 00:44:07.239 --> 00:44:09.440 show up for our gatherings like there's no like 00:44:09.440 --> 00:44:11.760 soloing out like who's gonna get it it's like 00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:14.000 we all we all know like we all know the challenges 00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:18.360 we all know it's it's yeah it's It's always a 00:44:18.360 --> 00:44:22.360 hoot. The first hour of every one of our annual 00:44:22.360 --> 00:44:24.239 gatherings, it's just like, you're never going 00:44:24.239 --> 00:44:27.179 to freaking believe. It's just that solidarity 00:44:27.179 --> 00:44:30.800 of all the challenges that come with very regional 00:44:30.800 --> 00:44:34.340 specific things. You just don't get at scale. 00:44:34.900 --> 00:44:37.739 The Copenhagen one, everyone talking about pods, 00:44:38.099 --> 00:44:40.440 the revolution of pods and these little sleep 00:44:40.440 --> 00:44:43.980 pods. Rural hostels, that is just never going 00:44:43.980 --> 00:44:45.519 to be in the cards. It's never going to be in 00:44:45.519 --> 00:44:50.250 the budget. No, I can see what you mean by that 00:44:50.250 --> 00:44:54.630 and those different styles of presentations they 00:44:54.630 --> 00:44:56.769 put on and those types of things. It's cool. 00:44:56.769 --> 00:45:00.639 It's great information. It's fun to gather. Yeah, 00:45:00.639 --> 00:45:05.239 I find it to be – because we used to go to the 00:45:05.239 --> 00:45:06.840 Hostel World one when they had it in Dublin, 00:45:06.940 --> 00:45:09.000 Ireland, and it was like the party was at the 00:45:09.000 --> 00:45:11.199 Guinness factory and brewery and everything. 00:45:11.519 --> 00:45:14.059 And basically it was like, okay, we're basically 00:45:14.059 --> 00:45:16.460 – it's an excuse for us to go get blitzed in 00:45:16.460 --> 00:45:19.840 Ireland for a week. Okay, yeah. But as far as 00:45:19.840 --> 00:45:24.019 taking value out of it, I definitely think Naha 00:45:24.019 --> 00:45:28.539 is doing great with their – There are conferences 00:45:28.539 --> 00:45:31.000 and there are post trips and that's all about 00:45:31.000 --> 00:45:33.860 networking, right? You know, and again, but I 00:45:33.860 --> 00:45:36.320 do think that we should continue to push the 00:45:36.320 --> 00:45:38.679 idea of these regional meetups because again, 00:45:38.780 --> 00:45:41.820 I've voiced your group as an example of how this 00:45:41.820 --> 00:45:45.039 could be a good thing for Naha that there's affiliated 00:45:45.039 --> 00:45:47.559 subgroups that are more regional that could be 00:45:47.559 --> 00:45:50.739 impactful. You have a support system for regional 00:45:50.739 --> 00:45:54.139 challenges you face and it gives you more support 00:45:54.139 --> 00:45:58.460 and more longevity. Outstanding. Speaking of 00:45:58.460 --> 00:46:01.940 support, any advice for other couples or solo 00:46:01.940 --> 00:46:04.800 entrepreneurs starting a hostel in a mountain 00:46:04.800 --> 00:46:07.019 town now that you guys have lived it, done it, 00:46:07.099 --> 00:46:11.179 awarded a champion? What can you leave for the 00:46:11.179 --> 00:46:14.260 next generation of hostel entrepreneurs? That's 00:46:14.260 --> 00:46:16.440 a good one. Yeah. I mean, I was just going to 00:46:16.440 --> 00:46:18.739 say, if you're going to do it, be all in. Be 00:46:18.739 --> 00:46:22.980 all in. Be all about it. Yeah, that's true. You've 00:46:22.980 --> 00:46:25.900 got to love it. and like work -life balance is 00:46:25.900 --> 00:46:28.659 also important but as far as the work side of 00:46:28.659 --> 00:46:32.059 things goes you're you're all in yeah yeah that's 00:46:32.059 --> 00:46:35.380 your point yeah what do you think kyle i didn't 00:46:35.380 --> 00:46:36.659 give you enough time to think of something did 00:46:36.659 --> 00:46:39.500 i no yeah that bought me off time i would say 00:46:39.500 --> 00:46:44.599 my my advice would be yeah like we're trying 00:46:44.599 --> 00:46:47.760 to shift public perception on hostels and we're 00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:51.760 hostels like there there are some like some luxuries 00:46:51.760 --> 00:46:55.400 we as operators are like allowed get to enjoy 00:46:55.400 --> 00:46:59.000 and like that is the imperfection like we are 00:46:59.000 --> 00:47:02.500 uh everyone like especially independently owned 00:47:02.500 --> 00:47:05.599 like we're unique it has i love the term character 00:47:05.599 --> 00:47:09.440 right we love character it's like this now you're 00:47:09.440 --> 00:47:11.760 gonna say done is better than perfect like like 00:47:11.760 --> 00:47:13.679 start something yeah it doesn't have to be gotten 00:47:13.679 --> 00:47:15.559 the hospitality i feel like it was like we have 00:47:15.559 --> 00:47:17.340 to have like the best beds the best pillows it 00:47:17.340 --> 00:47:20.420 has to be like spit polish clean like shining 00:47:20.420 --> 00:47:22.480 glimmering sorry i don't mean to interrupt you 00:47:22.480 --> 00:47:24.639 but like it's got to be above board it's got 00:47:24.639 --> 00:47:27.360 to be clean it's got to be safe other than that 00:47:27.360 --> 00:47:29.239 like yeah you don't need the pods on your on 00:47:29.239 --> 00:47:32.019 your opening day necessarily yeah it's just yeah 00:47:32.019 --> 00:47:35.699 just to not lose sight of the soft stuff the 00:47:35.699 --> 00:47:40.199 like checking like how you doing um that just 00:47:40.199 --> 00:47:43.579 i mean i'm partial to your dave cook episode 00:47:43.579 --> 00:47:46.059 just because he's a buddy of ours too but like 00:47:46.059 --> 00:47:48.519 that the story of just like him being lost and 00:47:48.519 --> 00:47:50.739 coming in and just like the big hug he gave him 00:47:50.739 --> 00:47:54.300 like that's it that that's the sauce like i still 00:47:54.300 --> 00:47:57.900 remember that yeah yeah that's it and yeah the 00:47:57.900 --> 00:47:59.940 connection never forgetting the guests just making 00:47:59.940 --> 00:48:02.119 the guests happy comfortable making them feel 00:48:02.119 --> 00:48:04.679 like they belong you know yeah and they're part 00:48:04.679 --> 00:48:06.739 of the community here and if you take care of 00:48:06.739 --> 00:48:08.539 your guests they'll keep staying they feel like 00:48:08.539 --> 00:48:10.519 they're welcome though They'll extend and extend 00:48:10.519 --> 00:48:13.760 and extend and it grows from there. That's great 00:48:13.760 --> 00:48:17.519 advice. Yeah. No, but in closing, wrapping up, 00:48:17.539 --> 00:48:21.440 I think you both bring some great mantras in 00:48:21.440 --> 00:48:25.059 or ethos to like the hostel. And Haley, you brought 00:48:25.059 --> 00:48:27.219 up a few times and I always tell our staff, like, 00:48:27.219 --> 00:48:29.559 you know, our, our base job at its foundation 00:48:29.559 --> 00:48:34.420 is a clean space, a secure space in a space that 00:48:34.420 --> 00:48:36.119 everyone feels comfortable being themselves. 