PSA: I spent 3 years overpaying for hostels before I found the secret

I used to just book hostels on the big sites like Hostelworld without thinking twice. Last trip to Lisbon I sat next to a guy in a cafe who told me he always calls the hostel direct after finding it online. He said he got a 15 euro discount per night just by asking for a walk-in rate. I tried it for my next stop in Porto and saved 30 euros on a 4 night stay. Has anyone else tried calling hostels direct instead of booking through the app?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray_smith6715d ago

My buddy runs a small hostel in Budapest and he told me their cut from Hostelworld is like 15-18% per booking... so when people call direct they can easily knock that off the price and still come out ahead. Thing is a lot of smaller hostels don't have online booking systems that show availability in real time so calling gives you access to rooms that might look sold out on the apps too. I tried it in Prague last month and the guy at the front desk even threw in a free breakfast and a welcome drink for calling instead of booking through the site... definitely worth the five minute phone call.

wren_jackson15d ago

That's exactly right. Called a place in Rome and got 20% off just for asking.