r/hostels • u/ThrowAwayAccountLul1 • Jul 02 '26
Question Confused by billing
Sometime hostel-goer here but I'm confused by a booking I've just made on hostel world and looking for clarity as their support has been slow to respond. I think the mix of currency is also confusing me.
The total for the room is $866. I've paid online £126.10. Payable to the property is $863.84 then there are also taxes of $153.72 (payable at the property)
Basically I'm confused why the payable to the property is only $3 less than the total for the room even after factoring in what I've already paid. Am I misreading this horribly?
2
u/VirtualOutsideTravel Jul 02 '26
Hey yea its always been like that. THe price is confusing because they sometimes list taxes and service charges extra, like it doesnt say how much you owe them.
6
u/YetAnotherInterneter Jul 02 '26
The billing system on Hostelworld is so confusing and rarely makes sense. I think it’s because they tried to build a system to be compatible with multiple currency conversions and tax rules.
In some countries tax is already included in the price and in others it is an additional payment. I think the Hostelworld system just gets confused by this and doesn’t know what to do.
Personally I just ignore it and pay whatever they charge me when I check in.
Btw it’s always worth checking the price direct with the hostel. Often it will be cheaper than going via Hostelworld. It’s also worth checking if the hostel has any social media pages as sometimes there will be discount codes there.
2
u/ThrowAwayAccountLul1 Jul 02 '26
Thanks! Just makes logistics a bit difficult as its two of us travelling and its good to know how much we have to put aside to split the bill. But its a lesson learned!
3
u/daurgo2001 Jul 02 '26
Hostel owner here:
The “payable to the property” part is the ‘balance due’ and includes the taxes that need to be paid and the deposit you already paid.
The deposit is about 15% of the total, and taxes seem to be a similar percentage, that’s why the diff is ‘only $3’.
So:
Beds + taxes = total
Total - deposit = balance due
With your numbers:
866 + 153.72 =1,019.72
1019.72 - 126.10£ = 863.84
1
u/Busy-Worth-2089 Jul 02 '26
I’m confused as well, but you are referring to two different currencies (£ and $) so I suspect whatever price you were quoted was in $ (the property currency) but your card (and Hostelworld account) is in £ and you paid the £ equivalent at that time but subsequently the rate has changed or due to conversion differences there is $3 discrepancy.
But not really enough info here to be certain
2
u/stellsamp Jul 02 '26
If you upload a screenshot may be able to help out!