Booking Hostels?
Booking Hostels?
Does it work out cheaper to book hostels online in advance whilst travelling or to simply to arrive and book on the day?
Depends which country/city you are going to, what time of year and what type of room you want.
For example, if you plan to visit Sydney on New Year’s Eve you will want to book as soon as you know you’re going to be there.
If you’re heading to somewhere in Thailand and are happy in a filthy dorm in a busy street you can just turn up. If you want a cosy beach-front hut with A/C you may want to book beforehand.
For peace of mind and saving time I book from place to place in advance using hostelworld.com or hostelbookers.com
Might also be worth mentioning that hostelworld.com charge a fee (unless you have a gold card) but hostelbookers.com don’t. So in that sense, depending on the booking site you use, it can sometimes work out more expensive.
If you don’t want to pay a booking fee, see if you can book directly through their own website, and if not, try giving them a call.
You’ll find hostels charge the same price online as they do if you rock up.
If you’re going somewhere that only has the one hostel, I’d book in advance with no hesitation. I say this from personal disappointment of having my stay in Martha’s Vineyard dramatically reduced and being forced to stay on Nantucket for much longer than desired.
There’s also nothing more annoying than wasting an afternoon searching for somewhere to sleep as the place you knew of was full. Some smaller cities hostels are linked up and will often call another one to check if they have availability… and if they do explain how you get there. If this happened in a city like NYC during a busy period like the middle to end of August when all the summer camp workers finish up and head to the city, you’d be on your own!
If you’re heading to somewhere in Thailand and are happy in a filthy dorm in a busy street you can just turn up. If you want a cosy beach-front hut with A/C you may want to book beforehand.
Where are these filthy dorms in Thailand? Except for BKK and Chiang Mai that is.
The accommodation on offer there is overwhelmingly guest house style or bungalows of which there are thousands. I have travelled in low and high season many times and not once have I booked in advance. Guess how many times I have been left out on the streets?
I actually think it’s generally bad advice to recommend booking in advance for Thailand, as it will end up costing people more money for no good reason.
The exception, of course, being if you want to go to an event like the FMP where things do get booked up in advance.
Might also be worth mentioning that hostelworld.com charge a fee (unless you have a gold card) but hostelbookers.com don’t. So in that sense, depending on the booking site you use, it can sometimes work out more expensive.
Hostelbookers.com is cheaper then hostelworld.co.uk :)
Thank you for your replies, sometimes i just think i am abit too organised but i do like to have piece of mind that i know i will be sleeping somehwere nice
Thank you for your replies, sometimes i just think i am abit too organised but i do like to have piece of mind that i know i will be sleeping somehwere nice
It’s nice to book your first couple of nights definitely, as it gives you some comfort after a long flight and being in a strange country.
I said this to a friend recently, but I only booked one night’s accommodation in two years away, and that was for the first night.
I much prefered just rocking up to a place and bartering for a room. But hey, that’s me!
There’s also nothing more annoying than wasting an afternoon searching for somewhere to sleep as the place you knew of was full. Some smaller cities hostels are linked up and will often call another one to check if they have availability… and if they do explain how you get there. If this happened in a city like NYC during a busy period like the middle to end of August when all the summer camp workers finish up and head to the city, you’d be on your own!
Yep, I definitely had that problem! I thought I was being smart booking a couple of weeks early and all I managed to get was two nights before leaving in NYC. Ended up spending a lot more time in Washington DC and Baltimore but it didn’t matter as I loved those places. Plus I’d run out of money by the time I got to New York anyway. One day I will have to go back and do New York properly :).
I said this to a friend recently, but I only booked one night’s accommodation in two years away, and that was for the first night.
I much prefered just rocking up to a place and bartering for a room. But hey, that’s me!
You’re right. It’s definitely more fun that way!
If you’re heading to somewhere in Thailand and are happy in a filthy dorm in a busy street you can just turn up. If you want a cosy beach-front hut with A/C you may want to book beforehand.
Where are these filthy dorms in Thailand? Except for BKK and Chiang Mai that is…
I actually think it’s generally bad advice to recommend booking in advance for Thailand, as it will end up costing people more money for no good reason…
The exception, of course, being if you want to go to an event like the FMP where things do get booked up in advance.
I should probably say here that I don’t actually know why I gave Thailand as an example as I’ve never been there - it was just a generalisation of my point as the OP hadn’t actually said where he was going. Sorry, listen to Lunny on that one! :S
