With the advent of technology, student can now save a lot of money by searching for hostel online. Research has shown that 65% of buying decisions are made online and completed offline. This is so because, online ecommerce website and marketplaces, like www.offkrent.com (a marketplace for student hostel in Nigeria), have various choices that consumers (student) can browse through and compare prices. Giving the consumer a lot of flexibility and saving them some cash in the process.
So how can student save cost on finding their choice hostel online?
With online hostel booking website like offkrent.com, student can:
1. Save cost on transportation: Without the previous knowledge of hostel, student usually spend a lot of money on transportation while searching for their choice hostel. With the help of technology, student can now ‘walk the street’, as they call it, without having to spend a dime on transportation.
2. Save cost on paying multiple consultancy fee: It is a common practice among estate agents and hostel owners to charge consultancy fee before showing student their hostels. This money cover the cost of transportation and any other costs encountered during hostel inspection. Most agents see the need to charge this fee in order to get the student commitment and to make sure that the student is ready to get the hostel before they can take them around. The side effect here is that student don’t know if they are going to like any of the estate agent/ hostel owner’s hostel before paying. This means they will have to pay even though they don’t like the hostel afterwards. With online marketplaces for hostels like offkrent.com, student can browse for various options and they can see the pictures, prices, available facilities and distance to the nearest junctions, which are the most important criteria they need to make their choice, before even contacting the hostel manager. This way, they can save cost on paying multiple consultancy fee or in some cases not pay at all as they already know the hostel they want before even visiting the estate agent/hostel owner.
3. Save airtime cost: Another cost student incurs while searching for their choice hostel using the conventional way is airtime cost. They spend this by calling multiple estate agents/hostel managers to confirm if they have a particular type of hostel. This cost is minimize when student find their choice hostel online as it narrow down the number of estate agents/hostel mangers to just the few that have their choice hostel.
4. Save time and energy: Apart from time and energy, student can also save a lot of psychological stress that comes with looking for off campus hostel.