(From a single Jodhpur hostel in 2013 to a portfolio spanning premium stays, homestays, group travel and co-living, Zostel’s parent Zo World is building an interconnected travel ecosystem)
TTT NEWS NETWORK
NEW DELHI | 14 AUGUST 2026
Zostel, the world’s largest chain of backpacker hostels, marks its 13th anniversary this Independence Day, having built an entire category that did not exist when it began. What opened on 15 August 2013 as a single 24-bed hostel in Jodhpur is today a network spanning India, Nepal and Thailand, with around 5,000 beds, more than 5 million journeys recorded, and the largest community of young travellers in the country.
When Zostel started, the backpacker hostel barely existed as a concept in India. There was no category to join and no template to follow. A group of seven graduates, inspired by the community-led hostels they had backpacked through in Europe, set out to build one for the Indian traveller. Thirteen years on, hostelling has grown into a recognised asset class within Indian hospitality, and the many operators that have since followed are proof of the category Zostel opened up.
Aviral Gupta, CEO of Zostel and Zo World said,”Building a category is far harder than building a company, but it is also the most durable advantage there is. When we opened in 2013, hostels were not a business in India, they were an unfamiliar idea, and we spent the first years simply proving that Indian travellers wanted this at all. Thirteen years later that idea has become a recognised asset class in hospitality, with a whole industry of operators now following the trail. What sets us apart is not the number of properties, it is the community behind them. A traveller who found Zostel at twenty has stayed with us through our hostels, through Zo Trips, through every format we have built since, because we solved for belonging and not just for a bed. That is the hardest thing to build in travel and the easiest to defend. We have completed the first phase of that journey, and we are now scaling aggressively toward 10,000 beds, positioned to lead youth and experience-led travel in India for the next decade.”
The scale of that journey is best measured not in properties but in beds.Having achieved the first phase of its goal, making travel a habit for a generation of Indian youth, the brand is now in an aggressive expansion phase.
Alongside its hostels, Zostel’s group-travel vertical, Zo Trips, has become central to how young India explores. Operating across India, Southeast Asia and Europe, Zo Trips is built less around itineraries than around what travellers take home from them: experiences, economy, friendships and connections formed on the road. In doing so, Zostel has built the largest community of young travellers in the country, a network earned over years rather than bought.
Those hostels and trips have, over time, given rise to further formats in response to the community’s own demand for comfort and space, Zostel Plus for premium stays, Zostel Homes for nature-led escapes, and Zo House, India’s first permanent hacker house network. Each grew directly out of what Zostel’s travellers asked for next.
The brand has retained a franchise-led, locally operated model even as it has scaled. Properties in offbeat destinations such as Kaza and Bir are run by local teams, channelling travel spend directly into regional economies, and its portfolio now includes several five-star-rated hostels among the best-regarded in the country. Over the past year Zostel has extended internationally, opening its 100th property and first overseas location in Phuket, alongside a European expansion with Safestay across 20-plus destinations.
Thirteen years on from its first dorm, Zostel enters its teens as the brand best positioned to unlock youth-led, experience-first travel in India, a category it created, a community it built, and a next chapter it is only beginning to write.
About Zo World
Zo World is a global travel tech and lifestyle ecosystem reimagining how the world explores, connects,and lives. As the parent company of Zostel, it also operates Zo Trips, Zo Houses, and Zo Digital, building an AI powered, community driven platform rooted in the Indian ethos of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family). With over 5 million travelers served and operations in 85+ destinations, Zo World is scaling rapidly with goals to host 10,000+ beds, Scaling Zo Trips, and 300 premium villas. Its in house AI platform personalized experiences, monetizes communities, and empowers 1,000+ local partners. Designed for Gen Z, digital nomads, and conscious explorers, Zo World is building the lifestyle OS for a borderless, abundant future.
Advertisement:
Add Comment