Sansiri's hostel initiative taken off the backburner

And this month, after months of closure for renovation, the hotel will be relaunched with a new name and a little fine-tuning in design, concept and the experience provided to customers. 

However, with the pace of the real-estate market picking up fast during the last decade, we thought our focus should be on one thing at a time, and we put the idea of exploring more hotel locations on the back burner. Recently we came to the point that we need to expand beyond Bangkok to other provinces. 

Then this sidelined initiative came beckoning again. We are now exploring the idea of opening hotels in provinces that we see fit our capacity, somewhere with demand for new hotel developments and ideas.

Bringing this initiative back forces me to revisit the hotel industry, studying trends and developing my understanding of the current market. 

One of the interesting movements I have noticed during my observations when on business trips, especially in Europe, is the rise of the hostel business.

For many of us, a hostel used to be “a budget-oriented, shared-room accommodation that accepts individual travellers (typically backpackers) or groups for short-term stays, and that provides common areas and communal facilities”. 

But those are things of the past. Similar to other industries, the hostel business has to adapt to the changes in the social, economic and financial landscapes during recent years. Increasingly, the hostel is being reinvented. 

With the increased availability of information, coupled with air fares coming down and disposable income going up, we have been able to learn about and explore new destinations that 10 years ago we’d never heard of. Who would have thought that Khao San Road would become a destination for tourists 15 years ago?

Looking beyond those factors, we are also seeing changes in economic, social and regional and global business climates. 

Recent slumps have forced corporations and people to become price-conscious. We tend to look for the cheapest choices available when it comes to accommodation, as proved by the emergence of many price-comparing websites. Also, with regional and global economic integration, people now can travel freely across borders, both for leisure and business, looking for new opportunities. 

On the business front, this could mean hastily arranged trips that won’t guarantee a stay in popular five-star hotels.

The identity of budget travellers has changed. The world is now full of entrepreneurs or those aspiring to be one. These are people who are free spirits yet intellectual and daring. 

These are people who used to travel the world to broaden their horizons in their youth. These are people who are used to the idea of staying in hostels, except that they are now seeking new twists. 

What is driving the hospitality business today, as in all areas of travel, is the pursuit of a unique experience. That’s why we are seeing many new experiences on offer in the newly reinvented hostel business. 

The new breed of hostels is no longer associated with terms like night curfews, bunk beds, dormitory-style shared rooms, or shared bathrooms any more, but more with hip, boutique, vibrant, upscale design, chic and relaxed settings. 

Do the search yourself and you will find some new hostels with really interesting concepts like Generator Hostels in Europe, Downtown Beds in Mexico, Matchbox the Concept Hostel in Singapore, Plus Hostels in Italy, and many more.

As one travel consultant was quoted as saying, “While there is a clear 

difference between the lowest and highest ends of the traveller’s accommodation market, everything in between is becoming more and more blurred.” 

This is an interesting thought, and I would love to see something like this in Bangkok, just for a change.