Last modified: November 30, 2023
Welcome to HostelTraveler.com. The HostelTraveler.com website is owned and operated by Instant World Booking, which provides services to you subject to the following terms and conditions. If you continue browsing the HostelTraveler.com website, or use its services, you accept these terms and conditions.
Our revised Privacy & Security Policy is hereby incorporated into and forms part of these terms and conditions.
In short:
THIS AGREEMENT is between you, the user of this Site, and Instant World Booking. The terms "HostelTraveler.com" and "Instant World Booking" represent the operator of this website, and are used interchangeably throughout this document. Please note that where you access our booking engine on a third party website these terms and conditions only apply to your use of the booking engine, and do not apply to any other use of that third party website.
The term "Service" refers to all services provided by Instant World Booking, the HostelTraveler.com website, and all products, software and services offered via any website or technology owned or provided by Instant World Booking.
The term "Content" refers to materials or information contributed or uploaded by any user of this website. "Content" includes any text, software, scripts, graphics, photographs, sounds, music, videos, audiovisual combinations, interactive features and other materials you may view on, access through, or contribute to the Service.
The terms "Travel Service Provider", "Tourism Service Provider", and "Service Provider" are used interchangeably throughout this document and refer to independent third party providers of accommodation, lodging, recreation, travel services, reservation booking, transportation, and tourist services including tours, meals, and other leisure activities, etc. These service providers use Instant World Booking's services to advertise, market, accept reservations, receive payments or otherwise distribute their offerings. They are not owned or operated by Instant World Booking.
The Service is offered to you conditioned on your acceptance without modification of these terms and conditions. By accessing our websites or using any Service offered by Instant World Booking, you accept our Cookie Policy, Privacy & Security Policy and these Terms and Conditions.
Instant World Booking does not represent that the information published on this website is free of error. In using this website you acknowledge that the accommodation details, rates, availability, and all other information relating to travel and tourism services published on this website may include inaccuracies or errors.
All reservations for travel and tourism services on this website and booked through Instant World Booking are made with the travel service provider and not with Instant World Booking. Instant World Booking only facilitates the booking of reservations, which are private contracts between you and the service provider. Instant World Booking is not a party to the contract between you and the service provider and has no responsibility or liability to you in respect of the terms of that contract, or the service provider's ability to fulfill those terms.
Prior to making a reservation, you should ensure that you have reviewed the service provider's terms and conditions, if any, and that they are acceptable to you. Following confirmation, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, errors, or misrepresentations on the part of the service provider that result in their inability to provide the services contracted for, the service provider, not Instant World Booking, assumes liability for payments already made, even if those payments were made to Instant World Booking.
THE LODGING PROPERTIES AND OTHER SUPPLIERS PROVIDING TRAVEL OR OTHER SERVICES ARRANGED BY HOSTELTRAVELER.COM OR INSTANT WORLD BOOKING ARE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AND NOT AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES OF INSTANT WORLD BOOKING OR ITS AFFILIATES. NEITHER INSTANT WORLD BOOKING NOR ANY OF ITS OWNERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVES WILL BE LIABLE FOR LOSS OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR PAYMENT FOR OR USE OF ANY INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND/OR THE MATERIALS OFFERED THROUGH THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF DATA, INCOME, PROFIT OR OPPORTUNITY, LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, PERSONAL INJURIES, CLAIMS OF THIRD PARTIES, OR ANY INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS OR DAMAGES, EVEN IF INSTANT WORLD BOOKING, ITS AFFILIATES, AND/OR THEIR RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGES, OR SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGES WERE REASONABLY FORESEEABLE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL INSTANT WORLD BOOKING'S LIABILITY TO YOU, IF ANY, BE GREATER THAN ALL DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS MADE BY YOU TO INSTANT WORLD BOOKING.
If you reserve travel or tourism services through an Instant World Booking affiliate program (i.e., via a third party marketing partner), your reservation and payment are subject to these terms and conditions. Under no circumstances is Instant World Booking's liability to you, if any, greater than the amount you paid to Instant World Booking or the amount charged to you by Instant World Booking.
If you make payments using any Instant World Booking payment service or are otherwise charged or billed by Instant World Booking operating in a travel agency capacity or as agent for any travel service provider, your transaction is subject to these terms and conditions. You agree to pay for services reserved or provided. All payments are non-refundable, unless a specific refund policy is included on your confirmation. If your transaction was completed using a credit card, debit card or other financial account, your transaction and any liability associated with charges billed by Instant World Booking are subject to your cardholder issuer agreement or financial account agreement. Check with your account provider for these agreements. If you choose to dispute any charge with your card issuer, you may be held responsible for reimbursing chargeback fees and all costs, including legal fees, incurred by Instant World Booking in association with the dispute. Under no circumstances is Instant World Booking's liability to you, if any, greater than the amount you paid to Instant World Booking or the amount charged to you by Instant World Booking.
