Piyush Kumar loves to travel. From 2009 – 2017 he worked for different online companies like Uber and Paytm, travelled to different countries and found a lovely system of residences there – a hostel system quite unlike the Indian scenario. They were clean, affordable, and preferred over hotels! This put him on a new journey – of bringing something similar to India too. #Hashtag Rooms in Calangute is his brainchild. Here is how it all began!
Location? – “The idea was well and good, but the first question was where to start it? I wanted a place which was frequented by foreign tourists because this concept is more popular among them. So I chose Goa” said Piyush. He left his job in 2017 and came down here to finally narrow down to Calangute.
Name? – “I knew that most trending things on social media are prefixed with a hashtag. So that’s what I named the hostel! If I start something it should be in trend right?” In step with the times, Piyush named his rooms also accordingly – Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc.
Planned and booked! – Completely dependent on the online system of bookings, Piyush added his listing on Google 15 days prior to the hostel’s opening, and to his surprise, all his rooms were booked from the 1st day itself! He chose a place in Calangute that was close to all the popular attractions, and at the same time offered privacy too. Hashtag Rooms is in walking distance to the longest stretch of beach in Goa – from Candolim till Baga, a supermarket and restaurants open 24 hours, medical stores, ATMs and many night clubs. “There is a crowd here even during off-season time, so it is safe to travel around here” Added Piyush.
Rooms – Piyush’s Hostel has AC and Non-AC rooms (mixed as well as one separate just for women, a total of 40 beds) which you can share with 4-8 people and one couple room with private toilets attached to each room, complimentary breakfast, a common room to read, smoke or drink; linen, dry-cleaning facility, 2 common refrigerators, high-speed Wifi at 300 Mbps, and (you won’t believe this) a pool! All this at a starting tariff of Rs 200/-! Sounds too good to be true, isn’t it? They follow dynamic pricing so you have got to book earlier to catch that 200. Piyush was very particular about two things. One was high-speed Wifi. “Most of our guests are foreigners and that is the only way they can reach their family. So the Wifi has to be good.” And the other was beach shacks. “When tourists come to Goa, they lie on the beach sunbathing or in the water the whole day, and use the room only to sleep. For them, a good beach shack is more important. So close to our hostel is our own Prince of Tides shack, where we have a restobar that offers cocktails, mocktails and different cuisines, we put up sun-beds and organise weekend parties for the hostellers.” shared Piyush.
Piyush isn’t stingy about the rates; his heart is bigger than his hostel. “A couple from the US were pick-pocketed and had nothing left. So I offered them a room for free as they didn’t have anywhere else to go! Another couple came from the UK but it was off season, and everything around was closed. They were really upset. So I offered a discount on their room without their asking. Sometimes my guests land up at the bus-stop and are confused, so I go and pick them up myself. I have received calls at 2 or 3 am for supplies too! But I love this job, and I willingly help them.”
Piyush and his wife have been hosts to guests from 50 countries so far, and plan to expand their hostel to 5 more cities by 2019. They love to travel and have a very helpful nature, both of which fuelled this hostel’s rise. In less than a year, they have garnered all good reviews from their customers. They chose to not keep a manager so they could interact with all their guests directly, get feedback, and be part of the large cultural exchange! Piyush confided, “Earning money isn’t that big a priority. Money comes to those who work hard anyway. But satisfaction is hard to come by. I love to meet new people, share experiences with them, serve and help them to the best of my abilities. These things bring me satisfaction. I work to achieve these, through my hostel.”
Hashtag Rooms will be turning 1 next October! Here’s wishing them many more anniversaries with an ever growing family!