Glo Bug

i spazzed out and didn't want to book a hostel online and now, the online directory says that all the hostels are booked for my first night there.

Does anyone think i should just go to the city and ask hostels if they might have a free room, or book in a hotel? I"ll be arriving around 11 pm in christchurch NZ.

I don't really want to book a hotel, although i will if i have to.

Also what are the odds of me getting away with sleeping in the lobby of a hostel if the place is booked?

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lawoman

Where are you trying to stay? Most hostels I know of have waiting lists, there are always people who don't turn up for their reservations. Also, if all else fails, do it the old fashioned way and just call them! I don't trust the online booking stuff anyway. Good luck!

Canadian Dude

What are your dates, and what cities?

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Carisia

Hey Glo bug - first step is to get the number of a few hostels from the online info you've searched and try actually calling them 1) to check if they are in fact all booked and verify if you do have reason for concern 2) most times they will fit you in if you call directly even if the web engine info. says full. 3) even if they say they are full over the phone, if you really want to be in that city, just go, most times they'll fit you in if you just show up, plus something will turn out! Good luck!

worldwidemike

I found that the difference between a hostel showing booked and the booking service being unable to electronically book you is a distinction that is easy to miss. When I was scheduling my Barcelona and Andorra trip, there were places that said "no booking available." I initially took that as they were full.

I did some research, found a direct e-mail address for them, and contacted them. They had space available...they just did not accept prebooking from those services that told me it was unavailable.

A fine line, perhaps a matter of semantics that gets blurred in the translation...

worldwidemike

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