St Kilda · Melbourne
Bayside House is a 113 bed, Google-rated 4-star hostel in the iconic suburb of St Kilda, surrounded by the best of what Melbourne has to offer.
The property offers 4, 6 and 8 bed dorms alongside private rooms, communal spaces and amenities.
Bayside House had the location, the reputation, and the guest flow. What it didn't have was a room offering that matched its potential. Post-COVID, the property found itself stuck. Unable to compete on quality, unable to justify higher rates, and unable to close the gap on newer, better-presented competitors.
The opportunity was clear: the guests were already coming. The question was whether the beds were giving them a reason to pay more and come back.
A great location held back by the wrong beds.
Globally renowned as a backpacker hub, Bayside House was perfectly positioned to capitalise on the post-COVID travel boom. But its underwhelming room and bed offering was quietly holding the business back.
The existing bunk beds were outdated. Guests felt exposed and uncomfortable. Reviews were inconsistent, pricing power had plateaued, and the property was stuck in a race to the bottom, competing against newer, better-looking properties nearby with no clear way to stand out.
Premium pods. No renovation. No downtime.
The decision was made to upgrade the dorms to a premium, customised pod bed designed specifically for Bayside House's layout, configuration, and guest profile.
NestAus handled the full process: room assessment, yield optimisation, design, manufacturing, and installation. The property kept running throughout.
How we did it.
- 01 Floor plan review. A detailed assessment of each dorm room to understand layout constraints, bed configurations, and spacing requirements.
- 02 Customised yield report. For each room, we developed a yield report that maximised the number of beds the property could facilitate within their permit.
- 03 Pod bed design. A customised pod bed design inclusive of colour, accessories, and lighting, built to the property's brand and guest expectations.
- 04 3D render and sample. Development of a full 3D render and physical pod bed sample for approval before production.
- 05 Full production and installation. 50 pods (100 beds) manufactured, shipped, warehoused, assembled, tested and tagged. End to end.
