What we do
Hostel Cubed is on a Mission to make high-demand places in nature more affordable and accessible. We design and build compact, affordable, safe, and comfortable Outdoor Sleeping Pods.
Using our Pods individually or in clusters, we can curate unique Temporary Villages and Modular Glamping Retreats to increase the overnight capacity of California parks, campgrounds, and RV Parks. By doing so, we create new experiences in nature that combine the social culture of a hostel with innovative design and a community-driven atmosphere.
THE problem We Are Solving
Affordable overnight accommodations in nature are in critically short supply. Nationwide, it is 5x harder to simply find a campsite now than it was in 2019. In California, over 25,000 affordable accommodations have been eliminated in the Coastal Zone, leaving only 1-2 units per thousand households. In the wake of the pandemic, millions of Americans have developed a fondness for nature propelling demand for outdoor experiences to record levels. However, we can't add capacity to our parks and campgrounds by expanding their land borders, so we need to find solutions for greater density.
The cost to build traditional accommodations like hotels, campgrounds, or hostels has repeatedly proven infeasible, even with government subsidies from the California Coastal Commission. We must solve the problem by creating more affordable, higher-density accommodations in nature without negatively impacting the guest experience and environment.
HOW WE ARE SOLVING THE PROBLEM
Hostel Cubed Pods are amongst the most affordable ways to increase capacity at California State Parks, camping, glamping, and RV Parks while ensuring an enjoyable guest experience. Utilizing our Pods, we develop affordable, safe, and comfortable accommodations for nature lovers by curating Modular Glamping Retreats in high-demand places. Hostels have long been the go-to affordable accommodation for urban travelers around the world. Now, we are creating a similar experience for those who spend time in nature.
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Hostel Cubed Pods are designed to be…
…More comfortable than a tent,
…More durable than an RV,
…More private and secure than a traditional hostel
…More efficient to operate than any other form of accommodation,
…The perfect combination of creature comforts like climate control, privacy and a premium mattress, all while immersed in nature.
Scales to Demand.
Our solution utilizes a modular, stackable, and easily moveable patent-pending system, that allows us to scale inventory up and down with demand.
Built with Landowners and Developers in mind.
Our Pods offer strong value to landowners and developers because they are built on a tiny home platform, allowing us to construct code-compliant accommodations without the usual time and capital burden associated with traditional structures. This means that government agencies and business owners can enhance their operations, expand their capacity, and accommodate more customers quickly and cost-effectively. In a private context, this means our units pay back faster than other unit types. In a public / governmental context, this means our units can be operated at breakeven at a much lower cost than structured solutions.
They can be installed on existing municipal utilities, or installed completely off-grid, allowing for both rapid deployment and deployment in areas where utilities are unavailable. From the ground up, these units are designed for efficient operation in rugged environments with minimal labor. For Outdoor Hospitality Operators, they are made to keep costs down so they can be profitable even at affordable prices.
One Step At a Time
The immediate objective is to raise funds to build a 12-unit prototype of our modular, stackable and easily moveable Pods to be deployed as a mini Modular Glamping Retreat in Joshua Tree Spring 2024. This pilot project will be the first of its kind and will allow us to rapidly gain feedback from paying customers. Such valuable feedback will help us to improve the product and business model to support large-scale development.
The above assembly consists of 13 hostel cubes in varying sizes designed to fit on a steel deck frame, similar to the model we will launch in Joshua Tree. The frame can be installed on a multipoint foundation (as shown), for most environments, or installed on a mobile foundation in RV Parks and Campgrounds without the need for building permits. This assembly is built to fit a standard 20' x 40' RV site, but because the design is modular, it can be scaled up or down in 4' increments to accommodate sites of all shapes and sizes. This design is built to both minimize environmental impact and the amount of time it takes to get through Environmental analysis (CEQA, Managed Retreat, Building Permit Review, etc.).
The bigger picture
The 1975 California Coastal Plan called for "a hiking, bicycling, and equestrian trails system be established along or near the coast" and that "ideally the trails system should be continuous and near the shoreline". In 1978, California State Parks released their Coast Hostel Facilities plan, which identified a network of hostel locations up and down the CA Coastline in CA State Parks (pictured, left). The value of hostels increases as the size of the network increases. One hostel can serve only one location, but being able to travel from hostel to hostel on a continuous Coastal Trail creates more hiking, biking, and non-vehicular trip opportunities. So, we believe that to fulfill these Hostel and Coastal Trail Plans successfully, we need to quickly establish multiple units within close proximity. We designed Hostel Cubed assemblies to deploy to any park location quickly, affordably, and efficiently.
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Since early 2023, we’ve been corresponding with CA State Parks, CA Coastal Conservancy, and CA Coastal Commission, and know that this solution appeals to them because a) it can be rapidly implemented; b) it is easily movable if coastal conditions change (unlike a building); and c) it works without building major infrastructure at existing parks.
Once our prototype Glamping Hostel is operational in Joshua Tree, we will be able to demonstrate our claims and validate our ability to deliver on our promises.
Once we have a successful prototype of a Glamping Hostel in Joshua Tree, we plan to use revenue generated from operations and funds provided by the California Coastal Commission to expand production. Our goal is to produce our Pods at an affordable cost so that we can use them for other purposes such as Disaster Relief and Homelessness. However, our first priority is to build a viable product and business, and the glamping market provides the best opportunity to test and prove our concept.
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Help us launch our Joshua Tree Prototype - please support our Kickstarter (click here)!