The listing of any accommodations or travel/tourism services in this website is not and should not be taken as a recommendation from Instant World Booking or a representation or guarantee that the accommodations or services will be suitable for the user's purpose. All information about accommodations and travel/tourism services is provided by independent third parties, and Instant World Booking does not undertake to verify the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or legality of such information. There are many situations in which advertised or contracted travel or tourism services may be unsuitable for the user, including the financial instability of service providers, the ability and willingness of service providers to deliver contracted services, the need for travel documentation such as passports and visas, outdated travel or lodging information, health hazards in the destination country, the level and nature of crime and terrorism at the destination or at the lodging, the need for travel insurance, itinerary changes or changes in level of service, the history of accidents at the destination or at the lodging, restrictions on transportation tickets, and restrictions on payments, method of payment, or refunds. Additionally, it is prohibited for any person to publish or advertise fraudulent information on this website, which may lead to invalid or fraudulent reservations and transactions. It is the user's sole responsibility to ensure they are educated and aware of all of these risks and their remedies. Instant World Booking shall in no way be liable to you in the event that the travel or tourism services as described are not available, not capable of being delivered based on the above-mentioned risks, not suitable for your purpose, or in any way misrepresented in this website.
As a condition of your use of this website, you warrant that you will not use this website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms and conditions. It is strictly forbidden for users of the Service to publish or advertise misleading, false, unlawful, or fraudulent information on this website.
You must be of sufficient legal age to use this website and to create binding legal obligations for any liability you may incur as a result of using this website. Minors may not use this website or enter into any reservation or contract using the Service. You understand that you are financially responsible for all uses of this website by you and anyone else using your log-in, membership, or personally identifiable information.
The terms and conditions in this section apply when you use this website to reserve travel and tourism services. This means that you have completed your reservation at a Instant World Booking webpage, made a payment, and have received a reservation confirmation from Instant World Booking.
If this is not the case, and you otherwise make payments or are billed by Instant World Booking for any other travel agency service, this section does not apply. Please see the appropriate section below.
On making a reservation at the Instant World Booking website, you shall pay a deposit plus a service charge for confirming your reservation. The deposit and service charge rates are disclosed to you prior to confirming your reservation. You will be responsible to the travel/tourism service provider for payment of the balance of the cost of the travel or tourism services booked by you and, where applicable, payment of taxes or service fees pursuant to the terms and conditions of trade applied by such travel/tourism service provider. Service providers may disclose their terms and conditions of payment in the information published on this website, although they are not required to do so. Your reservation is confirmed once your payment with a credit or debit card (or other online form of payment) has been accepted by Instant World Booking, the operator of this website.
No refunds. Your booking payment is Non-Refundable under all circumstances, unless a specific cancellation refund policy is included in your written confirmation. Your booking payment consists of the deposit and service charge you pay at confirmation. It is Non-Refundable under all circumstances, even if you cancel your reservation.
If a specific cancellation refund policy is offered with your reservation, this policy will be disclosed for your review prior to confirmation. It will also be explicitly disclosed in your confirmation. If this is the case, you must cancel your booking within a specific timeframe in order to be eligible for a partial refund. Refund eligibility is limited only to the specific conditions disclosed. Cancellation fees will be subtracted from any refund you may be eligible to receive. Under no circumstances will any refund be greater than the deposit and service charge you paid.
Without exception, booking payments are Non-Refundable unless a specific cancellation refund policy is included in your written confirmation.
If you believe there is an error or dispute with your payment, contact Instant World Booking first to resolve the situation. If you choose to dispute any charge with your card issuer, you may be held responsible for reimbursing chargeback fees and all costs, including legal fees, incurred by Instant World Booking in association with the dispute.
We are required to send your information to the travel/tourism service provider with which you booked travel services so that the travel/tourism service provider knows who you are and when you will use its services. We give your name, your address, your gender (if provided), your phone number, your email address, your credit card details and of course, the details of your booking. The travel service provider requires this information to guarantee a confirmed booking from you. The guarantee may involve the travel service provider verifying, authorizing, or charging a deposit to your credit or debit card, in accordance with their stated booking policies. All travel service providers on whose behalf we facilitate bookings have agreed to these terms and conditions.
It is common for travel service providers in certain regions to require your credit card security code (3 or 4 digit CVV code) for verification. We will notify you when the travel service provider requires this information, and provide you with an opportunity to send the security code yourself. If you do not provide the security code when asked, your reservation may be cancelled by the service provider, without further notification and with no refunds.
Cancellations may be made through this website (i.e., online cancellation function), or by notifying the travel service provider directly. You agree that in the event that you cancel your reservation, you authorize the service provider to charge to your credit or debit card without further reference to you an amount determined by the service provider's terms, conditions, and policies applicable to the reservation. While this amount may vary for individual providers, under no circumstances will it exceed the amount due to the service provider under the original terms of your reservation agreement.
Your booking payment made at the time of confirmation is Non-Refundable, as described in paragraph 2 (Booking payment) above. If you choose to dispute any charge with your card issuer, you may be held responsible for reimbursing chargeback fees and all costs, including legal fees, incurred by Instant World Booking in association with the dispute.
If you do not cancel your reservation, your failure to arrive (no-show) by the agreed check-in date and/or time will result in the cancellation of your entire reservation. By confirming a reservation with your credit or debit card, you agree that in the event you fail to arrive by your agreed check-in date and/or time, you authorize the travel service provider to charge to your credit or debit card without further reference to you an amount determined by the service provider's terms, conditions, and policies applicable to the reservation. Under no circumstances will this amount exceed the amount due to the service provider under the original terms of your reservation agreement.
Your booking payment made at the time of confirmation is Non-Refundable if you fail to arrive, with no exceptions.
