Hostelworld’s New Payment Options Show That It’s Growing Up
Photo Credit: Hostelworld's new brand campaign features singer Mariah Carey. The booking company is hoping to tap into consumers' emotions. Hostelworld
Skift Take
It’s probably a tiny blip on the radar of Priceline and Expedia but Hostelworld is quietly building up a nice niche business. How long can it be before one of the bigger players shows an interest?
Hostelworld Group is becoming more like its generalist online travel agency competitors following the introduction of two new payment options in the last 18 months.
Mimicking the likes of industry giants Booking.com and Expedia by offering non-refundable rates and free cancellations on certain bookings is a sign that the company is a growing force within the online booking world — at least at the budget end of the spectrum.
Hostelworld’s model in the past had been to make customers pay a deposit upfront, which the company would keep, with the rest paid upon check-in. But the new models offer more flexibility, CEO Feargal Mooney said.
The Dublin-headquartered firm introduced non-refundable offers during 2017, which are now available across more than 3,700 properties (around 10 percent of all prop
