6 ways entrepreneurs can make the most of the coronavirus slowdown, from the owner of a hostel who hit record cancellations and has prepared for 3 months of lost business

• Hostels are a frugal alternative to hotels for budget travelers, but social distancing because of coronavirus has decimated much of the hospitality industry.
• Hostel owner Deidre Mathis said she saw 60 cancellations in two days - a record high for the two years she's been operating her business.
• Mathis advises entrepreneurs to keep six months of working capital in the bank for emergencies. She said the next few months of economic turmoil will provide an opportunity to improve your business.
• She shared her six steps for using this time effectively, from reviewing operating procedures to training staff.
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Until the coronavirus hit America, hostels were a frugal alternative to hotels for budget travelers. But now in the time of social distancing, few travelers want to share bunks - and fewer still are reaching their destinations because of travel bans and restrictions.

Wanderstay hostel in Houston, Texas, saw 60 cancellations in two days. That's almost double the amount of total cancellations owner Deidre Mathis saw in the two years since she opened her business. "People are very weary about staying in shared spaces," Mathis told Business Insider.

It's a new age in hospitality - major events have been canceled and some hotels may soon become annex wards for local hospitals. Four million US hotel employee positions could be eliminated in the coming weeks, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Mathis is preparing for at least three months without business. In a recent LinkedIn post, she wrote that it's important for entrepreneurs to have working capital in the bank to sustain six months without customers. "If a business does not have a reserve, I'm afraid that most businesses will not be able to survive this," she told Business Insider.

But she also acknowledged that's easier said than done. Not all businesses have the cash flow to save for emergencies, so she suggested opening a credit card or taking a line of credit if you're strapped for cash.

Mathis warned business owners that the coming months are not a vacation, nor a time to be defeated. "Look at it like a blessing in disguise. Now you get some time off where you can really sit and think about how you can make your business better," she said.

There are several ways entrepreneurs can make the most of the slowdown and prepare for when everything picks back up. Mathis shared her six steps to using her time effectively and improving her business.

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