In making a reservation, it shall be your responsibility to disclose to the travel/tourism service provider directly any special needs, conditions, or circumstances that may require special facilities to be provided either by yourself or the provider. Any amendments to your reservation must be notified to and agreed with the service provider directly. Instant World Booking is not responsible for communicating your changes or special circumstances to the service provider.
Instant World Booking will provide a booking confirmation on behalf of the travel service provider. For online reservations, a confirmation screen indicates that your booking is confirmed, including all details of the reserved service. A confirmation email is also provided. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that any email address you provide is correct, your email system is functional, and that your system will not block or use filtering devices to prevent the delivery of any confirmation email. If you do not have access to email, you may also sign in at our website to receive your confirmation information, which is saved on our secure website.
Instant World Booking strongly recommends you contact the travel service provider directly following confirmation to ensure that they are in receipt of your reservation, and are ready to receive you. You may communicate any supplemental personal details or requests, if any, directly to the provider. Travel and tourism service providers receive your reservation confirmation via our notification system, which includes multiple backup methods of receiving reservation information. By establishing contact directly with the service provider, you ensure no risk of miscommunication of your reservation details during the confirmation process.
Instant World Booking does not undertake to include or disclose charges for additional services or details of the service fees or taxes charged by the travel service provider, which may or may not be included in the service provider's disclosed rate for the reservation. Instant World Booking strongly recommends you check and confirm with the travel service provider the precise terms and conditions under which the service provider makes the reserved service available to you. The reservation ID number included on the confirmation should be quoted in all communications regarding the reservation.
If offered at the time of confirmation, you may choose to purchase "Cancellation Protection". This optional protection gives you the ability to change your plans as you travel without losing your reservation deposit.
The following Terms & Conditions apply for Cancellation Protection:
If you cancel your reservation, a credit for your deposit amount will be offered toward another reservation made online at our website within 6 months from the cancellation date. No credit will be offered if you do not purchase another reservation within 6 months. Protection is only valid for cancellations made earlier than 24 hours before the scheduled arrival date. Cancellations are only valid if processed online through your Instant World Booking account. Cancellations by telephone or e-mail are not protected. Credit for cancellation will be applied to the account identified by your User ID or e-mail address used to process your initial reservation. Credit cannot be applied to a booking made using a different User ID. In order to use cancellation credit, simply confirm your new reservation with a payment at our website. Then, contact Instant World Booking via email with both old and new reservation IDs, and we will immediately apply your credit. To contact us, simply reply from your confirmation email. Credit may only be applied once, and may not exceed the deposit amount for your new reservation. In the event of repeat cancellations you forfeit any credit already used. Cancellation credit only applies to the booking deposit amount, and may not be applied to service charges or other fees.
If offered at the time of confirmation, you may choose to purchase "gold card" or "gold" membership. Gold membership allows you to make future reservations without paying service fees. Your gold benefits are available for one year from the date of purchase. You may make as many reservations as you want with no service fees. Reservations may be made at any website owned or operated by Instant World Booking. An actual card will not be issued. To use gold membership, simply make future reservations with the same User ID used to process your initial reservation. Your gold benefits are available until the expiration date indicated at your online account. To access your gold benefits, simply log in with your User ID before making a new reservation.
By confirming your reservation, you agree that any liability for losses, damages, additional expenses or any claim whatsoever arising out of or in connection with Instant World Booking error or omission, service provider error or omission, changes in availability, insufficient availability, accommodation, health, injury, weather, strikes, fraud, service provider closings or discontinuance of service, or any other cause shall be borne by you, unless otherwise agreed between you and the service provider. Under no circumstances shall Instant World Booking, its owners or affiliates be held responsible for such losses, expenses, claims, or demands for refunds or compensation.
Travel and tourism service providers are independent contractors and not agents or employees of Instant World Booking or its affiliates. They use this website and its services to advertise their offerings, facilitate reservations with customers, collect payments, and/or perform other property management functions. Service providers authorize Instant World Booking to collect payments from customers to confirm or settle reservations on their behalf. As such, upon initiating use of any Instant World Booking service, travel service providers agree to and are subject to these terms and conditions. This includes initiating the use of any automated service provided by Instant World Booking on the internet. Service providers may not be required to authorize or sign written contracts. The absence of such written contracts does not relieve the service provider from any responsibility under these terms and conditions. The initiation or use of any online service is sufficient evidence that the service provider agrees to and acknowledges acceptance of these terms and conditions.
Travel and tourism service providers agree to the pricing and commission rates disclosed on the website, and any instructions, guidance, or help screens provided and published within this website. Instant World Booking has various preferred and non-preferred pricing structures, and service providers understand that they must remain in full compliance with these terms and conditions to maintain preferred pricing. Instant World Booking reserves the right to alter pricing to non-preferred status without notice if all terms and conditions are not met.
By default, all travel service providers use instant booking methods requiring that they maintain an active calendar of availability on the Instant World Booking website. If a service provider has an active listing on the Instant World Booking website, they understand that they have an active calendar that is available for immediate booking by customers on the internet. Service providers authorize Instant World Booking to confirm reservations based on this calendar of availability without prior notice to the provider.
Travel and tourism service providers have total responsibility for the calendar of availability displayed for their services on the Instant World Booking website. Service providers also have monetary responsibility in that they accept total liability for customer payments for reservations if their calendar is erroneous. It is the sole responsibility of the travel service provider to maintain the accuracy of their calendar of availability.
