why we started

Finding a hostel felt riskier than it should.

Our founders arrived in Kathmandu for college the same way most students do: with a duffel bag, a tight budget, and a handful of hostel numbers passed around a group chat. Every listing photo was years old, prices changed once you showed up, and there was no real way to check if a hostel was safe for a first-year student living away from home for the first time.

Gender-safe options were especially hard to confirm. So much of the search happened over phone calls and word of mouth that a lot of good hostels — and a lot of red flags — simply never showed up anywhere online.

where we're headed

A verified home base in every college city.

We started in Kathmandu because that's where the problem was most personal to us. Every hostel on stayinhostel.com is visited and checked in person before it's listed, and every review comes from a student who actually stayed there.

Next, we're extending gender-based filtering and price transparency to more cities across Nepal, and building tools that make it just as easy for a hostel owner to get discovered as it is for a student to find them.

what we stand for

Four things we don't compromise on.

Safety first

Every listing is checked in person before it goes live — no photo-only approvals.

Transparency

The price you see is the price you pay — no surprise fees at the door.

Real voices

Reviews come only from students who've actually stayed — never the hostel itself.

Fair access

Direct booking with hostels, with no broker commission added to your rent.

our journey

From one bad search to a citywide network.

2024

The idea

After a rough hostel search near Pulchowk Campus, our founders started mapping every hostel they could find in Kathmandu by hand.

2025

Pilot in Kathmandu

The first 50 hostels were verified in person across Putalisadak, Thamel, and New Baneshwor, with gender-based filtering built in from day one.

2026

200+ verified listings

stayinhostel.com passes 200 verified hostels in Kathmandu and launches Discover, with more Nepali cities planned next.

Have a hostel you'd like listed?

Join 200+ verified hostels already reaching students across Kathmandu.