One of the world’s best hostels for solo female travelers

Voted as one of the best hostels for solo female travelers and best medium hostel in Hoscars awards by Hostelworld, Lost Inn Lisbon is a treat for those who want to explore Lisbon, make new friends on the road and have fun. Let’s not forget about comfort – because it wouldn’t be considered “best” for solo female travelers without comfort, right?

So we’ve asked its owner – António few questions about his journey and how he makes sure that guests have an unforgettable experience.

How did you get into the hostel industry? What were the beginnings of Lost Inn Lisbon?

– My entrance into the Hostel Industry happened by chance. A friend of mine came to me and told me about a project we wanted to start and invited me to partner in that project. The project was about a lodging business similar to the “Youth Hostels Association” that I already knew, but with a slightly different format, a more social environment, located in central places and directed to young people exploration.

What’s your favorite thing about working in the hostel industry?

– My favorite thing about this industry is the pleasure of providing a vibrant social environment and hosting people from virtually anywhere in the world and hearing about their experiences and stories.

What do you know about your work now that you wish you’d known when you first started?

– It’s a tough question. So many things! Starting from knowing about the rise of prices of real estate 🙂

Seriously, I think I made the learning path I needed.

Many previous guests mention in their reviews a fantastic atmosphere. So, what’s your secret to making sure that guests have a great stay? 

– That one is really simple 🙂 I try to provide our guests the ambiance I would like to get myself in the same situation.

How has been an experience with FrontDesk Master and our team so far? How did it help you and your team to manage your hostel? And what advice would you give to other hostel owners when it’s time to choose PMS?

– We were using another PMS before. I chose FDM because of the balance of its functionalities versus monthly cost: Some of the factors that made us decide were the many functionalities about managing the bookings during its life cycle and the channel manager functionalities.  

My advice to other hostel owners is to figure out what functionalities they really need, select a system supporting those functionalities, and try to understand how the other properties that already use that system really use it.

Finally, what’s your favorite hostel memory? 🙂

– Huau, that one is difficult. 

For instance, the talks with a guy coming from the US about his plans to travel around the world without using flights. He was starting the journey in Lisbon and intended to travel through Europe, Asia, and so on until he returned to the US. After he left Lisbon, I followed his journey, and after six months, he was exhausting his available time and was only able to reach Sweden 🙂

Another memorable moment was to share talks of a guy that was a volunteer for a program to travel to Mars (a non-return voyage) and was traveling around the world as a journey of collecting memories and experiences.

See how easy is managing your hostel with FrontDesk Master

From working in finances to owning and managing hostels

Sometimes one trip can become the seed of a bigger idea. That was precisely the case of Sergio and Aji Hostel in Santiago in Chile. 

In this interview, you will find out:

→ what’s the story behind Aji Hostel

→ three pillars of a top-notch hostel experience

→ their experience with FrontDesk Master

– How did you get into the hostel industry? What were the beginnings of Aji Hostel?

– It was 2004 when I was graduating from the University in Finances. I used to work in the insurance company, so it was all about finances, with ties – it was boring. 

So I took a holiday, took a car and went to the north of Chile. Then I went with a friend to Argentina, and there we stayed in a couple of hostels. This is where my whole idea started taking shape because in Chile, precisely in Santiago, the form of a hostel was totally different. It was more like a guest house, so it wasn’t about backpacking. 

This journey inspired me, and I didn’t want to work in finances anymore when I came back.

I talked with a few of my friends and agreed to create a hostel. 

So I found a house for rent that was possible for me to pay – I talked with the homeowner, she liked me, and she rented it to me even though I couldn’t prove to her that I would be able to pay off.

We started to do the renovations of the house, it ended up fantastic, and we opened a hostel in 2006. It was the 4th hostel in Santiago. That was also the time when tourism started to rise in Chile.

So that was the beginning – we didn’t have much knowledge about the industry, and we started with nothing.

– So you were learning by doing the work?

– Yes, I had no idea how to manage it. I knew the finances part but not the management. Though it’s not nuclear physics, yes, I learned a lot from the receptionists on the go. 

The first years were incredible. It was more about sharing with people and having fun than the business.

With time we were evolving and investing. In the beginning, we had 27 beds. Now we have a second house with 95 beds.

– What’s your favorite thing about working in the hostel industry?

– I love people – this is my favorite thing about working in hostels and tourism. And my colleagues – we have an organization in Chile where we support each other and help each other out.

– What’s the key to the best guest experience? What are you doing in the Aji hostel for people to have fun?

– First of all, sustainability is vital for us. We have implemented solar energy, heat pumps for hot water, recycling, and we support organizations that protect flora and fauna. Today in the 6th year, we are the unique accommodation in Chile, within hostels, with sustainability certificate. We have three pillars in our hostels:

1. Sustainability,
2. Socializing – events, dinners for free, we create space for people to get to know each other.
3. Inclusivity – no discrimination, small things like it’s not allowed to make jokes regarding gender and ethnicity in our team.

A hostel where people are not socializing is not a hostel.

We keep it all local and home-feel like. We work with local people to make that possible. 

– What’s your experience with FDM and our team? How did it help?

– For me, it’s a super good system. All of my team is very satisfied – though until now, we were using only essential things: coordinate reservations, know who is in-house, and if people paid or not. This will change because now we have 96 beds.

See how easy it is to manage your hostel with FrontDesk Master