South by Southwest 2013

Austin, Texas | March 8 - 12, 2013

Can’t Afford To Stay At The Driskill? Here’s What $60 A Night Gets You At The Firehouse Hostel

Ryan Lawler

Ryan has spent more than five years covering business, technology, and telecom-related subjects for a variety of publications based in New York and San Francisco. Ryan currently works as a writer for TechCrunch. → Learn More

Saturday, March 9th, 2013
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Every year, the tens of thousands of SXSW attendees who descend upon Austin cause a huge crunch on accommodations. If you’re lucky, you might be able to book a hotel months in advance. If not, you can maybe find an affordable Airbnb a few miles away. This year, a few lucky attendees were able to score digs in a great location right downtown, as a place called the Firehouse Hostel.

The hostel is actually remodeled firehouse, with a “hacker’s lounge” and bar with free WiFi and breakfast during the conference. All 50 beds at the Firehouse are already booked for SXSW, thanks to a promotion that the venue did with WeHostels. For as little as $60 a night, attendees could book a shared, dorm-type room during the conference.

We talked with WeHostels CEO Diego Saez-Gil, who told us about his app, the FireHouse, and what the company is doing at SXSW/ Check out the video above for a look at the coolest little hostel that it’s too late to book for SXSW.


Company: WeHostels
Website: wehostels.com
Launch Date: November 15, 2011
Funding: $1.2M

WeHostels is a mobile booking tool for budget travelers. The WeHostels app allows travelers to book last-minute hostels and budget hotels all over the world. Additionally, users can discover and connect with other like-minded travelers to share tips and plan activities.

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