The best way to book a hostel

[Canadian Bacon]

Hey tpunks. This is for all you new members and first time backpackers.

Conventional wisdom is that one should book their hostels on 3rd party sites like hostels.com or hostelworld, that give you a nice transaction number where you pay a small deposit for peace of mind and a guarantee of a bed.

This approach, while it works, leads to a somewhat false sense of security. I've known many people (and had it happen myself), who have encountered hostel staff that had no record of your reservation - despite the transaction number.

You'll be standing there and looking at their pencil written list of hostel guests and beds, and wondering how it is possible that some far off 3rd party computer system that issues transaction numbers somehow made it through the internet, through the website administration, and into the handwritten book of the sleep deprived hostel staff.

And also, it a waste of money. What happens when you want to change your travel plans? you lose your deposit.

So the best way, in my opinion, and the way that I've been doing it so far, is to just call the hostel directly, speak to someone - get their name - and make a booking from there. Also effective is going to the hostel site directly and booking directly on their website. Direct contact with a hostel has never failed me. And as a bonus, usually (not always), when you do it this way, there is no need for a deposit.

This way, you'll increase your changes of saving money and guaranteeing yourself a bed.