behind the counter x Tomás Graça
The Passenger Hostel, Porto, Portugal.
This week behind the counter we have Tomás Graça, who heads all the operations and manages the super cool Passenger Hostel that’s located within the main train station; the São Bento train station in Porto, Portugal.
The hostel is like his own baby as he’s been with the hostel since its inception for the past 5 years. Tomás is super-friendly, and he’s an exceptional example of quality leadership, despite his young age.
Needless to say, Tomás loves his job and takes pride in the hostel’s dynamic atmosphere and the family-like bond he shares with the entire hostel team. Read on to know more about his incredible journey and his valuable take on review management and better financial planning practises for hostels.
What was life like before? and how did your journey start at The Passenger Hostel?
Before starting out at The Passenger Hostel, I was studying and working for the company that now runs the hostel and I had just completed my Erasmus programme, which is basically a study exchange programme.
After graduating, I was about to go on and start my Master’s, but then I was contacted by the company and they offered me a part-time job that involved administrative and financial tasks, which seemed perfect as I was also pursuing my Master’s degree. Back then, the company already had the hostel project in mind and I was there during the initial phases of when the reconstruction happened and getting funds from the banks.
The company is based in Lisbon and the hostel is in Porto, so I had to come down to Porto often and I eventually moved from Lisbon to Porto.
The hostel project was quite exciting and I’ve grown as the hostel’s grown. It’s like my baby! A lot has changed since then, and we’ve come a long way, of course, and it’s been great so far.
The Passenger Hostel is located inside São Bento train station, in the heart of Porto, which is amazing! According to you, how important is location, for hostels?
Location is, of course, very important, but if you don’t have the location, there are other ways to compensate for the not so favourable locations too.
We are lucky to have this amazing hostel project in this incredible building and the location is perfect; it’s in a train station that’s in the city centre and it’s close to everything! The building is truly unique and has a ceiling of six-meter high, it’s incredible.
I think that it’s better to be in a location that’s more central, that’s close to the supermarkets, restaurants and bars, essentially, in a lively area that’s favourable for the guests.
However, if the location is not central, it’s still something you can overcome or compensate for in other areas of what makes a hostel great; like providing quality whether it's the rooms, beds, mattresses or f&b. Also the quality of the experiences and activities and having exceptional staff.
It’s exceptional to be managing the hostel at a young age and doing such an amazing job of it! What’s your favourite part about managing a hostel?
I love the dynamics of the hostel. I have visited many hostels and I think what I love the most is the dynamics of it; people from all around the world coming in and going out, and the chance to meet so many people from different cultures and learn about it.
people who come to hostels are usually open-minded and they want to talk to you, they want to know you, they want to have this authentic experience. They want to go out with you to a cafe or a local bar/restaurant and experience the local culture and that’s something you don’t get from a hotel.
For me, that is super valuable and that makes me richer every day, to be able to talk with so many different people and learn about so many different cultures.
How are things picking up post-covid? Are there any new challenges?
The pandemic was, of course, a very difficult period. It’s not over yet but at least in Portugal and most of Europe in general, things are picking up very well. People want to travel again, they are keen on going anywhere, really. They just want to go and that’s great for the business.
Regarding things that have changed during the most difficult parts of the pandemic; we had to reduce occupancy in all the rooms, we had to put in practices of specific types of disinfectants and things that were not normal even though we always have had very high cleaning standards. We had to change some of our practices and maybe do things more often than before as we’re responsible for avoiding the spread of the virus inside our doors.
During that phase, especially in the summer of 2020, when everything was a bit unsure, we were able to open again and there were some difficulties for sure.
It was hard because we had to reduce occupancy and the rates went down, we had to shut down the kitchen so people could not cook and that changes the dynamic of the hostel, obviously.
Now I think everything is opening up and honestly, I don’t know if it’s the right way to say it but people don’t care anymore, especially millennials and Gen Z; basically, younger people want to travel and they want to experience the things they used to experience two years ago; this makes our lives easier again and we still keep high standards of hygiene and safety.
We are opening up and now, with no more reduced occupancy, the kitchens are fully functional again and people are travelling again, so it does look like things are returning to normal and I hope it stays this way.
The Passenger hostel has great reviews and ratings on all the OTAs! what’s the secret?
One thing I find very interesting is that we have a very good amount of reviews, so we have volume, which also matters a lot. I think that’s because the experience the guests have here is something different because of the location and the building itself, also the quality of the services we offer.
