EXISTING TRADITIONAL HOSTEL SPACE CAN ONLY ACCOMMODATE ABOUT 20% OF THE MILLIONS OF INDIAN STUDENTS LIVING AWAY FROM HOME
We’re used to hostels being crumbling old buildings with shared bathrooms, peeling paint and a landlord / landlady looking over your shoulder. That’s changing. Driven by angel investors and a desire to cash in on India’s huge migrant student population (26.6 million and growing), newage companies are setting up student housing facilities — essentially, hostels — with fewer rules and better infrastructure.
Some have foosball tables and kitchenettes on every floor, others have gaming zones and brightly coloured bean bags in common areas.
The rooms are air-conditioned with attached bathrooms, free wi-fi, laundry and housekeeping services. Relaxed rules let you bring friends over, or spend the night out.
Most importantly, these companies are creating more living space for the student population. Traditional hostel space can only accommodate about 20% of India’s migrant students.
“We’re looking to address the gap in the market when it comes to student accommodation. This segment is estimated to be worth about Rs 20,000 crore annually, and remains largely unorganised,” says Shubha Lal, co-founder of Your Space.
This year-old company currently runs one hostel in Greater Noida, but has four more in the works in Delhi-NCR and is also planning gender-mixed spaces.
Also expanding fast is Coho, which was launched in 2015 and already runs 27 hostels across Delhi-NCR, most of them catering to working professionals and five of them hostels for students.
Aarusha Homes, launched in 2007, now has 20 projects across Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.
Campus Student Communities, set up in 2002, is set to expand from Bengaluru to Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kota and Thiruvananthapuram.
Each building typically accommodates 40 to 70 people in an asset-light model where the company leases existing structures, remodels and manages them.
It’s a model that is steadily drawing investors. Your Space recently completed a second round of funding; Aarusha is in the midst of a third.
Prices are kept low, in most cases as a result of this investor funding, with room rates starting at Rs 96,000 a year, with three meals included.
In metros like Delhi and Mumbai, hostel rates start at Rs 5,000 a month without meals. Paying guest accommodation rates typically start at Rs 10,000 excluding meals and housekeeping. Few colleges have their own hostels, and those that do can generally accommodate only a fraction of their migrant students.
“On a global level student housing is a highly organised sector, in India it is students are enrolled in higher education in India. or 76% of them are living away from home, concentrated in the metros of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru and in education hubs such as Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
foreign students are also enrolled in higher education in India.
Existing hostel facilities can only accommodate about 20% of the migrant students. Now, companies with professionally run hostels are starting to fill this gap — for as little as -8,000 per month. grossly neglected,” says Subhankar Mitra, head of strategic consulting at realty consultancy JLL India. “It has immense scope for development, with demand and supply both now growing steadily.”
With periodic variations in pricing, the “This segment is estimated to be worth about -20,000 crore annually, and remains largely unorganised. We’re looking to address the gap in the market for student accommodation,” says Shubha Lal, co-founder of Your Space.
Most of the newage hostels have no restrictions on the number of nights you stay out, as long as you inform the hostel in advance.
Deadlines for those returning to their rooms are generally between 10 and 11 pm.
Students can have friends over during the day as long as they don’t bother other residents. Some also allow parents to stay over when visiting, for a fee and if beds are available.
All alcohol is banned, but dry parties are allowed if permission is sought in advance. model is set to work too, since it involves remodelling existing structures,” Mitra adds. “If there is one rider, it is that these companies will likely not be able to construct projects of their own with these price bands.”