Wondering if anyone has experience in operating a Hostel.
Miami Beach (south Beach) has many of them with prices ranging from $15 a day to $175 a week and $550 a month. Many price options, daily, weekly or monthly.
I like to know about these and the process. A friend is staying in one while transitioning back into South Beach, Apparently it is a 3/1 condo turned into hostel with 18 girls living in the condo. There are 3 bunkbeds per room. The owner lives in the other unit next door. It is amazing. He has a waiting list. He has another unit that has 2 br and holds 6 girls for a total of 24 girls. According to my friend he is making over 12K a month running it
If I were you, I would go down there and stay in one of the the hostels. See if you can make a mentor of the owner. Do not go into business there to compete with him, but see if he will teach you his method.
It sounds very similar to the “renting to college kids” plan of putting unrelated students under the same roof.
This can be very lucrative but takes a lot of day-to-day managing, fine-tuning, and hand-holding. You become a sort of house parent, but that can be a great job. Plus you are providing young people with a safe, clean, affordable place to sleep. They will be living on the beach, in the restaurants and in the bars. They will be having a great time, but you will have some normal problems (think “Jersey Shore”) of drunkenness, bad budgeting, slovenly housekeeping. Kids being kids.
However, this golden goose of a money-making scheme has just landed in front of you! Are you gonna pluck a few feathers, or just let it fly away?
Furnishedowner
South Beach has tons of Hostel’s and from what I hear there is waiting list on some. Most are co-ed but some are all girls. It is mostly filled with people looking to vacation for a month or 2 or people trying to live the Miami dream and look for a job. Very easy to evict. If you go week by week or monthly when it’s up your gone w/o money and cash only.
I was looking more into policies and process if anyone knew and how well. Getting someone to manage it would be easy but it is a fulltime job.
In Fort Lauderdale we have many hostels for what we call Yachtie’s which are the crews that work on 100+ ft Yachts and come into port for weeks to months during season.
In theory, this sounds amazing. I’m imagining fast money, scenes from Girls Gone Wild, etc.
But, in reality, don’t you think there’s something odd about his story? In every city I’ve done business, there’s normally a by-law that says only three unrelated people can live in a house or condo apt. How do you get 18 living in a condo without the neighbours complaining to the by-law dept? Is the condo association even ok with this?
Second, how do you discriminate with only letting in one class of people? You couldn’t do that in a motel. Have discrimination laws been violated?
And, motels, from what I’ve seen, need commercial zoning. Single Family or multi-residential zoning normally won’t do. So, that’s another by-law issue.
And at really cheap rents like $15 a day, how do you keep that 60 year-old drunk pensioner with mental health issues out of your hostel without getting slapped with a discrimination lawsuit? Is there a special hostel license you need to get to allow you to contravene normal residential tenancy laws?
The numbers don’t even add up. $15 a day is $105 a week, not $175/week. Does he rent by the hour or something?
Finally, how do you deal with bedbugs and fleas? Cheap accomodations are grand central station for them. If I go on a vacation and there are $30/night motel rooms, I’m going to the $70 national chain motels just to be safe so I don’t come back home with suitcases full of bedbugs.
And he has a waiting list? I hope he’s not trying to sell you his business.
IMO I would run this scenario by a real estate lawyer in Miami if it sounds legit. Comparing it to what I already know about residential rentals tells me it isn’t.
Hostels are hugh in in Miami Beach because of tourist. They are considered transit housing and abide by different rules. Some are more military stuff with a hugh room with rows of bunkbeds. Typical breakfast is served in them , they provide these days tv and internet. Laundry and all bed linen. You have housekeeping daily.
The one my friend is in is either $175 a week or $550 a month. However you can not stay more than 3 weeks if weekly. He said if you go for a 4th week he has to check you out and they redo all paperwork for legal reasons.
Yes zoning is an issue. I do not know much about them. However SOuth Beach is a renting breed different like anywhere else. Many places rented fully furnished. NO credit checks, small deposits. I know its a nightmare to most.