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A hostel story

Backpacking Our Way to
300,000 Overnight Stays Per Year

Wombat’s is your inspiring meeting place housing like-minded people, your reliable bed, your safe shelter.
 
Wombat’s has become an integral part of the backpacker scene with houses in several countries, a loyal community and countless awards. Wombat’s has won the “HOSCAR Award” for best international hostel chain 7 times and has been named “Most Popular Hostel” more than 20 times in various cities over the years.
 
What makes Wombat’s so outstanding? In addition to the unmistakable design, characterized by a loving, eclectic mix of materials with history and meaning, one thing counts above all – a community in which every team member feels comfortable, and every guest feels immediately welcome.
 
This family spirit is no coincidence: Wombat’s is probably the only hostel chain of its size that is still managed by the founders themselves, without institutional investors. The advantage? Independence. Disadvantage? The founders still “have to” work together. Indeed guests might meet Marcus Praschinger and Sascha Dimitriewicz in their houses, even at the reception.
 
Co-Founder Marcus explains – “We still love it when people meet each other in our properties. We create spaces specifically for those encounters, allowing our guests to meet in an organic way. There’s a good reason that our core message is ‘Bringing people together’”.
 
Another core message should also be taken literally- “By travellers, for travellers”. Founders Marcus and Sascha were actually backpacking themselves when they had the idea to ​​start their own hostel.
 
As Sascha puts it, “We were travelling through Australia in the late 1980s when we first came into contact with hostels and found ourselves among like-minded people. Immediately, we felt the spark.”

Inspiration from Australia
 
In 1999, the first hostel in Vienna was opened under the name “Wombat’s” (referencing the formative experience in Australia). The two young entrepreneurs’ concept worked and for 20 years it has grown organically.
 
In 2019, Wombat’s achieved its record year with more than 850,000 overnight stays in a total of 7 hostels in 5 countries. Then, Corona pressed the stop button and Wombat’s had to quickly get used to travelling with lighter luggage. Our house in Venice and one in Vienna, ‘The Lounge’, had to be closed in 2020.
 
However, wombats are resilient animals, and the hostel chain was able to survive the virus thanks to its resourcefulness and flexibility. Though the hostel wasn’t accepting guests, we were working away in the background, using the time to revamp Wombat’s services and offers.
 
#ReliablyUnexpected –
Reliability with Quality that Surprises
 
Today, Wombat’s City Hostel’s doors are wide open again (averaging 300,000 overnight stays per year), with an increased focus on regional suppliers, sustainability and new gastronomic offers – unusual for a hostel, like Wombat's own coffee roast, served at our WomCAFÉs. Early summer 2022 saw the launch of a new cultural initiative – WomBEATS – providing new stages for artists, exciting concerts with free admission and, when possible, the opportunity for guests to get involved and surprise us with their own original tunes.
 
In April 2022, Wombat’s resumed expansion with the reopening of the Wombat’s City Hostel Munich Werksviertel creating a new, unique place for inspiring encounters.
 
Marcus tells us, “In the long run, you can probably only run a business like this if it’s fed by a focused attitude and genuine passion.”
 
Sascha adds, “We started something based on our own experiences that has endured to this day.”
 
So, the travellers’ journey continues…

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