Instant World Booking provides tools for maintaining the calendar, including an Automatic Update feature that is enabled by default for all service providers. The Automatic Update feature will automatically extend availability into the future, at the same rates and units provided by the service provider, if the calendar has less than 6 months of availability remaining. This feature is intended to ensure that a service provider's calendar does not expire unintentionally, but in no way reduces the service provider's responsibility for maintaining an accurate calendar. Service providers may request that the Automatic Update feature be disabled. There shall be no presumption that the Automatic Update feature has been disabled unless a service provider has obtained written confirmation from Instant World Booking that the feature is disabled.
If a service provider wants to advertise their property without an instant booking calendar of availability, they must request and obtain written confirmation from Instant World Booking that the instant booking requirement has been waived. Without such confirmation, service providers understand that they have an active calendar that is available for immediate booking by customers on the internet.
Reservations confirmed through this website are private contracts between the customer and the service provider, not Instant World Booking. Service providers authorize InstantWorldBooking.com to confirm reservations based on their calendar of availability without prior notice to the provider, and to collect payments from customers to confirm reservations on their behalf. The travel service provider agrees to honor all reservations confirmed through Instant World Booking pursuant to these terms and conditions and the terms and conditions of trade applied locally by the provider. In doing so, the service provider assumes total liability for payments made by customers specifically to confirm their reservation. For more information on service provider responsibility for payments, see paragraph 4 (Responsibility for Customer Payments) below.
Reservations are confirmed once notification has been provided to the travel service provider. Notification may include one of two alternate methods, either (1) an email delivered to the email address provided by the service provider, or (2) notification online at the secure website provided by Instant World Booking to the service provider. Both forms of notification are provided immediately and simultaneously when a customer confirms their booking with a payment. The service provider is not required to acknowledge receipt of notification, and failure to do so does not void the confirmation. It is the sole responsibility of the travel service provider to ensure that their email system is functional, that email addresses provided to Instant World Booking are correct, and that no emails from Instant World Booking or any Instant World Booking website can be blocked by any kind of filtering device. Even if email communication fails or is unavailable to the service provider, the provider acknowledges that reservations are still confirmed instantly by the posting of confirmation information via method 2 above on the secure website provided by Instant World Booking. This information is available 24 hours daily during every day of the year.
Travel and tourism service providers assume total liability for payments made by customers to confirm their reservation. This includes payments made to Instant World Booking, whether or not such payments are transferred to the service provider. Therefore, since the service provider has total responsibility for the prices, availability, and other information published with reference to their services, they also assume total responsibility for customer payments if there is an error in any of this information.
In the event of unforeseen circumstances, over-booking, or any other cause that results in the inability to provide the services contracted for at the price disclosed to the customer, the service provider assumes all liability for customer payments already made. In these circumstances, the travel service provider shall immediately (a) notify Instant World Booking and the guest of their inability to provide the contracted services, (b) find comparable services for their guest at a comparable price and successfully rebook the guest, and (c) deliver a written explanation absolving Instant World Booking and affiliates of responsibility for the service provider's failure to honor the reservation.
If the service provider is unable to successfully rebook the guest, they shall immediately remit payment to the customer of an amount equal to total payments already made by the customer specifically to confirm their reservation.
If a service provider fails to fulfill these responsibilities, Instant World Booking may recover the customer payment amount from the service provider by retaining an international collections attorney and initiating a collection action locally within the service provider's country. If a collection action is initiated, the service provider will be held responsible for all costs, including legal fees, incurred in association with collection action.
Travel and tourism service providers submit or upload to our website the information or Content that they want to publicize about their services. This Content may include photographs, images, graphics, or videos, among other information. Instant World Booking uses this information to advertise the provider's services, and does not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any Content submitted.
Travel and tourism service providers shall be solely responsible for all information and Content published about their accommodations, services, and availability on this website, as well as all consequences of submitting and publishing their Content on this website. Travel and tourism service providers affirm, represent, and warrant that they own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to publish all Content they submit. Travel and tourism service providers license to Instant World Booking all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to such Content for publication on the website and service pursuant to these terms and conditions.
For clarity, travel service providers retain all ownership rights in their Content, which may include photographs, images, graphics, or videos, among other information. However, by submitting Content to Instant World Booking, a travel service provider hereby grants Instant World Booking a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Content (and derivative works thereof) in connection with the Service and Instant World Booking's (and its successors' and affiliates') business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Service provided by Instant World Booking, in any media formats and through any media channels. Travel and tourism service providers also hereby grant each user of the Service a non-exclusive license to access their Content through the Service, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such Content as permitted through the functionality of the Service and under these terms and conditions. The above licenses granted by travel service providers in Content they submit to the Service terminate within a commercially reasonable time after any such Content is removed or deleted from the Service. Travel and tourism service providers understand and agree, however, that Instant World Booking may retain, but not display, distribute, or perform, server copies of their Content that have been removed or deleted. The above licenses granted by travel service providers in user comments or reviews submitted to the Service are perpetual and irrevocable. Travel and tourism service providers further agree that Content they submit to the Service will not contain third party copyrighted material, or material that is subject to other third party proprietary rights, unless they have permission from the rightful owner of the material or they are otherwise legally entitled to post the material and to grant Instant World Booking all of the license rights granted herein.
