From London to Paris, from Tokyo to Toronto, Dorms.com connects you with the best deals from over 30,000 youth hostels. We spoke to the Director of Dorms.com, Chris Morisseau, to learn more about the worldwide expansion of his innovative organisation and their outstanding achievements so far.
Tell us your story. How did your business get started?
Dorms.com is a global company which started in Canada and has expanded in Dublin to better serve European Hostel owners to promote their properties worldwide.
We launched our first website for the French market 17 years ago in 1999 with the introduction of AubergesDeJeunesse.com. Dorms.com is now a market leader in France. Few years later we expanded to the Spanish market with Albergues.com for Spain and Hostales.com for South America. Today Dorms.com is present in Germany, Italy and many other markets including Brazil.
We aspire to become a truly global hostel directory, providing relevant accommodation to an audience of backpackers and travellers. Our platform allows hostel owners to showcase their properties in the best possible light, and our service is available worldwide in thirteen different languages.
We pride ourselves on exceptional service, and the strong relationships we build with hostel owners. We also strive to communicate with every traveller in their native language. This personal approach has led to some outstanding achievements, and we’ve sold more than 1,000,000 beds to date.
Dorms.com will release a mobile app on iOS and Android in June 2016, alongside a newly designed and optimised website. We want our users to have a seamless cross-platform experience, making their interactions with us a simple and streamlined as possible. Our guests can access their bookings from anywhere in the world, and our app integrates with Google Maps to safeguard travellers and get them to their destination quickly and comfortably.
We’re truly committed to great service. Dorms.com is the brand for the modern backpacker, and we pride ourselves in keeping a roof over our travellers’ heads at an affordable price.
What are your unique selling points? What makes you different?
The World is only getting smaller thanks to digital technologies and globalised transport. Our backpackers know this, and they want to travel internationally with ease, and cheaply, too. Dorms.com provides the framework for safe and affordable exploration.
From showcasing and selecting affordable hostels, to paying securely and receiving confirmation by SMS and email, we let backpackers get on with what they do best – travelling. For hostel owners, we shoulder the pain and hassle of marketing and managing bookings, letting them focus on running their business.
Dorms.com is all about hostels. It’s important to us that hostel owners have a platform to properly promote their value proposition against the hotel industry. We know that hostels offer a variety of benefits that hotels simply can’t match, and we’re here to promote those perks. We’ll always direct backpackers to a relevant hostel so you can rest easy – we’re on your side.
What are some of your success stories?
What are your future plans?
Part of the allure of hostel accommodation is the social aspect. You can meet travellers from around the world, share experiences, and sample cultures you may never encounter otherwise. We want to offer tools and services that capture the communal aspects of backpacking. Our aspiration is to allow travellers to truly experience the value of staying at a hostel.
Which trends and challenges do you see in the youth travel sector?
It’s well known that experiences are worth far more than money and youthful backpackers want more than just cheap accommodation. Our aim is to help hostel owners provide the best possible service, one that resonates with travellers, creating new stories and unforgettable memories in exciting and diverse locations across the globe.
What was your motivation to join WYSE Travel Confederation?
We’ve built up a considerable bank of industry knowledge during our time running Dorms.com, and we wanted to give something back. That’s why we joined WYSE Travel Confederation, and we desire to share with our industry the wants, needs, and concerns of the youthful backpackers and travellers that use our service.
Any top tips for people starting out in the youth travel sector?
For backpackers, it’s always about the experience. Youthful travellers want to create memories, they want to meet new people, and they want to see the world. That’s why hostels are so important. They provide us with somewhere safe to lay our head in unfamiliar places, and they function as a melting pot, a place where people and cultures collide.
Community is the heart of the hostel experience, and we believe promoting human interaction is the key to finding success in this industry. That’s why our service is personalised and tailored to every individual backpacker and traveller that we work with.
Please do not miss to check out Dorms.com or how to quick and easy list your hostel with Dorms.com in the short video below:
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