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3.   THEORETICAL  FRAMEWORK

4.3   H OSTEL  OWNER / MANAGER ’ S  PROFILE

generally  independently  operated  and  owned.  It  is  also  very  common  that  the  owner  of  a  hostel   is   also   in   charge   of   the   managerial   role.   However,   nowadays   the   hostel   industry   has   been   growing  extremely  fast,  and  even  hostels  have  been  changing  their  structure.  Many  hostels   have   now   became   structured   chains,   but   the   majority   of   them   are   still   independent   small   business  like  the  ones  that  are  taken  as  part  of  this  research’s  sample.  

   

4.3  Hostel  owner/manager’s  profile    

Hostel   managers/owners   have   different   profiles   between   them.   There   is   no   standard   background  or  requirement  to  be  able  to  run  a  hostel.  However,  I  have  detected  some  patters   between   these   hostel   managers/owners   to   make   it   easier   for   the   reader   to   understand   this   research.    

 

One  of  the  common  factors  that  I  found  is  the  work  enjoyment  as  a  main  motivation,  which  has   been  clear  while  interviewing  them.  The  other  one  is  the  fact  that  they  all  considered  themselves   to   be   social   oriented   people,   emphasizing   their   enjoyment   of   the   dynamic   atmosphere   of   a   hostel  and  the  easy  interaction  with  people  where  they  try  to  stay  in  touch  with  the  staff  team   members   and   the   hostel   guests.   Additionally,   most   of   them   mentioned   that   they   can   relate   themselves  with  the  travelers,  since  they  have  been  traveling  a  lot  in  the  past,  and  some  still   do  whenever  they  get  the  opportunity.  

 

As   it   has   been   stated,   15   interviews   were   conducted   with   hostel   managers/owners   from   different  cities  and  countries  from  around  the  globe.  In  the  following  paragraphs  I  will  mention   a  small  profile  of  each  and  every  one  of  the  hostel  managers/owners  interviewed  and  a  little  bit   of  background  of  the  hostel  they  run,  in  order  to  give  the  reader  a  better  overview  of  where  the   data  will  come  from:  

 

1.   André   Mesquita   (AM):   Owner   of   Home   Lisbon   and   Yes   Lisbon,   based   in   Lisbon,   Portugal.  Both  hostels  have  more  than  80  beds.  In  2014  the  Home  Lisbon  Hostel  was   awarded  of  the  best  medium  hostel  in  the  world  by  Hostel  World.  André  is  37  years  old   and  started  with  his  first  hostel  10  years  ago  with  the  help  of  his  family.  The  hostel  is  still   family  owned,  but  he  is  the  one  with  the  biggest  share.  He  has  a  degree  on  Marketing   Management  and  lived  abroad  for  two  years.    

2.   Sara  Alho  (SA):  Manager  of  three  hostels  (Destination  Hostel,  Sunset  Destination  Hostel   and   Alfama   Hostel),   based   in   Lisbon.   Both,   the   oldest   and   smallest   of   these   hostels   opened  10  years  ago,  with  more  than  100  beds.  The  hostels  have  been  running  for  more   than  five  years.  She  has  been  working  at  the  hostel  for  one  year.  Sara  is  25  years  old,   and   has   a   background   on   International   Management.   She   considers   herself   as   a   backpacker  since  she  has  been  traveling  a  lot  in  the  past  years.  

3.   Alexander  Vicens  (AV):  Manager  of  the  Walrus  Hostel  based  in  London,  UK.  He  has   been  working  in  hospitality  for  the  past  five  years  and  a  half.  Alexander  has  a  background   in  Tourism.  He  has  lived  in  a  lot  of  different  countries,  so  he  considers  himself  to  be  an   international  citizen.    “My  passion  is  hostel  hospitality,  I  am  very  lucky  to  be  involved  in   this  project”  (AV).    