Travel and tourism service providers must be in compliance with all local and international laws and regulations, including any registration or licensing requirements. Travel and tourism service providers agree that they are solely responsible for maintaining such compliance, and not Instant World Booking. Similarly, the information published on this website by service providers about their accommodations, services, and rates must also be in compliance with local and international laws and regulations. The accuracy of this information is solely the responsibility of the Service provider and not Instant World Booking. In maintaining the information published on this website, travel service providers must follow the guidelines and instructions published by Instant World Booking for this purpose. All guides and instructions provided incorporate these terms and conditions. Failure to follow guidelines, including the display of disallowed marketing, contact, or other information, may result in the termination of a listing.
In the event of any change in the travel service provider's accommodation, services, or availability for guests, the travel service provider shall immediately update the information maintained on the Instant World Booking system. If a service provider is unable to honor reservations or accept guests or customers, they shall immediately notify Instant World Booking, remove availability from the Instant World Booking system, and suspend use of Instant World Booking's services. If an accommodation fails to maintain compliance with local and international laws and regulations, the service provider shall immediately suspend use of Instant World Booking's services. It is a violation of these terms and conditions to provide misleading, misrepresented, fraudulent, or unlawful information for publishing on this website. Instant World Booking reserves the right to terminate any travel or tourism service listing without notice at its sole discretion.
If a service provider closes their business or is no longer able to honor reservations or accept customers, they shall immediately notify Instant World Booking, remove availability from the Instant World Booking system, and suspend use of Instant World Booking's services. Failure to remove their information from the Instant World Booking system does not eliminate the service provider owner's responsibility for any confirmed reservations or customer payments, even if future reservations are made based on erroneous information.
If a service provider wishes to terminate their listing or any service provided by Instant World Booking, they may do so by informing Instant World Booking in writing or by email. If notification to cancel is provided by a service provider, there shall be no presumption that the listing or service has been cancelled until written confirmation of cancellation is received from Instant World Booking. No listing may be removed if there are any unresolved disputes concerning a confirmed reservation for a provider's services. All disputes must first be resolved in accordance with these terms and conditions.
Under no circumstances will Instant World Booking, its owners or affiliates be liable for losses, damages, or third party claims arising out of or in connection with any fraudulent transactions made through the Service. Fraudulent transactions include, but are not limited to, reservations with invalid or incorrect information supplied by the customer, unauthorized or disputed credit card charges, or reservations associated with high risk or previously fraudulent transactions.
Travel and tourism service providers, upon initiating use of any Instant World Booking, shall at their expense and Instant World Booking's request, hold harmless, indemnify and defend Instant World Booking, its owners and affiliates against any third-party claim or action brought against Instant World Booking, its owners or affiliates relating or arising out of (i) the operation of, or actions at the travel/tourism service provider's property or service location, or acts or omissions of the service provider including, without limitation, any third-party claim or action brought against any of them, arising from or relating to the service provider's accommodations or services, or (ii) the service provider's breach of this agreement.
Travel and tourism service providers are responsible for the calculation, collection, and remittance of any and all taxes to their local taxing authorities. This includes all tourism, occupancy, and travel-related taxes. Instant World Booking does not collect taxes from customers and does not remit taxes to taxing authorities. Under typical circumstances, amounts collected by Instant World Booking from customers represent only the booking commission earned as an intermediary in the transaction, and do not include any tourism taxes. When Instant World Booking collects balances from customers in a travel agency capacity, Instant World Booking pays the travel service provider the total amount due less commissions. In all circumstances, the booking commission does not include any taxes collected on behalf of the customer or service provider. Booking commissions are discussed elsewhere in these terms and conditions, and include amounts also referred to as service charges and deposits.
When setting rates, service providers should not assume that the amount collected by Instant World Booking will include any taxes, regardless of whether the service provider publishes rates including taxes. If a service provider publishes rates including taxes, they must consider how the total tax amount will be calculated, collected, and remitted, exclusive of the booking commission collected by Instant World Booking. It is the sole responsibility of the service provider to calculate all taxes applicable to a transaction, and to remit those taxes directly to the taxing authority. If you do not understand how taxes will be collected and remitted to your taxing authority, or are unable to do so, do not use this website.
For the purpose of these terms and conditions, an "affiliate" is any travel/tourism service provider, marketing partner, or third party that markets and sells travel or tourism services using webpages, links, or technology services provided by Instant World Booking for third party websites or apps. These services in combination are also known as the "IWB Booking Engine". These arrangements may all be referred to as "affiliate programs". Upon initiating the use of any affiliate program service of Instant World Booking, users become affiliates and agree to and are subject to these terms and conditions.
In affiliate program arrangements, commissions and deposits collected from customers are shared with the affiliate based on a pre-determined calculation and schedule defined by Instant World Booking. These calculations and schedules are communicated by Instant World Booking to the affiliate or are otherwise available on this website prior to the affiliate's use of the Service. Periodic monthly reporting will indicate the payment schedule. Payments are made by Instant World Booking to the affiliate using an agreed method and payment instructions provided by the affiliate. In addition to payment instructions, affiliates will be asked to periodically verify their tax status and jurisdiction. The payment instructions must be provided to, and confirmed by, Instant World Booking prior to the date of the first scheduled payment. If payment instructions or tax verification are incomplete or invalid, payment instructions will be deemed "not confirmed". If payment instructions are not confirmed, payments will accrue, but not be paid. Payments for past accrued amounts may only be made in amounts not to exceed the current scheduled payment due from new transactions or reservations.
