Why do friends from the UK and US, get together in Romania?

Three friends, Daniel, Sam, and Jason, came together and started what is known as “Podstel”. It is a hostel or pod, for young people from all over the world to gather and share ideas. Daniel says he was first inspired while on a one-way trip to Australia, and staying at the hostels. He describes it as 'mind-blowing', to have seen so many diverse cultures and types of people gathered together in one place. In total, the three guys explored over fifty countries, interviewing hundreds of backpackers, and visiting over four hundred hostels. Passion for community and cultural exchange lead to Podstel's creation.

The first Podstel is located in Bucharest, Romania. With its popular herbal tea & garden culture, they have incorporated a teahouse, named the Ceainaria 5  [Teahouse 5] , alongside a garden.They offer a stage to young people to share their talents, present their stories, hold events and open mic nights, practice yoga, and share thought-provoking documentaries. Their aim is to collaborate and apply their skills in their local environment and contribute to their communities.Inevitably, this evolved into a network, called "Aim", interconnecting hostels throughou Europe. 

Why Romania and did they hit any challenges?

 Bucharest, Romania  is the largest city in Easten Europe. It sits at the border between Europe and the Middle East. The location  is perfect because of the low cost to fly there, making it a great meeting point for tourists, worldwide. Podstel attracts over forty different nationalities per month, most commonly among residents from the UK, USA, Germany, and Australia. According to Podstel, corruption still remains despite being in the post-communist era. This makes running a business difficult because of their laws and bureaucracy. A language barrier is also another hump to climb over.They say it will always be an ongoing challenge, but they are willing to find a solution. Oh, the tea has arrived!

How has Loyverse helped?

“Loyverse is mainly used in our teahouse and gift shop. We sell fifty varieties of crafted tea, drinks, and smoothies as well of convenience items. What I love about Loyverse is that everything can be seen on your phone. You can analyze your sale figures and profit margin. You don’t have to keep going back to the bar because all customer receipts go with you. And at events, you can continue making sales, while taking orders from multiple people. All in all, Loyverse has really made our job easy."

Loyverse is happy to make business life easier and smoother for these great visionaries and entrepreneurs. A take away here is to dream big, and share your talents, skills, and knowledge with your communities!