Hostelworld's questionable business model

I recently booked through Hostelworld, and paid a $2 booking cancellation fee. When I arrived at my destination, I was not too crazy about the place and booked elsewhere. The Hostel was fine with this, but they could not refund my online deposit with Hostelworld for the full booking (3 days worth), and told me to contact Hostelworld for that. But Hostelworld would not refund any of it. Not the cancellation insurance and not the deposit. Does anyone know of a better way to book online?

That's the whole point of a deposit, you pay an advance to reserve the room but if you change your mind you're not supposed to get it back. Next time maybe contact the hostel directly - they may also ask for a deposit, in which case it's up to you whether you want to risk just whinging it or want the peace of mine of having something reserved.

Thanks. I'll contact hostels directly in the future. The cancellation insurance contained a clause saying that it could not be cancelled 24 hours prior to the stay. Technically, days 2 and 3 would have been 48 and 72 hours prior to the stay.

Hi,
Thanks for your comments. As per our recent email correspondence, the terms and conditions of cancellation protection are clearly stated before you add it to your booking. Cancellation Protection is only valid for cancellations of the entire booking more than 24 hours prior to the date of arrival.

This allows you to claim your deposit back as credit which you can then use towards the deposits of new accommodation bookings made on Hostelworld.com.

Please don't hesitate to email me at louise@hostelworld.com if you have any other questions and I'll be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Louise
Customer Service Team
hostelworld.com

Pm124, when you enter into a contract it is your responsibility to understand the contract before agreeing to it. From the response above by Hostelworld, it seems clear enough. I think their cancellation terms are quite common in the hotel/booking industry.

Having said that, over the years I have come to be very reluctant to book something sight unseen. I am a proponent of showing up and finding a room that I can see before handing over my credit card or cash. The internet is a great tool for travellers in many ways but like any tool has to be used with caution. Sometimes it can cut your finger so to speak.

If I do feel it necessary to book ahead (maybe a late night arrival somewhere) I always book a known name. ie. Holliday Inn or the like. Never a small independent hotel/hostel if I haven't been there before. The money you lost on your 3 night booking would have probably paid for a Holiday Inn the first night till you got your bearings.

you can try hostelbookers.com if you want to avoid the booking fees hostelworld charges.

booking with hostels / hotels directly is an option. but i've found booking with hostelworld or hostelbookers will help if you run into issues. the main reason being you can rate their hostel later.

As above....most of the hostels on hostelworld are also available on hostelbookers.......compare the prices (hostelbookers is usually but not always cheaper)

If not then nearly all popular places can be booked directly through their websites....even if most of them have similar late cancellation penalties (and many,in the case you describe above,would have kept the entire amount you paid for the bed)

On the reliability of website recommendations....I have found it far higher than (say)those given in most LP and other guide books.Principally as these are usually at least 3 years old when you read them...often older.

If a place has a large number of recent recs (from people who have submitted lots of reviews,not only one! )on Tripadvisor,hostelworld,hostelbookers etc...........I can't think of ANY case where it has turned out to be bad in reality.And I've stayed in a lot of places.......

pm124 - the booking deposit wouldn't have been more than a few dollars. Is an extra 2 bucks worth it for another extra few bucks if you cancel a day before? Its a bit stingy in reality. But its pretty standard for any hotel/hostel booking company to have that cancellation policy in place.

I only book ahead for my first two nights on a continent. We don't know beans about a place till we're in country. There are thousands of little hotels and hostels. Pick one you feel good about in situ.

"AN ADVENTURE, IS A THING THAT, WHILE ITS HAPPENING,
YOU WISH IT WASN'T."
-Mark Twain

Why bother booking in advance?
Read the reviews and then just go. If it's full on arrival or you don't like it, unless you're out on the banks of The Orinoco, or half way up The Himalayas - there's sure to be another room not far away. I gave up booking rooms in advance years ago - and still always find one on arrival.
That way I don't have a deposit to lose.