behind the counter x Marco Mancuso
Marco Mancuso is the Owner of El Granado Hostel, a hostel that has won many awards and accolades! Marco quit his nine-to-five job and set out to make his hostel dream come true, in another country! Marco tells us about the many challenges of experience and language he has faced, and his dedication to learning more about running a successful hostel by working a ridiculous amount of hours is truly commendable. Join us on his hostel journey as Marco shares his valuable insights and touches base on his biggest learning experiences and moments.
What was your life like before opening a hostel? What inspired you to start a hostel?
I was actually doing something completely different before this; I studied engineering and worked as an engineer for three and a half years. Back in 2010- 2011, after completing University, I did nine months around the world trip and since then I had this “hostel dream” as many many backpackers do.
I travelled to South America, Australia, New Zealand, South-east Asia and India as well. And then I came back and found a job in the engineering field, worked in the energy sector for a good amount of time. After a while, I felt that it wasn’t really my thing. I always had the hostel dream in the back of my mind. The engineering job was well-paid and everything, but it just didn’t feel rewarding enough. The usual nine-to-five office job, It felt like I was caught up in a huge machine.
I clearly needed a change, and when the opportunity came, I took it! It was a bit of luck, and a lot of motivation to make this change. So yeah, my big trip was for sure the inspiration. I made it happen after a few years by moving here to Spain and finding the right opportunity in Granada.
Even though it’s been a long time since my big trip, it’s still very vivid in my mind. I was travelling and staying in different hostels that made me want to continue living this hostel kind of lifestyle. Even though I’m not travelling as much as before, at least I feel like I kind of gave back what I did myself while travelling. I’m providing the same kind of experiences to my guests and travellers now. At the same time hearing their stories, it feels like I’m travelling again.
Although I’m not physically travelling, the ‘travel’ is still coming to me.
2. How is it like for the hostel to be a family run business?
I run the hostel by myself but have a lot of support from my family. I’m originally from Italy and my family lives in Rome, but my parents came to Spain several times and helped me with setting up the hostel initially, with the renovations and design. My girlfriend also supports me and helps me run the hostel. Without my family’s support, the hostel wouldn’t be as successful as it is now!
What are the challenges you faced when you started?
First, I didn’t have any real experience in the hospitality sector at all. I just did a little bit of reception night shifts and volunteering in a hostel in Krakow, Poland for a few months. Apart from the experience of travelling and seeing it all as a guest, I didn’t have much experience from the inside right, so that was a huge challenge in itself of course. I knew it would be great, and I was ready for it, but inevitably with no experience, it was a very steep learning curve.
Then there was the challenge of language. I spoke some Spanish back then, but I wasn’t fluent enough to speak confidently in some situations, such as in legal and technical matters. Not many locals speak Spanish in Granada so it was definitely challenging. But I love languages so it was a pleasant and motivating too! And like many other hostel owners, in the beginning, working day and night for many hours, for weeks and weeks. During the early days, even though we would close the reception at night, I would stay back just to proceed and learn about property management systems and other things till really late, till three-four a.m. So that was challenging too.
Is there any particular moment or memory from all these years that stands out for you?
This is quite a relatively recent moment of which I have a memory of. Before the pandemic struck, we were undergoing some renovations at the hostel. Before the renovations, we had both dorm rooms and apartments, so we are a hostel/guest-house hybrid really. At the beginning of the year, we transformed all the apartments into dorms and became a 100% a hostel. So that was a very challenging and stressful period with all the renovations.
After that, the moment that was very nice and positive was seeing the new rooftop areas ready and having guests finally be able to enjoy them. So, for example, the first family dinner on the rooftop and utilising the new terraces; these moments were very special. The hostel already existed with the previous owners before I took over. The previous owners who started the hostel had already done a great job, and the hostel had a lot of ‘them’ in it, it was a reflection of them. After the renovations, it feels like it’s a reflection of me too! It’s transformed with the common areas upstairs, and two rooftop terraces.
It’s very rewarding and fulfilling to see something you made from scratch being utilised; to create something and see it come to life and having guests living and enjoying the exact experiences you had in mind for them.
How has it been for the hostel with regards to the pandemic outbreak?
It’s been very tough, of course. We were closed from mid-March untill the end of June. And that was the first time the hostel ever closed down.
The hostel has never been closed since the day the previous owners started it in 2009. But this year, of course, has been quite the exception, forcing us to close for many months. The timing wasn’t very good as we had just invested on renovations and improvements. We re-opened in July, and things were not looking so good. We had some guests and then progressively but slowly it was getting better and better over August, September and October.
Considering the times, I guess we’re doing alright. We might have to close again soon, but we will be open till we are allowed to. It’s a very demanding period for hostels all over the world, but we are doing all we can to survive it, unfortunately, other hostels have been closed since March. We have at least been able to reopen and we are doing everything we can to prepare and make sure we are ready for when finally and hopefully international travel bans eases. In the meantime, we are making sure the hostel is ready to give the best experiences to our guests, trying to make minor improvements, and keeping up with the times, keeping honest communication open with our guests; so we are keeping ourselves busy and making sure we are absolutely ready for when the time comes.
Are you currently offering discounts, co-living options, student accommodation or long-term stay packages?
We allow the current guests and all future guests to extend their stay as long as they want, and we offer discounts for weekly and monthly stays. Due to the global situation and the travel restrictions in Granada, at the moment (November) we have basically transformed into a co-living space as we mostly have long term guests. All the guests we have now have at least been staying for two weeks. They are loving the rooftop terraces and the new atmosphere of the hostel so many of them plan to stay longer.
What was your biggest learning experience over the years?
Managing my own time continues to be the biggest challenge and learning experience over the years for me. It’s something that’s been important to me since the beginning, especially because I want to have the right work-life balance.
Managing a hostel is a lifestyle choice and like every entrepreneur, in the beginning, you’ll be very motivated and spend a lot of time on it. But most people need that work-life balance otherwise they will burn out quickly and then they lose the motivation too quickly.
Prioritisation and working on things that will help you save time in the future is extremely important in order to have the right work-life balance. Some non-urgent tasks need to be prioritised right, for example, maintenance or adopting technological solutions early on to make your life easier for the long-term can be very beneficial. So these things can help you overtime reduce your amount of work. Of course, I’m talking about small independent hostels where the owners are involved in the day-to-day management of the hostel. It’s good to have all this in mind so you have the time to disconnect and enjoy the fruits of your labour too, otherwise again, you’ll end up burning out too quickly.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a hostel too?
Apart from everything that I answered in the previous question, there is another really important thing. It’s important to pay great attention to the design and functionality of the hostel; The design of common areas, quality of beds and mattresses can go a long way with guest satisfaction!
Also, people management skills will give you a global approach and open your mind to be better equipped when mediating with staff and guests from very different. backgrounds.
Finally keep in mind, as a hostel owner, you will be juggling a lot of things and meeting so many people, so you must be prepared to constantly put on different hats!
