The hostel booking trick that cut my Japan trip costs by a third

I was planning a 10 day trip to Osaka and Kyoto and kept seeing the same advice about booking hostels direct through their websites instead of the big booking apps. Last month I tried it for the first time and the difference was wild. One place in Kyoto gave me 15% off for paying in cash and another in Osaka threw in free breakfast and a laundry token. I tracked my total and went from about $420 down to $280 for all 9 nights. Has anyone else found direct booking works better in certain countries or did I just get lucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivan_mason18d ago

Wait, you actually paid in cash and they just handed you a discount like that? I've heard stories about the direct booking thing but never thought places would throw in free stuff that easy. @the_alice getting a free towel is pretty funny though, at least they didn't lose their whole deposit over it.

bennett.nora18d ago

Is that a new travel hack where you lose stuff on trains to get free towels or something? Lmao @the_alice really turned that into a whole adventure.

the_alice19d ago

Tried that in Tokyo once and got a free towel, which I then immediately left on the train because I am who I am.