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Meet Abhijit Kejriwal: Founder of Hostelmatch and Passionate Solo Traveller
In today’s interview, we sit down with Abhijit Kejriwal, the founder of Hostelmatch and a passionate solo traveller with a background in marketing and technology. Abhijit shares the inspiration behind creating Hostelmatch, a platform designed to help solo travellers and digital nomads find the best hostels for their adventures.
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Throughout the conversation, Abhijit opens up about his travel experiences, favourite destinations, and the challenges he’s faced as a solo traveller. He also offers valuable advice for those wanting to explore the world on a budget and highlights how Hostelmatch is uniquely designed to foster community and connection while ensuring a safe and productive environment for remote workers.
If you’re curious about navigating the world of hostels as a solo adventurer or digital nomad, this interview will provide insights, inspiration, and practical tips straight from the source. Let's kick things off!
Abhijit Kejriwal Shares His Personal & Entrepreneurial Journey With Hostelmatch
Hey Abhijit, great to have you here! I’ve been really excited to chat with you about Hostelmatch and all things travel. Let’s start with a quick intro about yourself and Hostelmatch.
Hey, I’m Abhijit, a solo traveller and entrepreneur. I started solo travelling in 2019 and after my first solo trip, I was hooked on the thought of backpacking, so much so that I built Hostelmatch, a hostel aggregator that helps backpackers find the best hostels based on their preferences.
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The process of finding the right hostel is challenging. Backpackers want to find a hostel that matches their vibe but are spending over 2+ hours per city across various platforms to do so. The hostel search experience is fragmented and painful. Son Hostelmatch solves this by helping backpackers understand the vibe of a hostel, compare prices between different booking providers and book hostels at the cheapest rates online.
What inspired you to create Hostelmatch? Was there a particular trip or moment when you thought, “This is something I need to do”?
In 2022-23, I was working for a company in Belgium and I was commuting to Belgium 5-6 times a year from Canada. Every time I went to Belgium, I would take a couple of days off after the trip and explore Europe and stay at hostels.
As you’re aware, the right hostels can significantly change your trip. A good hostel can make the trip more memorable and vice versa. The process of finding a hostel was extremely challenging and I’ve often found it painful to select a good hostel in a limited time.
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It happened once, twice, thrice and the more it happened, the more apparent the problem became. I went to hostels, spoke to backpackers, spoke to hostel owners to validate my hypothesis and that’s how the idea of Hostelmatch came about.
You come from a marketing and tech background, right? How did you make the leap into the travel industry? Was it something you always wanted, or did it just sort of happen along the way?
It honestly just happened! I have always been passionate about travel, having a strong inclination for aviation, tourism in general but the problem presented itself and I felt strongly about it and the need to solve it. I also started solo travelling in 2019 and hostels have been my go-to for anywhere I travel to - looking back it seems to have all fallen in place.
Hostelmatch is such a great tool for solo travellers. What do you think sets it apart from other hostel booking platforms out there?
Hostelmatch is literally designed for solo travellers! What really sets it apart from other platforms is that it's not just about booking a hostel – it's more like “Skyscanner for hostels,” helping you find the best one to suit your vibe.
Some of the standout features are things like getting direct, discounted bookings with hostels, being able to compare prices across different sites, and the cool backpacker-hostel matching that helps you find hostels based on your preferences. Plus, they’ve got proper social proof, so you can actually see how the hostel looks and feels before you book. It’s all about making the whole hostel discovery process super smooth!
We all know hostels are about more than just a place to sleep – they’re about the community. How does Hostelmatch help people find not just a bed, but a social atmosphere and connections too?
Hostels are definitely all about the community, not just a place to crash. That’s where Hostelmatch really shines. They’ve built the platform around helping people find more than just a bed – it’s all about connecting with others and finding the right social vibe.
A lot of their recommendations come from reviews and ratings left by other backpackers who’ve actually stayed there, so you get a real sense of the atmosphere. Plus, they’ve partnered with global communities like Yes Fam, One Travel Nation, and Polartern, which gives travellers a chance to meet locals as well as fellow backpackers, making the whole experience much richer.
Hostelmatch also has a podcast called "Globe & Grind" where they dive into the challenges and opportunities of backpacker life, like how to make the most of these communities and even create content and make money from it. And with their social proof features, you can quickly get a feel for the vibe of a hostel and see if it’s the right fit for your type of trip.
In just a few clicks, you can figure out whether a hostel matches your style and if it’s the kind of place where you’ll make the connections that make travel so memorable.
With digital nomads being such a big part of travel now, how do you make sure that hostels on Hostelmatch cater to their needs – like good Wi-Fi and places to work?
Hostelmatch understands the needs and preferences of backpackers. For digital nomads, one of the biggest considerations is the availability of coworking spaces and good wifi connectivity to get work done. We aggregate data from multiple sources and understand how effective a hostel would be for a digital nomad and would it be a good fit for them to be productive and get their remote work done.
We've also partnered specifically with coworking spaces around the world to offer discounts to digital nomads through our subscription plan.
Hostelmatch is truly a personalized platform allowing backpackers to choose the vibe and the traveller they are and Hostelmatch matches you to the hostel that fits your needs.
You’ve probably been to some incredible places. Do you have a favourite destination that really made an impact on you? Did it shape how you think about Hostelmatch?
Spain is one of my favourite destinations to date. The country has everything: from mouth watering local cuisines, stunning views, to local festivals and most importantly the fiesta. Spain is a country of culture and fun, very much like my home country - India. The south of Spain has had a profound impact on me with gorgeous architecture, great food and cheap sangria.
