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Found a hostel booking hack by accident in Lisbon

I was trying to book a dorm bed in Lisbon last month and the hostel website kept erroring out. So I called them directly instead of using the booking platform. Turns out they knock 15% off the price if you reserve over the phone because they skip the commission fees. Has anyone else tried calling hostels direct instead of just clicking book online?
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jenny_hall
jenny_hall11d ago
Oh yeah, that's a solid tip! I actually did the same thing in Barcelona a couple years back. The hostel website was being weird with payment, so I called them up and they offered me 10% off because they didn't have to pay Booking.com or Hostelworld their cut. Ended up saving like 8 euros, which isn't huge but hey, that's a couple beers. The front desk guy even gave me a free late checkout because I booked direct. It's crazy how much these booking platforms take from the hostels, so it makes sense they'd pass some savings along. Now I always check if I can just call first before booking online.
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tylerpark
tylerpark11d ago
Wait, they actually gave you a late checkout just for calling?
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miles_garcia
Nice tip. I once saved 12% and accidentally called a pizza place instead.
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