The three new hostels would be operational in Ooty, Coorg, and Auroville

As the domestic travel industry is picking up, goSTOPS, a leisure hostel brand, has decided to open three new hostels - Ooty, Coorg, and Auroville, situated in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu - to expand its national footprint and operational network by next month. With this, the total functioning locations in its network have increased from 28 to 30. 

On the expansion announcement, Pallavi Agarwal, Founder and CEO, goSTOPS, said, “Thanks to a receding COVID pandemic, higher vaccination rates, and onset of the summer season, travel seems set for a major comeback. Post COVID, we are witnessing a demand recovery towards leisure destinations such as Jaipur, Udaipur, Manali, Mussorie, Nainital, and Mukteshwar, which are attracting massive interest among our core audience as they offer a mix of tranquillity, adventure, and local experiences. As we scale further and through a renewed focus towards people, processes, and technology, we are confident that we are well-poised to curate a holistic travel experience for our patrons.”

Pankaj Parwanda, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, goSTOPS, said, “Through our robust expansion, we aim to provide access, increase availability and rapidly scale up the supply of high-quality hotel accommodation tailored to the evolving psychographics of an underserved Indian youth today through a shared economy model. Our goal is to expand the goSTOPS community by adding more thrilling properties across various locations within the country.”

He added, “In the coming months, our efforts will be invested towards building strong leadership and beefing up capabilities in operations, learning and development and quality assurance. Our investment in technology will be centred towards setting up a specialised centre of excellence and deploying a country-wide ‘learning management system’ with a focus on upskilling personnel and delivering a stellar customer experience and service.”

goSTOPS Ooty, comprising a heritage block colonial bungalow, is located on the Gymkhana Golf Club Road and offers over 76 beds and dorms. A common room with a home theatre and an indoor gaming area is also available. A provision for bonfire has also been made on the rooftop.

goSTOPS Coorg comprises over 82 beds designed. The property encompasses a common space allowing for fun games and activities. It also has a café and a rooftop providing a view of attractions such as Tibetan monasteries, Golden Temple, Thandiyendamol trek, Dubare Elephant Camp, Abbey falls, and Madikeri Fort.

goSTOPS Auroville has been built using traditional architecture and techniques like hollow clay bricks which keeps the hostel rooms with over 56 beds cool even during summers. It also includes common rooms for in-house activities and board games. 

goSTOPS captures a revenue of more than Rs 12 crore per anum. Every month, its various properties host 20,000 travellers and adds about 300 beds and 5 hostels. By 2024, goSTOPS aims to reach a mark of 31,000 beds and foray into Southeast Asian countries including Sri Lanka and Nepal. The brand recently also added new and second properties to some locations such as Mussorie, Kasol, and Bangalore.