I did my market validation in Spain and Portugal. For first-time travellers, Spain is a great starting point. A lot of our initial customers are first-time backpackers, so for travellers travelling to Spain, the platform has been built keeping their preferences and way of life in mind. That being said, the platform does provide hostel recommendations across Europe & the Americas.
I saw you’re into aviation – that’s so cool! Have any of your travel experiences involved flying to remote or unique locations? Has your passion for aviation influenced how you approach travel?
Most definitely! My love for aviation is old. I have been fascinated by aviation since I can remember. I love travelling to destinations where I can sit on different commercial jets - I am a nerd like that! I have flown to some extremely unique destinations - recently I took a 24 seater flight to Bocas Del Toro in Panama and in contrast a 540 seater flight to Dubai.
This passion for aviation is what got me into travel and kept me interested long before I even started Hostelmatch. I used to create shorts and videos of my flight reviews, and since starting Hostelmatch, I have built my aviation content into a Youtube & TikTok channel.
What’s been the toughest challenge you’ve faced as a solo traveller? Did that experience shape any of the features on Hostelmatch to make life easier for other travellers?
The toughest challenge for me has been connecting with like-minded people when I travel. A lot comes down to the people I meet at hostels. At hostels, a lot of people seem like misfits for that hostel. If you are staying at a party hostel and your goal is to meet people who are digital nomads wanting to see landmarks, finding such people becomes tough.
At Hostelmatch, we provide personalized recommendations that help backpackers find hostels that match their vibe. This significantly increases the chances that backpackers will find like-minded people at their hostel shaping a solid experience for them.
When you travel, are you more of a planner or do you like to keep things spontaneous? Do you think that reflects in how Hostelmatch is set up for its users?
I am actually a mix of being a planner and spontaneous. When it comes to booking planes. Accommodation and travel plans. I like to plan and find the best deals, using Hostelmatch of course, but I like to be spontaneous when I am at a location planning what to do during my trip.
Hostelmatch is built for both planners and impulse travellers. Our matchmaker feature that pairs backpackers with the best hostels is great for planners who like to take time, to review and book their accommodation while our price comparison feature allows impulse travellers to get the best last-minute deals to score the best prices.
What’s coming up next for Hostelmatch? Anything new that solo travellers or digital nomads should get excited about?
Absolutely! We have some really exciting things coming up for Hostelmatch. We have partnered with community partners like Yes Theory, One Travel Nation & Polartern to provide a community aspect of meeting other travellers and locals when travelling to other cities. This will give them access to locals and travellers and a community that is hard to get access to living at hostels as budget travellers.
In early 2025 we are also launching some really interesting partnerships with hostels in Europe & North America where backpackers will get the cheapest prices online. Stay tuned!
Are you looking into any collaborations or partnerships? How do you think teaming up with other platforms or brands could take Hostelmatch to the next level?
Most definitely, we are always looking to evaluate partnerships with solo travel apps, hostel chains and other platforms to see how we can help them grow their customer base and provide our backpackers more value through the Hostelmatch platform.
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We’ve already partnered with hostel chains like OneFam and solo travel apps like One Travel Nation and with community groups like Yes Fam and are always open to more in the future to create a better experience for backpackers on our platform.
You’ve got some cool hobbies – sculpture and aviation! How do you balance those creative interests with running a business? Do they help you see things from a different perspective?
Having hobbies that differ from your business is important. It gives you a different perspective on business. Sculpting has helped me with design sense and precision which is always beneficial when building out the website. Aviation instilled my love for travel so that has been wonderful.
I have also made a TikTok account for my aviation content so I enjoy working on it in parallel to my business. Taking time out for things that you love is fantastic for your mental health and gives you a much-needed release of pressure from the stress of running a business, so my recommendation to founders - always do what you love on the side while building your business.
If you could work remotely from anywhere in the world for a month, where would you go? Is it more about the location or the vibe of the community for you?
I’d love to work from Costa Rica! It's actually a mix of both, vibe & community. Costa Rica has been on my bucket list for a while - enjoying the sun and beach vibe is what I love, living in Canada - we don’t see that as frequently.
I choose a place so I can experience something new, learn more about the culture, eat great food and most importantly vibe with the community. I believe Costa Rica fits that description well. The jungle, beach, vibes and food are all supposed to be awesome!
And adding a second one, maybe even Vietnam - it looks amazing!
What’s been the most rewarding part of creating Hostelmatch? Have you received any feedback from users that made you feel like, “Yeah, this is why I started this”?
It's gotta be helping first-time backpackers. I recently helped a previous colleague - Mo travel to Spain and Portugal for his birthday. He had never done a solo trip before so I set up time with him and guided him through how to build a travel itinerary, book hostels and execute his trip.
He used our travel consulting service where he put forward his questions and concerns and we were able to provide him with all the support and resources he would need to do this trip tension free. He recently returned and left us the sweetest testimonial where he is thankful for making this trip the best trip of his life.
And That's A Wrap!
Big thanks to Abhijit! It’s been amazing learning about his journey with Hostelmatch and hearing his personal travel stories. He's built something really special for solo travellers and digital nomads, and it’s inspiring to see how much thought he's put into creating a platform that focuses on community and connection. I’m sure our readers will take a lot from his insights, whether they’re experienced adventurers or just starting out. Can’t wait to see where Abhijit and Hostelmatch go next!
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Abhijit and his journey so far with Hostelmatch. To stay updated with Abhijit and Hostelmatch, check out the links below.
