Hostel booking sites vs. calling the hostel directly, no contest

I booked a 30 euro dorm in Lisbon through a booking site, then called the hostel to confirm. They offered me a private room for 5 euros more than the site's dorm price, plus free breakfast. Has anyone else noticed direct bookings getting way better deals lately?

2 comments

2 Comments

miller.rowan1mo ago

The whole "sites show you the priciest option" thing, I gotta disagree. I've found the exact opposite when I travel. Booking sites give me a baseline and honestly sometimes the direct deal is worse, not better. I called a place in Barcelona once after seeing a site price and they quoted me like 10 euros more for the same room, no breakfast thrown in. The site had a free cancellation policy that the hostel wouldn't match when I talked to them directly. I think it really depends on the property, big chains and small hostels have totally different ways of handling it. Sites aren't trying to screw you, they're just a middleman with different rules than a random person at the front desk.

phoenixw111mo ago

Calling them straight up is the real hack, they skip the middleman fee and throw in extras like breakfast to sweeten the deal. Once you do it a few times you notice the sites are just showing you the priciest option so they can make their cut, absolutely wild.