The acquisition is part of Room007 Hotels & Hostels' plan to absorb as many of its competitors in the hostel market as possible over the next 12 months.
Bluesocks Hostels is a chain of hostels that belonged to the Galician group Carrís. It was one of the main competitors of Room007 in the Iberian market, especially in the cities of Madrid and Lisbon. Both properties are ideally located in the heart of each city, with a total of 91 rooms, 404 beds and a team of 25 people.
With this first acquisition, Room007 Hotels & Hostels is accelerating its expansion in the Iberian Peninsula, moving closer to its goal of 1,300 rooms and 4,000 beds by 2023. This ambitious goal would allow Room007 to become one of the destination leaders in the hostel sector.
Room007 currently has a portfolio of 17 assets in the historic centre of cities such as Madrid, where it owns five, another five in Lisbon, three in Seville, two in Malaga, one in San Sebastian and another in Bilbao.
This acquisition is part of the growth phase that the startup has embarked on after completing its first round of financing last June. It is currently preparing a second round of financing with new investors in order to tackle the Italian and French markets in the near future.
The youth hostel market has been booming for a few years now and is undergoing a real transformation in terms of both its image and its uses. They are becoming more modern and "trendy" in order to meet the new expectations of customers, especially young customers who are fond of this type of accommodation, which is inexpensive and practical in many ways.