00:48:36.800 --> 00:48:38.760 And then, and then everything else will take 00:48:38.760 --> 00:48:41.380 care of itself. You know, like the moment, the 00:48:41.380 --> 00:48:43.480 energy, the vibe, we don't need to have anything 00:48:43.480 --> 00:48:45.840 too fancy and everything. Cause then over to 00:48:45.840 --> 00:48:48.219 Kyle, some of you were saying, Oh, an old man 00:48:48.219 --> 00:48:50.420 once came up to me and he's a backpacker had 00:48:50.420 --> 00:48:52.780 been to every country. And you could just like 00:48:52.780 --> 00:48:55.000 in old salt, you could feel the travel coming 00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:56.739 off of them. It's one of those older guests, 00:48:56.800 --> 00:48:59.219 older guests that all the younger guests circled 00:48:59.219 --> 00:49:01.380 around and we're listening to his stories. And 00:49:01.380 --> 00:49:03.179 he came up to me and he was like, young man, 00:49:03.300 --> 00:49:07.070 never forget. that a perfect hostile is imperfect. 00:49:07.710 --> 00:49:11.269 And that always hit me. I was like, oh, wow. 00:49:11.449 --> 00:49:14.210 He like hit me with a, you know, a saber of truth. 00:49:14.250 --> 00:49:16.269 And I was like, okay, you know, that's so true. 00:49:16.349 --> 00:49:18.449 Like, cause we are hostiles and we should never 00:49:18.449 --> 00:49:20.469 forget that, that we're not, you know, going 00:49:20.469 --> 00:49:23.050 to be a five star resort. We're going to have 00:49:23.050 --> 00:49:25.429 more character and more genuine experience. And, 00:49:25.429 --> 00:49:27.650 you know, we shouldn't forget that. but that's 00:49:27.650 --> 00:49:29.610 so powerful it like creates a permission sorry 00:49:29.610 --> 00:49:31.530 we're really going yeah probably but like yeah 00:49:31.530 --> 00:49:33.630 just yeah i think the imperfection like no one 00:49:33.630 --> 00:49:36.050 is perfect and no muscles being imperfect like 00:49:36.050 --> 00:49:38.050 it creates a permission structure for people 00:49:38.050 --> 00:49:40.349 to feel truly comfortable they get their guards 00:49:40.349 --> 00:49:42.010 down because they look around and they realize 00:49:42.010 --> 00:49:45.409 like oh yeah like this place isn't like 100 perfect 00:49:45.409 --> 00:49:47.849 i don't have to be either i can arrive exactly 00:49:47.849 --> 00:49:52.429 my shoes off and like yeah be comfortable yep 00:49:52.809 --> 00:49:55.170 And I think that's a powerful thing that we offer 00:49:55.170 --> 00:49:56.829 people because everything else that a lot of 00:49:56.829 --> 00:49:58.630 times in this world is trying to be perfect or 00:49:58.630 --> 00:50:02.050 trying to hide the imperfect. Yeah. And just 00:50:02.050 --> 00:50:04.989 embrace it, baby, you know, and let your, you 00:50:04.989 --> 00:50:06.849 know, and have your moment. And then in those 00:50:06.849 --> 00:50:08.750 moments, you have those genuine experience and 00:50:08.750 --> 00:50:10.329 connections that are so beautiful and fulfilling. 00:50:10.809 --> 00:50:14.849 But, again, thank you so much, Haley, Kyle, the 00:50:14.849 --> 00:50:18.369 Conway Hostel, the Coho. Thank you for joining 00:50:18.369 --> 00:50:21.650 us on the Hostel Road Trip podcast. And when 00:50:21.650 --> 00:50:25.670 I come up to – I actually have a visit that I 00:50:25.670 --> 00:50:28.849 owe Dave Cook to visit the barn door. And when 00:50:28.849 --> 00:50:31.429 we do, we're going to try to come see you too. 00:50:31.969 --> 00:50:35.889 Cool. Yeah, please do. Keep on rocking. We look 00:50:35.889 --> 00:50:38.460 forward to seeing you in Montreal. Yeah, we'll 00:50:38.460 --> 00:50:40.420 see you in Montreal. Thank you guys so much. 00:50:40.760 --> 00:50:43.900 Thanks so much. Thanks, Bob. I'm Jimmy Black. 00:50:44.019 --> 00:50:44.360 We're out.