Hostel’s Guest Reviews:

Positive & Bad reviews are CRITICAL to this FIT Traveler’s wise hostel selection. They are my “ultimate litmus test” of a hotel’s WORTH AFTER I have balanced the VALUE of their price versus amenities.

1.  Benefit to FIT travelers of POSITIVE Guest Reviews:

Positive Reviews are reassuring:

“Carly was so friendly & helpful, even helping me book a bus ticket”, “Carly insured I got a lower bunk because at 72, it is dangerous for me to climb into top bunk; also very clean bathroom toilets & showers.”

a.  Booking Platform Ratings: Positive reviews boost a hostel's ranking in hostelworld.com, hostel.com , etc. like ‘cream rising to the top.” Especially for FIT travelers, solo backpackers and budget travelers who rely on Guest Reviews to validate the trustworthiness of a hostel’s claims of vibe, cleanliness, social atmosphere, and value.

b.  Rely on Mutual Trust & Credibility amongst of FIT Travelers & Hostel Guest’s: I accept legitimate authentic "word-of-mouth" Reviews from former hostel guests as truthful, helpful & unbiased.

c.  A strong mix of positive & negative Guest Reviews can enhance Hostel’s trustworthiness rather than an a question of ‘suspicious perfection’, particularly regarding a hostel’s current status of quality & performance.

d.  Reassures (“great staff”, “wifi in dorms”), positive reviews reassure while negative feedback cautions (“noisy dorms”, “smoking in dorms”, “smelly bathrooms”).

THEN , the wise FIT Traveler shifts to Guest’s NEGATIVE Reviews to further test the hostel’s claims of vibe, quality, and amenities.

2.  Benefit to FIT travelers of NEGATIVE Guest Reviews:

Bad reviews are the FIT traveler’s ‘flashing red lights’ signaling that a negative Issue was so important to a previous guest that they took the time to comment: “smelly showers’, “rude staff”; …. often on more than 1 travel platform.

a.  Why Peeps post Bad Reviews?

1)  anger: “rude staff’, “smelly toilets”, etc,

2)  public service to WARN future guests : “no wifi in rooms”; only common room”, “refrigerator is too small for all guests to use”

3)  WARNING: Vengeance Reviews: Some reviews are ‘personal’, … designed to inflict unfair damage on the hostel or its personnel. Usually, this is subtly obvious by the attacker’s choice of words and issue.

I dismiss these nasty transparent vengeful attacks with sympathy for hostel management & staff. They serve no useful purpose.

b.  What are Guest’s Benefits of Bad Reviews?

1)  A traveler’s litmus test of hostel management’s quality claims.

2)  Indicator of hostel’s responsibility & commitment to guests, or not.

3)  Clue that hostel’s management should NOW be aware of guest dissatisfaction.

4)  Potential future guest's are being warned of possible suspicion & mistrust.

5)  Travelers ‘see & avoid’ as they research & curate hostels in their desired area.

c.  What are Hostel’s Management’s Benefits of Bad reviews

1)  Hostel Management’s bellwether of guest dissatisfaction

2)  Warns of potential severe damage to a hostel’s reputation,

3)  Warns management of blind spots,

4) Lost income, profit & industry respect

d.  Hostel Management’s Golden Response Opportunity:

Hostel Management has at least 2 options to Bad reviews: 1) No Response, & 2) Response.

1)  No response, IMO, is

a)  a de facto, implied confirmation of a reviewer’s VALID negative complaint,

b)  cowardly mismanagement,

c)  researching FIT Traveler’s see as suspicious & indicative of ‘NOT caring’,

d)  management’s tacit acceptance of hostel’s lost income etc., including mine,

e)  Competition will NOT recommend when they are fully booked.

Anecdote: Lonely Planet’s most popular Rome hostel referral: I arrived in Rome with no pre-booked hostel (???), but my strategy was to ask at most p[opular Lonely Planet Rome hoste l…knowing..they’d be fully booked & would immediately recommend another nearby hostel.                                                  This top hostel immediately recommended a hostel a few blocks away where I stayed for several days.

Anecdote: San José de Jáchal, Argentina: Arriving with out a pre-booked hostel, I approached this 1st Lonely Planet hostel I could find. The kindly lady jumped on the phone and called other hostels until I was booked. Might be harder today as FIT Travel increases.

2)  Response: IMO a wise response includes

a)  a quick & candid apology, (even if just being diplomatic to a vengeful reviewer)

b)  reassures Complainant & subsequent Guest Review readers that management takes their concerns seriously,

c)  explain a clear, appropriate & feasible ‘correction’,

d)  graciously welcomes the Complainant Reviewer back to hostel too confirm solution.

A class act management response.

3)  Benefits of response:

a)  Hopefully, issue is solved and hostel is improved,

b)  ALL future travelers who read Guest Reviews will appreciate, respect, & be reassured by management's forthright response & solution.,