My brother told me to always book hostels through their own site, not a third party

He said it after a trip to Berlin where he saved 15 euros a night. I was planning a trip to Lisbon and used a big booking site for a hostel. When I got there, the front desk guy showed me their direct price and it was 12 euros cheaper per night for the same bed. I asked if they could match it and they said no, because the third party already took their cut. So I had to pay the higher price. Anyone know a good way to check direct prices fast before you book?

4 comments

4 Comments

spencer4002mo ago

Yeah that "third party already took their cut" line is the whole problem. I just open two browser tabs now, one for the booking site and one for the hostel's own site. Takes like 30 seconds to check. Sometimes the big sites have a last minute deal, but usually going direct is cheaper and way less hassle if you need to change anything.

blake7922mo ago

What do you do when the direct site looks off, @aaron854?

aaron8542mo ago

So you just open two tabs like @spencer400 said? What if the hostel's own site looks sketchy, do you still book there?

the_rowan1mo ago

Yeah that "usually going direct is cheaper" line is spot on. I had a buddy who booked a hostel in Barcelona through some third party site cause the hostel's own site looked like it was designed in 1999. Turns out that sketchy looking direct site was totally legit, and he ended up paying like 30 bucks more through the booking site for a room that didn't even have the right bed type. When he tried to switch rooms, the booking site told him to call the hostel, and the hostel said they couldn't touch it cause it was a third party reservation. He ended up sleeping on a couch in the common area for two nights cause they were totally booked. So yeah, don't judge a hostel by its ugly website design.