Creating a New Way to Stay in Madrid
Madrid Alumna Works to Launch a Boutique Hostel called Mosaico
When Aparna Rakesh-Murakonda (QST ‘19) studied abroad in Madrid, Spain in 2018 the city and vibrant culture left a lasting impression — one that would ultimately bring her back to the capital of Spain for a new opportunity.
“The people of this beautiful city really resonated with me, and I always felt welcomed by my host family, by the students I studied with at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and by the teachers,” she says. “The exposure to the city and the culture that the program gave us — from the internship experience to traveling to different Spanish cities — was incredible. The doors that were there for us to walk through to really understand what life is like in this city was huge, and that was a big reason why I felt like moving to Madrid was not completely out of my comfort zone.”
Director of Madrid Programs, Amalia Perez-Juez, recalls how committed and well-prepared Rakesh-Murakonda was as a student at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, saying, “Aparna was one of the standout students we’ve had. She was incredibly committed to her coursework, so I still remember her coming by the office before oral presentations to practice out loud with me. She was always so well-prepared that it made me smile: every detail carefully thought through, every argument clearly structured.
What I admired most, though, was how she balanced that level of academic dedication with a genuine curiosity about the world. Aparna worked hard so she could fully enjoy her time in Madrid — traveling, exploring, and making the most of every opportunity without hesitation.”
Rakesh-Murakonda grew up in Dallas, Texas and noted her travel aspirations from an early age. Knowing that travel can open doors and perspectives, she has always placed a high value on experiencing the world.
“I’ve built my life around being able to travel and worked and interned every summer of college and saved up as much as I could to put myself through study abroad,” she says. “My parents just paid for tuition; I saved up all of my money to travel and take trips around Spain and Europe when I was there.”
She also recognized how travel can shape how one sees the world. As she launched her career as a market research professional, she kept international traveling a high priority in her life. To date, she has visited 27 countries and has stayed in hostels, boutiques, and five-star hotels, traveling by bus, plane, train, and everything in between. So, as a prime consumer of the hospitality industry, it comes as little surprise that Rakesh-Murakonda recently returned to Madrid, this time with her family, to build a completely new category in the hospitality industry: a boutique hostel.
“Imagine a cross between a hostel and a luxury boutique hotel,” she says. “Boutique hotels have personality; they have personalized attention and a feeling about them that is intentional and intimate. And a hostel is very vibrant and social, bringing together a lot of different people from all over. Mosaico Boutique Hostel is everything you’d get at a boutique hotel with the social infrastructure of a hostel.”
A turn career-wise, but only on paper because of the high value that travel has in her life, Rakesh-Murakonda says she sees an opportunity in the market that she feels compelled to act upon.
A Truly ‘Aha’ Moment
It’s fitting that her idea for Mosaico Boutique Hostel came to her on the heels of a trip to Thailand in the blurry, wee hours of the morning while reflecting on her visit.
“It’s really easy to have an idea that may be risky and to immediately disregard it,” she says, sharing the path she’s taking as a new entrepreneur. “You think that’s what other people do; I’m not built for that. But I told myself this is something that people need and can benefit from, and all of it started clicking in place in this magical, lock-in moment.”
When her husband stirred at 4 am, she convinced him to stay awake and write down all the ideas coming to her, from the big idea to its messaging and where she would launch the Mosaico Boutique Hostel. From there, she utilized all her knowledge gained from Questrom about business plans and created a plan for Mosaico. She then hired a Madrid-based consulting firm that specializes in hospitality to help her gauge the market validity of her idea.
“Once they validated the need, I thought OK…there’s only so much you can predict and control, and I feel good about this. The numbers also support it. So now I’m working on making it a reality.”
What’s In a Name
As for the name, it holds much significance. “Ever since I was a kid, I was obsessed with mosaics,” she says. “I thought they were super cool. You have all these random pieces that form a massive piece of art.”
When she studied abroad in Madrid, Rakesh-Murakonda got a tattoo of a mosaic inspired by Moorish tiles in the Andalusia region of Spain. Taking this inspiration, she applied it to her business idea as an apt metaphor for the community she seeks to develop with Mosaico Boutique Hostel.
“It’s bringing together unique travelers from all around the world to create something greater than the sum of its parts,” she explains. “Travel, to me, and to many people is a passion just like art. It’s a way of expressing yourself; it’s a way of living. And each memory, experience, and excursion is like a tile that you’re adding to this mosaic that you’re building in your life. That’s what Mosaico is meant to represent.”
Seeing Limitations — And an Opportunity to Overcome Them
With a distinct vision for where boutique hostels can sit in the realm of hospitality offerings, Rakesh-Murakonda has established herself as a business owner in Spain — with a trademark in review, a brand ethos, an LLC business structure — and is working with a real estate agency to unearth the right space to eventually launch Mosaico Boutique Hostel. Simultaneously, she is working on raising capital.
Her years spent as a market researcher gives her deep insight into learning and anticipating what consumers want. Having analyzed this market and stayed at premium hostels to conduct competitive research, Rakesh-Murakonda knows how she will carve out a distinct offering. Mosaico addresses a multi-level problem within the current hostel industry. The concept not only addresses pain points that existing hostel guests experience but also captures a completely ignored market segment of older travelers who are hostel-curious but have not felt seen or understood by the industry thus far. By focusing on a slightly older demographic with higher hospitality standards and spending power, Mosaico aims to have a stronger psychological and emotional impact on guests.
“I’m really inspired by [British Advertising Executive and Author] Rory Sutherland who brings up the difference between efficiency and psychological impact and how you can add more value to the experience — instead of just doing something more efficiently,” she says. “It’s kind of what I’m trying to do…some of the differences are small, like building in privacy to change after a shower in a shared room, and other differences are substantial, like having all your necessary amenities/toiletries included in the nightly rate. You have to think about the psychological and emotional impact.”
Rakesh-Murakonda understands that it may take some time to find the right place, especially in a city like Madrid, with its preserved architectural character. She knows that, at its best, good design honors the history of a location and reflects how we live, feel, and connect. And that the space she ultimately finds and renovates will have some uniqueness in its ability to cultivate a community that is passionate about travel. If you have a passion for travel, live in Madrid, or find Rakesh-Murakonda’s ideas and entrepreneurial spirit interesting, she would love to hear from you. Find her on LinkedIn.