I believe when they come and they realize where they are and how they have been treated and all the experiences they have had, they feel the need to review, even if it’s an eight or a nine. We have volume and that helps to balance out the overall score especially when we get the one-odd review of two or three scores, so the overall score does not go down.
Although I think that reviews are very important and I think that it reflects guest experiences, it’s also the need of people to take out time and say okay “yes, it was super cool” or “it was nice but this is the downside and this is one super cool thing about the hostel” or “I like the people, the experience, the atmosphere” so reviews are always great for feedback too, to know directly from your guests where you can improve.
Coming back to how we have such great reviews, I believe it’s because quality, of course, has always been our motto and most of the people who have been working in the hostel, have been here since the beginning just like me. We are like a family and this is our home and that energy is then transmitted to our guests, which is really important too.
I also think it’s very good for the business, to keep the staff consistent. Especially, in this industry where there are so many offers or better pay, but finding this kind of spirit and team is not easy. I think the management has beautifully managed to keep the staff close and we’ve become like a family, which also greatly contributes and reflects in our reviews.
I have two really strong people by my side; Anna who is the reception manager, is incredible, she’s like my right arm and then we have my left arm, Claudia, who is the housekeeping manager, and she’s is amazing at her job .You won’t find a single strand of hair anywhere! We have our own housekeeping staff which is really important for better quality control.
We all feel happy every day; when we come to the hostel and when we go back home because we know that the people working with us are happy and satisfied. Sometimes we even come to work when we are on vacation or on our days off, we come here for a drink or just to spend some time together because, at the core of it all, we really are a family.
Can you give us some tips on better financial planning practices for hostels?
I think every business is a bit different from the other and they have their own specific financial hurdles.
For example, some hostels are leased properties and some hostels own the hostel property, so the financial hurdles are different.
In our case, quality is our topmost priority and it has always been our motto. We’re also a green hostel so being sustainable is another priority. My advice is to not be afraid of investing in quality.
For example, investing in a PMS; there are a lot of different PMSs out there in the market, some are expensive, some are cheaper which usually have complaints or many technical issues. So In our case, we think it’s better to maybe invest a little more and have something of good quality that will save time and reduce operational problems.
Quality should be consistent in all areas of running a hostel, that’s something that is very important to us. I’m not a financial advisor, so I cannot give specific advice but I think the quality you provide is super important and it should be standardised in all areas; the reception, the housekeeping, the f&b staff, etc.
For example, we use super comfortable mattresses and we have a lot of good reviews because of it since it makes a difference. Maybe the initial investment was a bit high but it also reflects in the price. If the quality is high, I’m able to charge higher, right? Maybe I have a better margin because I invested more.
People perceive quality only when they arrive and see for themselves like maybe they could have saved 5–10 euros and stayed in a cheaper hostel, but when they come here and perceive the quality, they understand why they are paying a bit more. Quality is the basis for everything, in our case.
Also, what comes to mind is the Food & Beverage and experiences that hostels can offer, apart from just accommodation. The revenue that comes from these areas, at least from my experience contributes a significant amount to your profit margins. This includes everything you sell; tours, activities, f&b, merchandise, etc.
For tours and activities, you can tie up with existing third-party companies that organise tours and activities because people have the money to spend and if they spend it through you and get discounts and you get commissions, it's good.
For F&B, having an in-house cafe or bar is also beneficial and you can provide discounts or have happy hours.
We do events and we try to get people to the bar, but having said that, it’s not because we only want to make money through the bar, but more so because we want movement at the bar, we want to promote the atmosphere and encourage socialising with other people. People come to hostels because of their social atmosphere and to mingle, meet new people, make friends, share stories and experiences and it’s all about staying true to that.
The passenger Hostel has been awarded the GreenKey Seal for the past three years in a row…and an honourable mention at National Tourism Award! What is the kind of green practices carried out at the hostel?
We try to be as green as possible. We’ve installed energy-saving LED lights, water-saving systems in all the toilets and even the showers. Our toilet flushes have a reduced amount of water, which is just enough to put everything away, so not too much water gets wasted and that was evaluated by one association that promotes sustainability.
We try to follow zero waste when it comes to food, we practise reuse and also buy all our products from local producers and suppliers.
So we really try to be as green as possible, of course, that’s a high investment too but it also helps differentiate you and it’s very satisfying to know you’re contributing to a more sustainable future, however small the contribution maybe. We try our best and we hope it inspires our guests too.
