The revenue that is already in your building

Hostels run on thin margins, and the obvious lever is the room rate. But the rate is set by the market, by the OTAs and by the hostel down the road. The part of the business you actually control is everything a guest can buy once they have arrived.

Food and drinks. Walking tours, pub crawls and day trips. Bike, board and scooter rentals. Laundry, late check-out, airport transfers. Most hostels already offer some of these. The problem is rarely the product. It is that guests do not know it exists until it is too late to book.

Why good offers go unsold

• The information lives on a whiteboard in the lobby that guests walk past with a backpack on.
• Staff mention it at check-in, when the guest is tired and thinking about a shower.
• Tomorrow's trip fills up by word of mouth, so the guests who arrived today never hear about it.
• Partner experiences are recommended verbally, and the hostel never sees a commission for them.

Show it at the moment people decide

Guests decide what to do next on their phone, usually in the evening, usually from their bunk. That is when the sunset trip, the family dinner and tomorrow's surf lesson need to be in front of them, with a price, a photo and a way to say yes.

Being clear helps as much as being visible. "Walking tour, 10:00 from reception, tips-based, 6 spots left" sells itself. "Ask us about tours!" asks the guest to do the work.

Count the partners you already recommend

Most hostels send guests to the same local operators every week: the dive school, the cooking class, the boat trip. If guests book those through you, you can agree a commission and track it. If they book on a flyer, you get nothing. Writing down every partner you recommend is often the fastest win in this whole list.

Start small

You do not need a new product to start. Take what you already sell, put it where guests can see and book it, and watch what gets picked up. Then add the next thing. Staye puts your menu, activities, rentals and partner experiences in one branded place your guests open on their own phones, so what you offer finally gets seen.