Booking your hostels

[mslibrarian]

My trip isn't until next May but I started checking availability today and I'm already having to change my schedule around. The hostels are filling up.

I've been waiting on a friend to make up her mind about the trip but she said she won't know until Christmas. I've waited too long it seems

Ghent isn't available for the dates I want so I'm having to change my first week on the continent around.

I also can't get a room at the Voldelpaark (did I spell that right?) in Amsterdam at ALL for the week I"m there.

Anyone else finding things filling up quicker than anticipated?

[pointofnoreturn]

It's not uncommon for hostels to be filled up already. Some don't open their inventory till 3 months prior to the date of stay (i.e. Beehive).

For trips in May, I usually have all accommodations booked (if possible) by early December because I'd rather stay in the places I want to stay in (and have great reviews) than waiting till a certain frame of time and only to find out it's completely full.

You can book now and if things don't work out, you only lose a small deposit. No biggie.

[mslibrarian]

Ya...I've also discovered if you e-mail the hostels directly they will likely find a room for you that isn't included in their on-line booking.

I'm very careful of where I want to stay, reading reviews, etc.

[mslibrarian]

I missed out on another hostel. I was only able to book two days in Maastricht so I'll have to hotel it one night.

[spud]

For my trip in July i was planning on booking some of the hostels a few days before arrival in the city... what are your thoughts on that idea? Am i mad?

[mslibrarian]

All depends if you want specific hostels and room types. If you are looking for singles or privates you need to book them as soon as you can. If you dont' really carfe what hostel you end up in or how many people you share a room with you might be ok.

I'm booking 3-4 months ahead and I had to change my dates in Ghent and in Maastricht. I was only booking single sex dorms too.

[spud]

It was on my mind all weekend whether or not to go and book hostels now or leave it to fate in July. Mainly as I can't afford to pay for all the hostels yet as im still in the process of raising the funds. However, ive just noticed with hostelbookers.com that you only pay 10% deposit to begin with, which has got me Strongly considering booking hostels sooner rather than later.

[mslibrarian]

My hostel in London is booked and paid for. So is my hostel in Maastricht and the night I'm spending in the hotel. The rest of my hostels were the 10% down. It's good both ways.

My personality doesn't allowe me to leave things to chance. I like to visit out of the way places that often only have one hostel (like in Gent and Maastricht, or Whitby in England). I had trouble with all 3 of those places getting rooms.

[herrbert]

Jan 18, 2009 21:07:32 GMT -5 spud said:

For my trip in July i was planning on booking some of the hostels a few days before arrival in the city... what are your thoughts on that idea? Am i mad?

short answer: Yes.

longer answer: Yes, July is in the peakseason and a lot if travellers will be on the road, including the Europeans themselves. I you see how many people book hostels nowadays (and with the crisis, my guess is that even more people look for cheaper options.).

As you noticed yourself, a lot of hostels can be reserved for about 2-3 euros, and the rest you will pay for when you arrive. So reserving is not that costly, and it will make you worry less about a place, and it saves you precious time when you are in the road.

(btw: it's Vondelpark => Vondel was a famous Dutch poet/writer, who also was on the 5 guilder note, before they were replaced by coins, and later by Euros)

[WillTravel]

If you want to be sure of availability and the best prices, check various hostel websites.

For example, I just prebooked my hostel that I will use in Buenos Aires (not Europe, but still the example is applicable).

* WebsiteA had the best price overall, but the first two nights were much more expensive. (hostelbookers.com) (As a side note, hostelbookers was also the cheapest site for my recent Mexico trip)
* WebsiteB had these two nights for a cheaper price, but the other five nights for a more expensive price. (hihostels.com)
* WebsiteC did not have the room type I wanted at all, although it had all the other room types. (hostelworld.com)

I booked the first two nights (the more expensive ones) at WebsiteB, and the other five nights at WebsiteA.

If you do use hostelworld, which I didn't in this case, use the link at the bottom of this page to help support the site.

Another hostel website is Gomio.com, and I also found some hostel websites at www.bedandbreakfast.com (which represents many countries). Many hostels have their own websites, but often the booking engine goes off to a well-known site anyway.

Although I did not do so in this case, another option is to email the hostel directly, or call them. Sometimes they will cut you a deal (this happened to me in London a few years ago). Sometimes they have space that is not advertised on the website.

[spud]

thanks alot chaps, spoke to my mate tonight about booking hostels on payday(end of the month) as we've worked out for the hostels we want to stay at it will only cost us 41euros in deposits which isnt really alot of money. only thing im worried about is there not being any trains travelling to the destinations on the day we need them, but sadly from the websites ive looked at the train timetables arent published until at least 60 days before.

-spud