Thoughts on Hostel Reviews
March 26 2021
Are you likely to trust a review of a hostel, hotel or whatever, where the blogger has been invited to stay for free and to write 'nice things'?
I have 8 hostel reviews on this website. I did not ask for free nights in exchange for any of the reviews.
And I have name-dropped countless others.
If hostels are worthy, I mention them. If they are below par, I will not slag them off but equally, because of their lack of understanding or enthusiasm in the running of a hostel, I just don't give them quite a valuable mention.
I spent the summers of 2016 and 2017 working in hostel Karakol. 2 Spanish guests had contacted my boss and had asked for 3 free nights in exchange for some promotion on their blog. They boasted 21k followers on FB and more than 700 daily visitors on their blog.
During their 3 night stay, they visited Jeti-Oguz, rock formations, 30km away. They posted a story on their blog and highlighted the fact that they had stayed at my hostel.
These scum bags thought it OK to give a tiny mention We stayed at "HOSTEL X" in exchange for 3 nights for 2 guests.
We had a hostel shop; beers, food etc at very near market prices. They did not even buy anything from us. They wanted to save a few cents, and that's all it was, on not buying from us.
This is bad behaviour and gives travel bloggers a bad name.
A tiny mention that will most likely not even be seen, definitely not registered and stored in our subconscious.
I, on the other hand, have not asked for a single nights accommodation in exchange for a quick mention. I have not even asked for a single nights accommodation in exchange for a full-on review.
Here are the 8 hostels I have reviewed:
Sombra Hostel - Tirana - Albania (hostel is now sadly closed)
And I have name-dropped countless others.
If hostels are worthy, I mention them. If they are below par, I will not slag them off but equally, because of their lack of understanding or enthusiasm in the running of a hostel, I just don't give them quite a valuable mention.
I spent the summers of 2016 and 2017 working in hostel Karakol. 2 Spanish guests had contacted my boss and had asked for 3 free nights in exchange for some promotion on their blog. They boasted 21k followers on FB and more than 700 daily visitors on their blog.
During their 3 night stay, they visited Jeti-Oguz, rock formations, 30km away. They posted a story on their blog and highlighted the fact that they had stayed at my hostel.
These scum bags thought it OK to give a tiny mention We stayed at "HOSTEL X" in exchange for 3 nights for 2 guests.
We had a hostel shop; beers, food etc at very near market prices. They did not even buy anything from us. They wanted to save a few cents, and that's all it was, on not buying from us.
This is bad behaviour and gives travel bloggers a bad name.
A tiny mention that will most likely not even be seen, definitely not registered and stored in our subconscious.
I, on the other hand, have not asked for a single nights accommodation in exchange for a quick mention. I have not even asked for a single nights accommodation in exchange for a full-on review.
Here are the 8 hostels I have reviewed:
Sombra Hostel - Tirana - Albania (hostel is now sadly closed)
Amazing Ionika Hostel - Chisinau - Moldova
Emir Guest House - Jeti-Ogiz - Kyrgyzstan
2nd review of Sombra Hostel - Tirana - Albania
I am not saying that I was not compensated for my efforts but I wrote the post before any compensation for my efforts.
The Emir Guest House in Jeti-Oguz, I remember the day she called me to say thank you. Two guests had turned up at her place and told her that they decided to visit having seen my post. This is why I write reviews. It proves my methods work and am happy people are grateful.
Hostel reviews should be full-on. If you are just going to give a very brief mention, you are just wasting your time and are giving the hostel nothing in return for the free nights they gave you.
Are you likely to trust a review of a hostel, hotel or whatever, where the blogger has been invited to stay for free and to write 'nice things'?
The Emir Guest House in Jeti-Oguz, I remember the day she called me to say thank you. Two guests had turned up at her place and told her that they decided to visit having seen my post. This is why I write reviews. It proves my methods work and am happy people are grateful.
Hostel reviews should be full-on. If you are just going to give a very brief mention, you are just wasting your time and are giving the hostel nothing in return for the free nights they gave you.
Are you likely to trust a review of a hostel, hotel or whatever, where the blogger has been invited to stay for free and to write 'nice things'?
