Does any Hostels take payment after the guests stay, and what are the pro's and con's of it? Your thoughts please.
15 years
I don't think any hostel in the UK would consider it, but I have stayed in places around the world that do it, particularily the less developed places. Personally I prefer to pay up front so I know what I am paying, and there are no hidden charges.
15 years
I don't know if it would work in the US, though I've seen it in Europe and Argentina.
Pros: friendly atmosphere where hostel trust the guests
Cons: guests might take advantage of it
15 years
Hi Guys, I know of some Hotels that do it, but lets be honest, that is not our market segment. Restaurants operate in such ways though, pay after you dine. I heard of a restaurant that allows its guests to pay what they thought the meal and the service was worth to them (as far as I know they are doing well).
15 years
I know of some Hotels that do it
If the hostel holds the credit card number it could work, but I think it would be easier for the guest to pay up front at a hostel.
15 years
Do not go down the road of paying after you stay, I currently work at a Hostel that has a relaxed paying policy and you would not believe how many people leave without paying, even after they meet us and become friends with us, this hostel is built like a family house, and people are cheap at heart.
15 years
As about 60% of my guests have been here before, many year after year, I would not insult them by asking for money up front. I have figures that show that well over 99% are honest and pay when they leave; sometimes to the tune of 300 - 400 Euro.
New guests, however, are asked to pay for some nights when they arrive.
I would also add that we run a tab system for food, drink, internet time, etc. We are currently owed well over 1000 Euro - I sleep easy at night!
An interesting story. A few weeks ago an English guy put a message on the hostel web site bulletin board that he was returning after 5 years. I immediately replied "Great - you can pay the bill from 5 years ago that you could not afford at the time." He returned - he paid the 150 Euro bill.
Simple - they cannot return if they have not paid up!
15 years
Guests are always paying on arrival and I do think that's the best to do for a 500+ beds hostel:
- For such a big hostel it's unfortunately not possible to become "friend" with each guests, at the reception we'd rather speed up the check in process.
So, let's say in 24 hours (actually roughly from 6.00am to 3.00am) we do 300 check ins, and that's a busy job, but feasible considering that an entire check in process takes about 2 to 5 minutes (depending of the type of booking) when room/bed allocation is done, when guests chose their method of payment, and that no problem came up.
If we had to make the payment on the check outs we would have to take all those payments in... 4 hours (roughly 6.00am to 10.00am check out time) and that wouldn't be possible.
- Guests behave a bit more when their money is taken and some could be afraid to be kicked out before the end of their stay if they cause trouble (and troubles happen in big hostels) without refund.
- Also, if some guests are leaving the hostel without paying their bills, why don't you simply try to charge their credit card they used to book the accommodation, that's not legal, but leaving without paying isn't either.
What do you think?
15 years
I much prefer paying at the start. I prefer restaurants where you pay at the start, eg where you order at the counter. It avoids the habits of those restaurants which casually add extras which you havent ordered, and reduces the awkward wait for the bill if you are just having a quick snack. In hostels, I prefer to pay at the start; if I have taken out enough cash to pay the bill, and then they wont accept payment till the end, I have to carry around an extra 200 euros or whatever for a week, increasing the risk of theft. In one hostel where they casually said pay when you leave, there was a queue of people when we wanted to be out and on our way.
15 years
Payment upfront here too. We dont require payment for the full stay (except in some peak periods), but we require the guest to be one night in credit.
We only encode the guests room keycard for the amount of nights they've paid for. I'm sure that's pretty common.
Doing it this way means the guest isn't worried their plans will change, or they'll be unhappy, but still out of pocket. It also means we don't have to worry about guests skipping out on the bill. It doesn't always work perfectly, but it's pretty good.
15 years
I wouldn't consider anything other than paying in advance. to my mind if they can't pay up front they may have problems paying when they leave. I knew a hostel which operated a more relaxed policy, and had no end of problems (admittedly it was in a fruit picking area, so had a lot of itinerant/ seasonal residents). They used to keep passports as securtity, but I knew a number of guys who had racked up debts over $500, and just skipped out leaving the passport behind.
I'd say it makes it easier for the guest too - they know that everything is settled and as long as they leave the key they can just leave. I have had long waits at hotels when I've wanted to check out - you get everyone leaving at the same time and then some arguing over the bill, or just taking a long time to pay. Hostels and budget hotels are much easier, just leave the key and go.
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