Hostel-Finding Travel App Shows Who Else Is Staying There Too

Browse, Book and Start Making Friends are the three steps needed to use WeHostels, a new iPhone travel app that is about as easy as it gets to book a no-frills place to sleep for the night. Like a HotelTonight for hostels, WeHostels has some unique features worth a look.

Testing the app for my hometown of Orlando produced four good results based on my current location. At one property, close to Orlando International Airport (MCO), a basic tent with shared bathroom came in at $15 per night. Typical of other listings, additional choices included a standard four-bed male dorm, standard four-bed female dorm or a deluxe six-bed female dorm suite for $25 per night.

Looking down the road, WeHostels users can enter their next destination to line up a hostel for the next place they may be going in advance too. Once found, booking is easy via the app for regular hostel guests who don’t need to know more and just want to tie down a place to sleep for the night. Contact information for the property is also included for those who want to know more.

So what’s different about WeHostels over finding a hostel from another hostel source, say Hostels.com or HostelWorld.com?

In addition to the handy travel app, WeHostels boasts a social element where we can check out who might also be staying at a chosen location before we get there.Like the crowd-sourcing element of other apps, the quality of that information will depend on who has and uses the WeHostels app. Still, on the hostel choices I had for Orlando, someone had checked in to three out of the four property choices. In advance of arrival I would have the name, a photo, the hometown and some other information about others I would spend the night with.

Available right now for iPhone, WeHostel plans for the launch of a general mobile site soon to enable Android users. Save more at WeHostel now; enter the code “GADLING” for $10 off.

Want to know more about WeHostels? Last June, the WeHostels product team moved together into a house in the mountains of Colombia. The team isolated from society with the goal of hacking full-time and developing the WeHostels first mobile app.


Hostel World names world’s best hostels

TripAdvisor recently released its list of the best and worst in the hotel industry. Now it’s the hostel industry’s turn. Hostel World just announced the winners of the “Hoscars“, their annual ranking of the world’s best and worst hostels, rated by cleanliness, location, staff, fun, security, and character.

Over 20,000 properties around the world were eligible for the awards, yet because most of the 900,000 or so Hostel World users who may have voted are from Europe, the world’s best top ten seems to be a bit skewed geographically. All ten are located in Europe. Five of the top ten are located in Portugal.

This year’s winner, The Traveller’s House in Lisbon, won last year as well and is the first hostel to win two years in a row.

In other locations – the US, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania – the top three hostels are listed. Additional awards were given out for categories such as best location, most fun, best character, most improved, cleanest, most secure, best small/large hotel, and best chain.

[via Guardian]

Tell your best travel story and win a Hostelworld.com voucher

Think you have the ultimate travel story? Hostelworld.com is celebrating its 10th anniversary and wants to hear about your best travel adventure of the last decade. Tell your inspiring, amazing, crazy or hilarious tale and you may win a €500 travel voucher.

Stories must be between 500 and 1500 words and be accompanied by a photo. The writer of the story selected as the best will receive the grand prize voucher, while nine other winners will be awarded a €50 Amazon card. Contest winners will be announced on October 7th.

Entries must be submitted by September 30th, so get writing!

Find your golden ticket during Hostelworld’s giveaway

Hostelworld.com is turning 10 years old, and they’re taking inspiration from Willy Wonka on how to celebrate it right.

During their Worldwide Golden Ticket giveaway through August 5th, Hostelworld is giving away 10 tickets to 10 winners. What’s each of the golden tickets worth? €1,000.

For your own shot at winning, book a stay at one of their hostels, and you’ll be entered in the drawing. Every day, someone who booked the previous day will be chosen and awarded a golden ticket.

Runners-up will get an iPod touch or a Hostelworld North Face backpack.

Hostelworld.com covers about 20,000 properties in 170 countries. Their website has also expanded to include free podcasts, city guides, and videos.