Search for boarding, transient houses easier with GrabHostel app

BAGUIO CITY – Searching for a safe and practical boarding house in Baguio City just got a lot easier with the introduction of an application for this purpose.

Grab Hostel recently launched its operations in a simple get-together with media and bloggers here to introduce the application that will be useful for parents looking for accommodations for their college-bound children in this highland city.

Pem Solis, GrabHostel manager said the application will allow parents/ guardians to conveniently search for available boarding houses according to their desire.

Founded by Sherwin delos Santos, the startup allows easy searches not only for boarding houses but transient houses in Baguio as well. “Online booking is the way forward,” delos Santos said, adding GrabHostel is the first of its kind in the country.

Other online booking sites like Air BnB and Trivago only assist tourists with hotel booking.

GrabHostel concentrates on boarding and transient houses for short or long term accommodations. “It is now the trend for tourists to look for alternative accommodations when they visit a locality,” Solis explained, “and this is where GrabHostel can assist them fully.”

Currently, the application is available on Apple Store for iPhones, but android versions of the application will be available soon. “Actually, we already have the app (for androids) but as of this moment we cannot access it, so within the next few days we will be able to iron out the kinks of the system,” Solis added.

So far, the system already has six Baguio boarding houses and 25 transient houses in its list. Plans to expand are in the works as well as adding more cities in the list. “Next on the list of cities where GrabHostel plans to expand are San Jose, Cabanatuan and Munoz cities in Nueva Ecija,” Solis added.  -- Sam Bautista/PNA