What is Hostelworld?
Hostelworld is the leading online travel agent (OTA) in the budget travel space. While the focus is on hostel bookings, low cost hotels and B&Bs are welcome too, as are tour and experience providers.
The platform also offers chat and forum features that allow travellers to meet, mix and mingle with one another via the app. Guest reviews form a key part of the Hostelworld offering too.
Hostelworld is the biggest hostel-focused OTA. It offers budget accommodation in almost 2500 cities across the globe, and facilitates millions of bookings every year. If you run a hostel, or some other form of budget-friendly accommodation, it’s one of the most important platforms to have a presence on.
In this guide we’ll look at how to navigate to and within the Hostelworld inbox via the Hostelworld hotel Extranet.
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Learn moreWhy should small hotels use the Hostelworld inbox?
The inbox in Hostelworld’s extranet app is a useful way to track your Hostelworld bookings and communicate with guests, as it ties the booking and the chat together – something that can be tricky when communicating with guests via SMS or email.
The word ‘inbox’ probably undersells this tool, as it offers you far more than the opportunity to manage bookings and interact with guests. You can also control rates, availability, your listing and your marketing on the platform.
What does Hostelworld do? Features to know
Through its Extranet Hostelworld offers a number of features and tools to the accommodation providers who list on the platform. A few of the most useful features include:
Property management
The Hostelworld Extranet allows you to create and edit your listing to make it as attractive as possible. Under the ‘Property Setup’ tab, you can add photos and videos, list amenities and property rules, and adjust pricing and availability quickly and easily.
Hostelworld inbox
Your Hostelworld inbox in Extranet is where you can manage all your Hostelworld bookings. You can filter by ‘cancelled’, ‘arrivals’, ‘groups’ and ‘non-refundable’, you can add, edit, print and take payment for bookings, and you can get in touch with guests.
Mobile app
While the Extranet is only available on desktop, Hostelworld does offer a mobile app to travellers that lets them easily manage their travel itineraries. Speaking of which…
Messaging system
The mobile app makes communication between property and guest a lot smoother and simpler, thanks to the Hostel Chat system. This enables guests who use the Hostelworld app to send direct messages to a hostel 48 hours out from their bookings. It’s a useful feature for guests and hostels alike, so it may be worth encouraging your guests to download the app.
Hostelworld extranet login: Step-by-step guide
How do I log into hostelworld? The steps to accessing your property’s inbox on the Hostelworld Extranet are as follows:
Step 1
If you don’t already have a Hostelworld Extranet account – i.e. if you aren’t listed on Hostelworld – you can join by clicking here.
Step 2
Once you have completed the Hostelworld sign up process, you can navigate to the Hostelworld inbox login using this link.
Step 3
The inbox Hostelworld login screen will ask you to enter your unique hostel number/property ID, your username and your password. If you forget your password, use the reset link at the bottom of the login page.
Step 4
Click the ‘Log in’ button, and if all your details are correct you’ll be sent to the homepage of your Hostelworld Extranet dashboard.
How to use the Hostelworld inbox
The Hostelworld Extranet inbox is super simple to use. The dashboard offers full functionality for accommodation providers, separated into ‘Home’, ‘Bookings’, ‘Rates & Availability’, ‘Property Setup’, ‘Linkups’, ‘Reports’ and ‘Marketing’.
The word ‘inbox’ suggests communication, so can you message people on Hostelworld? Most certainly, and it’s particularly simple if your guest has downloaded the Hostelworld app, which gives them the ability to send direct messages to hostels they have booked (within 48 hours of check-in).
How do you chat with people on Hostelworld? You can access the chat function via Extranet’s booking tab, but more often a guest will get in contact with you, in which case you’ll be delivered an Extranet notification that sends you direct to the chat screen.You can also change permissions for different staff members to ensure your team only has access to the Hostelworld inbox features they genuinely need.
By Dean Elphick
Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of Little Hotelier, the all-in-one software solution purpose-built to make the lives of small accommodation providers easier. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at Little Hotelier. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance, and, ultimately, value for small accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations (and live their life).
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