4.   Márk   Molnár   (MM):   Manager   of   Avenue   Hostel   based   in   Budapest,   Hungary.   Márk   studied  Philosophy.  His  priorities  in  life  are  social  and  his  main  motivation  is  to  take  care   of  his  employees,  rather  than  the  business.    “Social  things  are  more  important  to  me   than  just  running  a  business”  (MM):  

5.   Berit  Bonde  (BB):  Manager  of  the  New  Guest  House  in  Thailand.  Berit  is  31  years  old   and  has  a  background  education  in  Service  Management.  She  has  been  working  at  the   hostel  for  three  years.  She  started  traveling  10  years  ago  and  she  mentions  her  desire   to  keep  traveling  and  exploring  the  world  whenever  she  has  the  opportunity.  

6.   Fatima  Martín  (FM):  Manager  of  the  TOC  Hostel  in  Madrid.  She  has  been  working  at  the   hostel  for  eight  months  and  she  loves  to  travel.  She  mentions  she  has  backpacked  a  lot   in  the  past.    

7.   Dean  Barlon  (DB):  Manager  of  The  Horse  and  Stables  in  London.  Dean  is  29  years  old   and  has  been  working  at  the  hostel  for  three  years.  He  has  a  background  in  Marketing  

and   Public   Relations.  “I   definitely   consider   myself   as   a   backpacker,   still   probably   am   whenever  I  can”  (DB).  

8.   Joab  Maranhao  (JM):  Owner  at  the  Spire  Hostel  in  Dublin.  Joab  is  38  years  old  and  has   a  degree  in  Business  Management.  He  has  been  working  for  this  industry  for  five  years.  

He  used  to  live  at  the  hostel  when  he  first  arrived  to  Ireland;;  he  was  doing  housekeeping   in  exchange  of  accommodation  and  through  the  years  took  over  the  business.  

9.   Andrea  W.  (AW):  Manager  and  Owner  at  both  of  the  Paprika  Hostels  in  Budapest.  She   is  35  years  old  and  has  been  working  in  the  hostel  industry  for  four  years.  She  started   as  a  receptionist,  then  became  the  manager  and  finally  then  owner.  

10.    Ewa  Patejko  (EP):  Manager  at  the  Tramp  Aparthostel  in  Cracow.  She  has  been  working   there  for  three  years  and  has  a  Masters  Degree  in  European  Studies,  currently  doing  a   PHD  on  Social  Studies.  “Traveling  is  my  other  job”  (EP).    

11.    Xavier  Simon  (XS):  Manager  at  the  Posada  de  Huertas  Hostel  in  Madrid.  He  has  been   working   there   since   its   inception   (13   years).   Xavier   has   a   background   education   in   International  Business.  

12.    Paulina  Woleck  (PW):  Manager  at  the  Cracow  Hostel.  She  is  33  years  old  and  has  a   degree  in  Business  Management.  She  has  been  working  at  the  hostel  for  five  years  now.  

“It  is  a  good  lifestyle  to  be  surrounded  by  that  many  travelers  from  all  around  the  world”  

(PW).  

13.    Muriel  O’connor  (MO):  Owner  at  the  Globetrotters  Hostel  in  Dublin.  She  is  50  years  old   and   has   been   working   there   for   10   years.   She   has   a   background   education   in   Psychology.  

14.    Olivia  Rodriguez  (OR):  Manager  at  the  hostel  Room  007  in  Madrid.  Olivia  is  34  years   old  and  has  worked  at  the  hostel  since  it  got  opened,  two  years  ago.  

15.    Pete  Edwards  (PE):  Manager  of  Samsun  Backpackers  Lodge  in  Vancouver.  Pete  is  37   years   old   and   has   been   working   at   the   hostel   industry   for   10   years   now.   He   started   working  in  the  kitchen  and  then  worked  his  way  up.    

     

4.4  Social  Network  as  a  factor  that  influences  the  innovation  decision-­making