Safety guidelines
Hostello checks that a hostel exists and that the number on the listing is answered by the person who runs it. It cannot check what happens after you move in. These are the things that actually go wrong, and what to do about them.
Before you pay anything
Visit before you transfer money
Never pay a deposit for a room you have not seen. If somebody will only take payment before a visit, that is the single strongest warning sign in this market.Take somebody with you
A friend, a sibling or a parent. Go in daylight and tell one person where you are going and when you expect to be back.Get the deposit in writing
A message on WhatsApp counts. Ask for the amount, the notice period, and exactly what would make them keep it. Hostello does not hold the deposit and cannot recover one for you.Check the number against the listing
The number on the listing is the one we confirmed was answered by the owner or the warden. If you were given a different number by a third person, ring the listed one as well.
Signs to walk away from
The person will not meet you at the hostel
An owner or a warden meets you at the building. Somebody who wants to meet elsewhere and hand over keys is not the owner.The rent is far under everything nearby
Compare against the other listings in the same sector on this site. If it sits thousands below all of them, ask why on the call before you go.You are pushed to decide today
Rooms do go. Nobody legitimate needs a decision in an hour and a deposit before you have seen the room.The photos do not match the building
If what you are standing in front of is not what you saw on the listing, stop there and report it. That listing is wrong whether or not anyone meant it to be.
What Hostello is not
Hostello is a directory. We never hold a room, never take a deposit and never take a commission on your rent. What you send through this site is an enquiry, not a booking, and it does not reserve anything. Every payment you make is made to the hostel, so every payment is between you and the hostel.
That also means we cannot get money back for you. What we can do is take a listing down and stop it happening to the next student, which is why reporting matters more here than it would on a site that held your money.
Report it the same day
If a listing is unsafe, if somebody asked you for money before a visit, or if the person you met was not the owner, tell us. Reports about safety are handled the same day, and the listing comes down while we check rather than after.
In an emergency call 15 for police or 1122 for rescue. Hostello is a directory and cannot help in the moment.
Talk to us
Email Hostello about the site, a listing or a safety report.
That number reaches Hostello, not a hostel. Owner numbers are on each listing and nowhere else.
The owner is never told who reported them