Payments are made no earlier than the first day of the month following reservation confirmation, or for deposits collected from guests in an amount greater than 30% of the total cost of travel or tourism services booked, no earlier than the first day of the month following guest arrival or service date.
Affiliates may terminate affiliate arrangements at any time by providing advance notification to Instant World Booking. If an affiliate terminates or abandons the affiliate program without notification, all payments due to the affiliate are forfeited in their entirety. If an affiliate abandons the affiliate program by removing the IWB Booking Engine from their website while payments are still outstanding, all payments due to the affiliate are forfeited in their entirety. If an affiliate terminates or changes their website, domain, or otherwise changes or discontinues any webpage on which the affiliate program was used, all payments due to the affiliate are forfeited in their entirety. Instant World Booking reserves the right to terminate any affiliate arrangement without notice at its sole discretion.
Instant World Booking provides notification and details of payments due to affiliates on a periodic basis. Under no circumstance will the payment due for a particular reservation or travel booking exceed the pre-defined affiliate percentage or calculation or the amount paid by the guest.
For cancelled reservations, or for customer failures to arrive (no-shows), Instant World Booking will provide no payment to the affiliate unless an agreement has been established to do so. Instant World Booking may agree to provide a payment to the affiliate for cancellations or no-shows, only if the deposit collected from the guest is greater than 30% of the total cost of travel or tourism services booked. In this situation, the payment will be calculated based on the specific cancellation and no-show policy disclosed by Instant World Booking to the guest at the time of reservation confirmation. In the event of any customer dispute or chargeback of a confirmation payment, Instant World Booking reserves the right to withhold payments to the affiliate for the disputed transaction, deduct the disputed amount and any penalties from future payments, or make claims to the affiliate for reimbursement of payments already made.
Under no circumstances will Instant World Booking make a payment to any affiliate for any fraudulent or potentially fraudulent transactions, including reservations with invalid or incorrect information supplied by the customer, unauthorized or disputed credit card charges, or reservations associated with high risk or previously fraudulent transactions. Instant World Booking reserves the right to determine at its sole discretion which reservations are fraudulent or potentially fraudulent. Instant World Booking also reserves the right to assess the risk of servicing individual travel service providers, and in its sole discretion limit or terminate services or change the payment schedule and payment limits. It is strictly forbidden for any person to use an affiliate program to initiate false or fraudulent transactions or for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms and conditions.
Affiliates, upon initiating use of any Instant World Booking service, shall at their expense and Instant World Booking's request, hold harmless, indemnify and defend Instant World Booking, its owners and affiliates against any third-party claim or action brought against Instant World Booking, its owners or affiliates relating or arising out of the affiliate's breach of this agreement.
IWB Payments refers to customer payments made to Instant World Booking for services provided by travel service providers. Instant World Booking operates in a travel agency capacity, and in this role, collects payments from customers as agent on behalf of service providers. In this process, service providers contract Instant World Booking as their agent to confirm or otherwise finalize customer reservations. Customers pay Instant World Booking directly to settle their reservation. Payments may include costs billed to customers for various travel and tourism services, including accommodation, transportation, or any other related travel and tourism expenses including meals and activities. They may also include charges such as cancellation or no-show (failure to arrive) fees. Payments can be billed prior to the service being provided, as in a deposit, or afterwards as a final payment.
Travel and tourism service providers bill customers for the cost of services they provide. When the service provider uses IWB Payments, they contract Instant World Booking as their agent to confirm or otherwise finalize customer reservations. In this role, Instant World Booking collects payments directly from customers, and issues a confirmation for their reservation and services paid for. The customer provides their credit card or debit card billing information, and agrees to pay Instant World Booking the amount charged. The customer also acknowledges that full travel agency authority has been delegated to Instant World Booking for the services reserved and paid for, regardless of the method or origin of the customer's original booking. All payments are Non-Refundable and subject to these terms and conditions.
The service paid for may include items categorized above, and may or may not be associated directly with a reservation made at Instant World Booking (see BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS above for more on reservations booked at Instant World Booking). IWB Payments may be used by service providers in the billing and confirmation of other related travel or tourism services they provide, aside from specific reservations made through Instant World Booking's reservation system.
Instant World Booking charges your credit or debit card directly for the amount billed by the service provider. Your cardholder statement will display "Instant World Booking" as the merchant. For purposes of your payment, Instant World Booking operates as agent for the service provider in collecting the amount billed to you for their services. When Instant World Booking confirms your credit card payment, the transaction details are recorded. A payment receipt is made available to you either in print form from the service provider or by email from Instant World Booking. Failure to receive a receipt does not void the transaction. Your final payment will appear on your cardholder statement. A copy of the receipt may be obtained from Instant World Booking on request.
As a credit cardholder, your transaction and any liability associated with charges billed by Instant World Booking are subject to your cardholder issuer agreement. Check with your account provider for these agreements.
