amyb54•1d ago

Noticed a huge difference in hostel prices after switching to Tuesday bookings

I was planning a trip to Lisbon last month and kept seeing the same hostels jump from like 30 euros a night to 50 euros just depending on the day. My friend who travels full time told me she always books hostels on Tuesdays because that's when most of them update their pricing algorithms or whatever. I tested it out for a place in the Alfama district and sure enough I got a bed for 22 euros on a Tuesday when it was 40 euros on Friday. The same dorm room, same cancellation policy, everything. I think it's because fewer people are searching on Tuesday mornings so the dynamic pricing dips. Has anyone else noticed this with flights too or is it just hostels that do this?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly_hart2821h ago

Yeah I had the exact same thing happen with a hostel in Barcelona... booked a Tuesday night for 18 euros but my friend checked the same place on a Saturday and it was like 42 euros for a worse bed. The trick for me has been checking Tuesday mornings around 8am Lisbon time when the booking updates go through. I also noticed booking through the hostel's own website on those days sometimes gets you an extra discount compared to Hostelworld or Booking.com. Flights are trickier though, I've seen them drop on Tuesdays too but it's way less consistent than hostels for some reason.

noah_rivera5717h agoMost Upvoted

Wait you got 18 euros for a Tuesday night in Barcelona? @kelly_hart28 that's insane, I've never seen it that cheap. I gotta try that 8am Lisbon time thing, sounds like a solid hack.