Belknap House as hostel began to catch on with guests this summer

The Belknap house opened last fall as a cold-weather shelter, but also operated as a travel hostel during the warmer months. (Adam Drapcho/Laconia Daily Sun)

By RICK GREEN, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — The Belknap House, a cold-weather homeless shelter that generates revenue as a hostel during warm months, has seen an uptick in paying customers after a slow start this summer led to uncertainty on whether the unusual operational model would work.

Executive Director Kathryn Holt said that after reservations were scant in June, the 19-bed hostel was full or nearly full on weekends in July and August. She said that weekday occupancy was about 50 percent.

She said reservations seemed to pick up through an increased presence on online booking sites and as more people learned about the hostel through word of mouth.

“We got a fair amount of hikers, and also families that are here exploring the area,” she said.

Guests from overseas, who are more familiar with hostels, also made up a big part of the Belknap House's customers.

“We've had people from Europe, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and a lot from Canada,” she said.

The charge for staying at the hostel at 200 Court St., is $30 per bed, per night. There are six bedrooms, four bathrooms and a kitchen with two cooking stations.

“It turned into a successful season,” she said. “It proves that this works. A lot of people were skeptical at first.”

On Oct. 9, the Belknap House will end its hostel season. It will resume operations as a homeless shelter on Oct. 16.

Welfare directors in Belknap County refer people to the shelter. The town or city pays $30 per night for a family to stay at the shelter.

The Belknap House opened on Feb. 28 and saw good use as a homeless shelter for people in Laconia and surrounding communities. The idea was that money it could earn as a hostel in the spring and summer, when there is less demand for shelter housing, could support the cold-weather shelter operations.

The Belknap House needs all the revenue and donations it can get. There is a monthly mortgage on the commercial building that was converted into the shelter.

The nonprofit raised $200,000 to get the shelter opened. Much of the money was used for extensive renovations. A smaller amount was used for a down payment on a loan to buy the $150,000 property.

The Belknap House will benefit from a Pumpkin Masquerade Ball on Oct. 13 at St. Andre Bessette Parish Hall.

Guests at the Belknap House make a meal in the kitchen this summer. (Courtesy photo)