That hostel wifi hack I overheard at the bus station in Budapest

So I was waiting for a FlixBus in Budapest last month and this guy next to me was on the phone talking about booking hostels. He said he always books his first night at a hostel then asks the staff about discounts for direct bookings for the rest of his stay. Apparently some places will knock off 10-15% if you pay them in cash and skip the booking site fees. I tried it at three hostels in Prague and two of them gave me a 12% discount on the spot. Has anyone else gotten cash deals from hostels like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin_wright1mo ago

Betting the hostel staff are getting a cut of that cash deal. Last time I tried this in Berlin the receptionist straight up told me he gets a 5% kickback for every booking he makes in cash at the front desk. The hostels are saving 15-20% on booking site commissions so they can afford to pass some down. Just make sure you get a receipt or text message confirmation because I had one guy in Warsaw take my cash then claim the room was sold out the next morning. Got my money back but it was a hassle.

grant7281mo ago

Same thing happened to me in Prague. Always get the text receipt now.