General Questions about Making a Group booking
Q. How do I book online?
A. You need a valid credit card or debit cards to book online - we accept Visa, Visa Delta and Mastercard credit cards and Solo, Switch, JCB and Laser debit cards. Your credit card will be charged for a 10% deposit (downpayment) and a booking fee of US$2.00. Once you have selected your destination, preferred hostel, number of people and number of nights you will be prompted for your credit card details to confirm your booking. You will receive an on-screen confirmation of your reservation which you should print and bring to the hostel. The balance due to the hostel will be clearly displayed on your booking confirmation. For bookings of less than 10 people, the balance is due on arrival. For bookings of more than 10 people it will be clearly stated in the terms and conditions when the balance is due to be paid.
Q. How many people can I book for?
A. You can make a confirmed reservation for up to 20 people online. Enter your details into the form and we will provide you with a list of hostels with availability for your group. These hostels are ready to be booked immediately and bookings are confirmed.You can make a request for groups of more than 20 people to the hostels we work with to accommodate large groups. Only the cities where we have hostels taking large groups will be displayed when you make a request for more than 20 people.
Q. What happens with the 10% deposit?
A. When you book on HostelGroupBookings.com, through our online credit card processing company, we take a 10% deposit (downpayment) for your reservation plus a US$2.00 booking fee. This amount will not be refunded to you on arrival at the hostel. The balance of 90% of your accommodation cost as shown on your booking confirmation is due to the hostel. It will be clearly stated in the hostels terms and conditions when the balance is due.
Q. What credit/debit cards can I book with?
A. We accept Visa, Visa Delta, Visa Electron credit cards and Solo, Switch, JCB and Laser debit cards.
Q. If I don't have a credit/debit card can I still book?
A. No. You can make an online booking for up to 20 people using a credit/debit card. Hostels will contact you directly if you make an online request for more than 20 people and the payment method will be suggested by them.
Q. Does the name on the credit/debit card have to be the same as the name on the reservation?
A. If you don't have a credit card but know someone who will let you book using their card that's ok. The name on the credit card can be different to the name on the reservation. Please remember though, in the event of a no-show the hostel will charge the credit card used in line with their policy on their terms and conditions which must be agreed to before making an online booking.
Q. Is it safe to use my credit/debit card online?
A. HostelGroupBookings.com is secured by Verisign, the world leader in Internet security. All information is encrypted online and transferred securely direct to the hostel. For further security information please read our security section.
Q. If I am getting a credit/debit card error while I am booking or waiting for my confirmation, what can I do?
A. HostelGroupBookings.com credit/debit card bookings are secure and processed through WorldPay. There may be some reasons why your credit card transaction will not go through. Please check the following and try your transaction again:
• There may be insufficient funds to cover the transaction being booked.
• You may not have filled out all the information fields requested. Please check that this is not the reason and try to complete your transaction again
Q. Can I book over the telephone or by email?
A. No, we can only process online reservations through the HostelGroupBookings.com website.If you make a large group request for more than 20 people, the hostel will have your telephone number and e-mail address and will contact you directly.
Q. Do I need to be a member to use your site or stay at one of your hostels?
A. No, you do not need to be a member of any youth hostel organisation to stay at any of the hostels listed on HostelGroupBookings.com.
Q. Do I need to book in advance?
A. We always recommend that you book as far in advance as possible in order to ensure you get a bed at your preferred hostel in your chosen destination. Many hostels are booked up well in advance during high season, weekends, holiday periods or during special events. We would encourage groups to book at the earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.
Q. Can you check availability for me?
A. No. You can check realtime availability for each property listed on the HostelGroupBookings.com website. Simply choose your country and city and the number of people in your group, enter your chosen dates and you will receive a detailed breakdown of availability. If there are no hostels displayed then we don't have availability for your group and ask you to consider other dates/locations.
Q. Can you give me directions and contact details of a hostel before I book?
A. We do not provide contact information for hostels before you book them. You will receive complete directions and contact information on your booking confirmation. For groups larger than 20 people, the hostel will contact you directly with all the information you need to make your booking directly with them.
Q. Can you send me a brochure?
A. Each hostel has a one page microsite showing their facilities and photographs - this is the equivalent of their brochure page. HostelGroupBookings.com do not print any hostel brochures.
Q. Are there age restrictions for staying in hostels?
A. Most hostels do not have any age restrictions for guests. For bookings of less than 10 people any age restrictions will be clearly stated on the hostel's microsite. If you are making a group booking for between 10 and 20 people we ask you to provide your group's age ranges in the form and hostels with availability accepting your age ranges will be displayed and are ready to be booked!
|