The travel buff who started a slew of hostels for the backpacking crowd

Pallavi Agarwal's goStops has 13 hostel properties that offer a host of modern amenities at pocket-friendly prices for budget tourist

In 2013, Pallavi Agarwal returned from a EuroTrip, having stayed in hostels that are an affordable accommodation alternative in those countries. Once back, she was surprised to see the lack of quality hostels in India. So she decided to get into the business on her own, and a year later, goStops was born. 

"We did some research and were surprised to find that hostel culture is almost non-existent in India. The few that were there lacked quality and couldn't cater to present-day travelers who are looking for so much more than just a stay. Realising the huge gap, we came up with our first hostel in Varanasi with an attempt to provide the youth with the necessities and experiences they would want to have on a budget," she says. 

Agarwal is the chief executive officer of goStops, and her husband, Pankaj Parwanda, joined as director and co-founder six months after the first hostel came up in Varanasi. 

There is no doubt that India has been a tourist destination for years. According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, the number of foreign arrivals in India grew 5.2 per cent in 2018, while domestic tourism grew 11.9 per cent. 

A large part of the rise in domestic tourism is being fueled by young people traveling to lesser known destinations, or exploring popular destinations on their own. However, they also want to keep their expenses under check.  

A recent study on "Indian Backpackers’ Hostels on their Growth Trajectories" by Anjali Bansal from Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA) and Ayan Bairoliya, a former student of the institute, found interesting insights into the young Indian backpacker's travel preferences. 

"Backpackers’ hostels differ from conventional stay options in that they offer the traveller with the option of booking a bed in a dormitory rather instead of taking a private room, thus cutting his accommodation cost drastically...While India has a huge youth dividend to exploit sectors like backpacking and backpackers’ hostels, at the same time the youth at large will be looking for options to strengthen their travel experiences," the study found. 

Pallavi Agarwal, Co-founder and CEO, goStops

The research further found that backpackers look for staff behaviour, cleanliness of the hostel, the flexibility offered to the guests, safety and security measures, facilitation of social interaction, services and facilities offered, the price of the beds, location of the hostel and gender-based dorm composition. 

goStops ticks most of these boxes. With shared dorm rooms available for as low as Rs 400, the hostels are a backpacker's dream. Depending on what one chooses - a dorm of 8-14 beds, or one with 4-6 beds, or even a private room - goStops caters to it all. 

They also offer experiences like walking tours, local activities such as food walks, paragliding, hikes, camping and so on, depending on the hostel's location. 

"The hostel-like set-up is going to thrive in India. Millennials along with Gen Z form the majority of the buyer population. The same is true when in comes to travel space. Also, the rise of digital nomads has blurred the line between travel and work and this is where the opportunities lie. If we can come up with something that focuses on the needs and aspirations of the youth, there is huge potential for further growth," says Agarwal.

goStops has, since inception, expanded its presence to 13 hostels in Agra, Amritsar, Bir, Dalhousie, Delhi, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Mumbai, Naggar, Rishikesh, Udaipur and Varanasi.

On safety and security measures, goStops provides CCTV cameras in all the alleys, common spaces and outdoor areas. There is 24x7 security staff on duty at all its properties.

Every guest has a spacious locker available (included in basic facilities) to keep his valuables safely. There are curtained beds at most of the hostels, with individual reading lights on every bed.

The firm recently raised an initial amount of undisclosed funding, with participation from investors like Nitish Mittersain, founder and MD of Nazara Games, Sorabh Agarwal, ex-MD at Copal Partners, Sameer Walia, founder and ex-MD at The Smart Cube, Rohit Shankar Co-founder of Dimdim.com, Sunil Kumar Singhvi, owner at South Handlooms and some other senior corporate executives.

With this angel round, goStops is planning to expand its presence across the country by doubling its bed capacity within the next 12 months. "We also plan to utilise recently raised funds to enhance our product offerings through investments in technology and training, add new revenue streams, strengthen our marketing and build a team to handle the next phase of growth,” Agarwal says.