By making payment with your credit card or debit card, you agree that any liability for losses, damages, additional expenses or any claim whatsoever arising out of or in connection with Instant World Booking error or omission, service provider error or omission, availability of services, accommodation, health, injury, weather, strikes, fraud, service provider closings or discontinuance of service, or any other cause shall be borne by you, unless otherwise agreed between you and the service provider. Under no circumstances shall Instant World Booking, its owners or affiliates be held responsible for such losses, expenses, claims, or demands for refunds or compensation. If you choose to dispute any charge with your card issuer, you may be held responsible for reimbursing chargeback fees and all costs, including legal fees, incurred by Instant World Booking in association with the dispute. Under no circumstances is Instant World Booking's liability to you, if any, greater than the amount you paid to Instant World Booking or the amount charged to you by Instant World Booking.
Travel and tourism service providers bill customers for the cost of their services. With IWB Payments, service providers contract Instant World Booking as their agent to confirm or otherwise finalize customer reservations. In this role, Instant World Booking collects payments directly from customers. The service provider agrees that Instant World Booking has full travel agency authority over the services reserved and paid for, regardless of the customer's booking method or origin. Instant World Booking therefore has the authority to issue confirmations for reservations made and paid for. Upon initiating the use of any payment or affiliate service of Instant World Booking, users agree to and are subject to these terms and conditions.
Payments collected by Instant World Booking are transferred to the service provider after subtracting commissions and fees based on a pre-determined calculation and schedule defined by Instant World Booking. These calculations, commission rates, and schedules are communicated by Instant World Booking to the service provider or are otherwise available on this website prior to the use of IWB Payments services. Instant World Booking may also from time to time modify commission rates and fees.
Payment instructions must be provided by the service provider to Instant World Booking to enable the transfer of payments. In addition to payment instructions, the service provider will be asked to periodically verify their tax status and jurisdiction. The payment instructions must be provided to, and confirmed by, Instant World Booking prior to the date of the first scheduled payment transfer. Periodic monthly reporting will indicate the payment schedule. If payment instructions or tax verification are incomplete or invalid, payment instructions will be deemed "not confirmed". If payment instructions are not confirmed, payments will accrue, but not be paid. Payment transfers for past accrued amounts may only be made in amounts not to exceed the current scheduled payment due from new transactions.
Transfers are made no earlier than the first day of the month following the customer's payment date, and may be split over several months. Periodic reports provided to the service provider explain the calculation of transfers to be made. Instant World Booking may also at its sole discretion, and without notice, change the transfer schedule, withhold a reserve amount, and/or require additional documentation to ensure that customer payments are properly settled prior to transfer.
Service providers must be users of the IWB Booking Engine (affiliate program) described above in order to use IWB Payments services. This also includes maintaining an active listing with Instant World Booking and an active calendar of availability. Service providers may terminate IWB Payments at any time by providing advance notification to Instant World Booking. If a service provider terminates or abandons use of the IWB Booking Engine, allows their calendar of availability to expire, or terminates use of IWB Payments without notification, the IWB Payments service will be terminated. Instant World Booking reserves the right to terminate any payment services without notice at its sole discretion.
Instant World Booking provides customer payment receipts to the service provider for each transaction. Service providers may also print customer receipts to obtain cardholder signatures. It is ultimately the service provider's responsibility to ensure their customers have full knowledge of the amounts they are charged, the purpose of the charge, and that Instant World Booking has full travel agency authority over handling of the customer's payment and reservation. It is also the service provider's responsibility to ensure that customers receive a payment receipt. This requirement is fulfilled by providing the customer's email address for every transaction, since Instant World Booking provides an email receipt for all transactions. For certain large charge amounts, or whenever required by Instant World Booking at its sole discretion, service providers are required to obtain their customer's signature on the receipt provided by Instant World Booking. If required signatures are not provided to Instant World Booking, transfers of payments may be withheld or delayed beyond the pre-determined schedule.
Instant World Booking reserves the right to assess the risk of servicing individual travel service providers, cardholders, or transactions, and in its sole discretion limit or terminate services. Instant World Booking may at its sole discretion, and without notice, place limits on transaction amounts and frequency, limit or refuse transactions of certain types, refuse to accept or process cardholder transactions, and void or refund transactions already made or settled. In the event of any dispute or chargeback of a collected payment, Instant World Booking reserves the right to withhold transfers to the service provider for the disputed transaction, change the transfer schedule or payment limits, deduct the disputed amount and any penalties or fees from future payments, and/or make claims to the service provider for reimbursement of transfers already made. Under no circumstances will Instant World Booking transfer payments to any service provider for any fraudulent or potentially fraudulent transactions, including cardholder transactions with invalid or incorrect information supplied by the customer, unauthorized or disputed credit card charges, or payments associated with high risk or previously fraudulent transactions. Instant World Booking reserves the right to determine at its sole discretion which transactions are fraudulent or potentially fraudulent. It is strictly forbidden for any person to use IWB Payments to initiate false or fraudulent credit card transactions or for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms and conditions.
Travel and tourism service providers, upon initiating use of any Instant World Booking service, shall at their expense and Instant World Booking's request, hold harmless, indemnify and defend Instant World Booking, its owners and affiliates against any third-party claim or action brought against Instant World Booking, its owners or affiliates relating or arising out of the service provider's breach of this agreement.
All Content included on this site, such as text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, audio clips, digital downloads, data compilations, and software, is the property of Instant World Booking or its Content suppliers and protected by United States and international copyright laws. The compilation of all Content on this site is the exclusive property of Instant World Booking and protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. All software used on this site is the property of Instant World Booking or its software suppliers and protected by United States and international copyright laws.
