- Name: Robert Birch
- Age: 26
- Current location: Barcelona, Spain
- Home town: Pontllanfraith, Wales
- Education: City & Regional Planning BSc, Cardiff University
- Current position: Hospitality consultant, HostelCoach
- Organization description: HostelCoach is a hospitality consultancy that deals with everything from operational issues, to design and marketing, for 11 hostels across Europe.
- Bio: Robert Birch took his background in city planning, and applied it to building communities inside his hostels. After working his way up from a hostel volunteer to the managing director of an entire hostel chain, Robert Birch created his own hospitality consultancy, HostelCoach.
- Countries I've worked in: Wales, England, Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain.
- Sector / subsectors: Tourism, Hospitality, Accomodation
- Areas of expertise: Hostels, Management, Hospitality, Design, Human Resources, Consultancy
- Country: Spain
- Region: Europe
- Sector: Tourism & hospitality
- Degree subject: Urban planning
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Who are you and what do you do?
Meet Robert Birch.
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How did you get to where you are now? Talk to us about your career trajectory.
Robert tells us how he climbed the ladder from volunteer to managing director, and now consultant.
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What’s an average week like for you?
An average week is definitely not average when you consult for hostels all over Europe.
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What are the challenges working in the hostel hospitality field in an international setting?
Having dyslexia helped Robert be familiar with the feeling of not quite understanding everything that going on, when you’re dealing with language barriers.
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Do you have any examples of some of the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them?
From a burst pipe, to a flooded hallway, Robert tells us how to turn everything into a positive situation.
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What about personal challenges?
With guests staying for 3-4 days, and staff staying for about 3-4 months, it can be hard to feel like home anywhere.
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Are there certain traits or characteristics that will help someone succeed in this work environment?
You need to understand how you can affect other people, positively or negatively.
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How important is education in this field? Do you think your degree helped you?
Robert says education is important, but you won’t understand true hospitality until you’re out there working in it.
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How familiar were you with the hostelling industry before your first job volunteering in Prague?
The hostel where Robert was offered a volunteer position was actually the first hostel he had ever stayed in, in his life.
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What types of issues are you dealing with as a hospitality consultant?
No matter what issue brings Robert to a hostel, they almost all come down to communication, or a lack thereof, between the various staff and their roles.
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What do you look for when you’re hiring new staff in a hostel?
Robert uses the same trick when it comes to interviewing for new hostel staff, no matter what country he’s in.
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Do you have an example of that in action? Of someone who got hired, and what they did that really impressed you?
A recent hire in Budapest was an absolute no brainer...
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Are there common mistakes people make in this field?
Beware of getting too comfortable...
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Any common mistakes among new staff?
Don’t be fake. Don’t say you genuinely love to cook, or go out all the time, if that isn’t true. It’ll come out eventually.
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You use such a large range of skills as a consultant. Talk to us about the design elements here.
Robert says it’s all about co-working, co-living, and co-playing.
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So you climbed the ladder in this sector. What’s your advice for someone hoping to follow your lead?
Sometimes it really is best to embrace starting at the bottom of the totem pole.
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What do you think got you the promotions within the hostel? How did you stand out?
Robert says never be scared to take on a new challenge.
