For hostels
Hostel management software for backpacker hostels in India
Twenty-eight beds, twelve private rooms, a cafe and a rooftop — and a front desk that turns over a full house every other day.
Free for 45 days · no card · we do the setup
Nivasik is hostel management software for backpacker hostels in India: every dorm bed is its own unit with its own QR code, so bookings, housekeeping and guest requests work bed by bed. Check-in keeps each guest’s ID document on file, the police register keeps the Form III details of foreign nationals, and the hostel cafe runs as a POS outlet on the same books.
A hostel with 12 private rooms and 28 dorm beds is 40 units: Core covers that at ₹2,999 a month, Pro covers up to 80 units at ₹4,999, and the cafe is ₹1,499 per outlet.
Built for travellers’ hostels, not student hostels
Search for hostel software in India and most of what comes back is for student hostels and PGs: rent collection, mess bills, attendance. Nivasik is not that. It is for hostels where travellers book a bed for two nights, arrive with a passport or an Aadhaar, drink coffee on the roof and leave a charger behind.
What that kind of hostel needs is a front desk that is fast at full turnover, a bed-level view of who is where, housekeeping that works bed by bed, and the cafe on the same books as the beds.
Beds, not just rooms
A dorm is not one room with eight guests in it. It is eight units that happen to share a door.
| In the hostel | In Nivasik |
|---|---|
| A dorm bed | Its own unit: a line on the room rack, a tile on the housekeeping board and its own QR code |
| A private room | A unit like any hotel room |
| The price you pay us | Counted in units — private rooms plus dorm beds — against the plan’s limit |
| The common room, washrooms and rooftop | On the housekeeping board and able to take requests by QR, never sold as a night |
| A guest who moves beds | A change on the booking, kept in the trail of every change |
The desk at full turnover
- Check-in with the document, not just a number: each guest’s ID photographed into a private store — an Aadhaar shown masked, a passport for foreign guests.
- Form III details for foreign nationals (the form once called Form C) taken from the check-in, with the police register flagging what is still missing while the guest is at the desk. The hostel files the form itself.
- A deposit on arrival, held against the bill until check-out.
- Requests from the bed: “locker key not working, bed 14” arrives as a ticket with the bed already on it.
- Lost and found for the charger, the towel and the passport photocopy, with who claimed it.
- One bill at check-out, including whatever went on the cafe tab during the stay.
The cafe and the rooftop
The hostel cafe is a POS outlet at ₹1,499 a month: tables that order from a QR, a kitchen screen for the cook, split bills for a group of five and a tab that posts to a guest’s stay. It keeps its own takings, so you can see whether the cafe pays for itself, separately from the beds.
Staff get their own logins with only the screens they need — a volunteer at the desk, a cook in the kitchen — and the interface switches to Hindi with one tap on any phone that needs it.
A hostel day
- Morning — last night’s departures turn dirty on the board, bed by bed, and housekeeping starts with the dorm that has arrivals first.
- Noon — a group of six checks in: six IDs on file, six beds on the rack, one deposit.
- Afternoon — a foreign guest’s Form III details are completed from the check-in before they head out, ready for the hostel to file.
- Evening — the rooftop cafe runs its tables; tabs post to beds.
- Night — the audit closes the day on the hostel’s business date, so the midnight cafe orders land on the right night.
What it does not do
What a hostel should know first.
Not included, said plainly
- Calendar sync covers Airbnb and Booking.com through iCal; rates are not pushed to other booking sites.
- There is no payment gateway, so the booking page takes bookings as pay-at-the-property.
- No rent collection, mess billing or student attendance: it is not software for student hostels or PGs.
- A welcome or check-out message is one tap into WhatsApp per guest — never an automatic send.
- The hostel’s screens need the internet; offline billing exists only on shop counters.
- Form III goes to the Bureau of Immigration from the hostel, not from Nivasik: the software keeps the register and the details, and the hostel submits the form.
What it costs
Core at ₹2,999 per property a month covers up to 40 units (rooms plus beds) for requests, QR codes and staff; Pro at ₹4,999 covers up to 80 units and adds the front desk, folios, GST invoices, housekeeping and the Form III register. The cafe is ₹1,499 per outlet. The booking page and calendar sync come with Group at ₹2,499 per property from three properties.
Questions people ask
Can I sell dorm beds individually?
Yes. Each bed is its own unit, with its own line on the room rack, its own housekeeping status and its own QR code.
Does it handle Form III (Form C) for foreign backpackers?
It keeps the Form III details from the check-in and flags what is still missing, and it records the acknowledgement once you have submitted the form on the Bureau of Immigration portal. It does not submit the form itself.
Is this for student hostels and PGs?
No. It is built for travellers’ hostels: nightly stays, dorm beds and a front desk. It does not collect rent, run a mess or track student attendance.
How are units counted for pricing?
Every private room and every dorm bed is a unit. A hostel with 12 private rooms and 28 beds is 40 units, which fits Core.
Can volunteers use it on their own phones?
Yes. Each person gets a login with only the screens their role needs, on any phone’s browser or the Android app.
Try it on your own place, free for 45 days.
We set it up for you — your rooms, menu or stock list, your staff and your prices — and walk it end to end on your phone. No card, and we invoice only if you stay.