Hostel loyalty points vs booking sites, which one actually wins?
I spent 3 weeks hopping hostels across Lisbon and Porto last month, and noticed that booking direct through the hostel's own site with their loyalty program was 10 to 15 percent cheaper than what Hostelworld showed after fees. But the trade-off was way less flexibility and no free cancellation if plans shifted. Has anyone else run the numbers on direct booking versus aggregators for shorter trips, or is the convenience still worth the extra cash?