Warning: That 'budget' hostel booking site charged me double

I was booking a hostel in Lisbon last week and found a room for $18 a night on one of those aggregator sites. Got to the check-in and the guy at the front desk said they never got my reservation. I had to pay the hostel directly for a new room, spent $36 total, and the first site won't refund me. Has anyone else had this happen with those third party booking apps?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_kevin5d ago

$18 a night for a hostel in Lisbon sounds super cheap even for a budget spot, so that might have been the first red flag. Aggregator sites can definitely drop the ball sometimes, but it's also possible the hostel just messed up and pointed fingers at the booking site instead. I haven't seen too many people get totally burned like this, it might be worth checking if your credit card has travel protection.

the_joseph5d ago

Gotta disagree with @the_kevin on this one. $18 isnt crazy for a dorm bed in Lisbon off season, and the real red flag is that the site took your money but never sent the reservation to the hostel. Thats on the booking site, not the hostel.