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?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer40021d 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.

blake79221d ago

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

aaron85421d ago

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