"HostelTraveler.com", "Hostel Traveler", and "Instant World Booking" are service marks created and owned by Instant World Booking, and are subject to U.S. and international trademark laws. All other trademarks not owned by Instant World Booking or its affiliates that appear on this site are the property of their respective owners, who may or may not be affiliated with, connected to, or sponsored by Instant World Booking or its affiliates.
This website may contain hyperlinks to websites operated by parties other than Instant World Booking. Such hyperlinks are provided for your reference only. Instant World Booking does not control such websites and is not responsible for their Content. The inclusion of hyperlinks on this website to such other websites does not imply any endorsement of the material on such websites or any association with their operators.
You agree to indemnify and hold Instant World Booking, its subsidiaries, affiliates, owners, officers, agents and other partners and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim or demand, including reasonable attorney's fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the website.
ALL USE BY YOU OF THIS WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU ASSUME COMPLETE RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND FOR ALL RISK OR LOSS RESULTING FROM YOUR DOWNLOADING AND/OR USE OF OR REFERRING TO OR RELYING ON INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, SERVICES OR MATERIALS PROVIDED ON THIS WEBSITE, OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE. YOU AGREE THAT INSTANT WORLD BOOKING AND THE PROVIDERS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORK SERVICES TO INSTANT WORLD BOOKING WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING AFTER YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS WEBSITE AND YOU HEREBY WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS WITH RESPECT THERETO WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHER GROUNDS.
THIS WEBSITE IS AVAILABLE TO ALL USERS "AS IS". INSTANT WORLD BOOKING MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR UNDERTAKINGS THAT THIS WEBSITE, OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE, WILL BE FREE FROM DEFECTS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL ELEMENTS. INSTANT WORLD BOOKING ACCEPTS NO LIABILITY FOR ANY INFECTION BY COMPUTER VIRUS, BUG, TAMPERING, UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, INTERVENTION, ALTERATION OR USE, FRAUD, THEFT, TECHNICAL FAILURE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DELETION, DEFECT, DELAY, OR ANY EVENT OR OCCURRENCE BEYOND ITS CONTROL, WHICH CORRUPTS OR AFFECTS THE ADMINISTRATION, SECURITY, FAIRNESS AND THE INTEGRITY OR PROPER CONDUCT OF ANY ASPECT OF THIS WEBSITE. TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR UNDERTAKINGS ABOUT ANY OF THE SERVICES, INFORMATION AND/OR MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THEIR ACCURACY, THEIR COMPLETENESS OR THEIR MERCHANTABILITY, QUALITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Instant World Booking's failure to enforce at any time or for any period any one or more of the terms and conditions shall not be a waiver of them or the rights attaching to any of them.
Instant World Booking reserves the right to make changes to this site, policies, and these terms and conditions at any time. If any of these conditions shall be deemed invalid, void, or for any reason unenforceable, that condition shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining condition.
This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Florida, USA, and shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods. You hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the State of Florida in any dispute of any sort that might arise between you and Instant World Booking, its owners, or affiliates. You further agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state and federal courts located in the State of Florida for all disputes, cases and controversies regarding this website, your use of this website, and your relationship with Instant World Booking. Instant World Booking makes no representation that materials on this website are appropriate or available for use in other locations, and accessing them from territories where the Content is illegal is prohibited. Those who choose to access this website from other locations do so at their own risk and are responsible for compliance with local laws, including laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside. Use of this site is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of these terms and conditions, including, without limitation, this paragraph.
You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Instant World Booking as a result of this agreement or use of this site.
Instant World Booking's performance of this agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process, and nothing contained in this agreement is in derogation of Instant World Booking's right to comply with law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of this site or information provided to or gathered by Instant World Booking with respect to such use.
If any part of this agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and agreement shall continue in effect.
This agreement (and any other terms and conditions referenced herein) constitutes the entire agreement between you, the user of this site, and Instant World Booking with respect to this site and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written, between the customer and Instant World Booking with respect to this site. A printed version of this agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.
Fictitious names of companies, products, people, characters, and/or data mentioned herein are not intended to represent any real individual, company, product, or event.
Although Instant World Booking cannot monitor the conduct of its users off site, it is a violation of these terms and conditions to advertise false, misrepresented, or fictitious information on this website or use any information obtained from this website in order to harass, abuse or harm other persons, or in order to contact, advertise to, solicit or sell to any user or person without their prior express consent.
Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. Instant World Booking, LLC is registered with the State of Florida as a Seller of Travel, Registration No. ST39051.
When you visit Instant World Booking or send emails to us, you are communicating with us electronically. You consent to receive communications from us electronically. We will communicate with you by email or by posting notices on this site. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.
In the event that Instant World Booking provides message boards, web logs or blogs, discussion forums, user reviews, or other venues for online user interaction on this website (the "User Areas"), you agree to use the User Areas only for personal purposes in a noncommercial manner. You shall not, without express approval from Instant World Booking, distribute or otherwise publish any material containing any solicitation of funds, advertising, or written solicitation for goods and services. You agree that any uploaded materials may be republished without compensation to you or any other person or entity. In addition, you warrant that all moral rights in any uploaded materials have been waived. While Instant World Booking does not and cannot review every message or review posted by you or any other user in the User Areas, and although Instant World Booking is not responsible for these posts, Instant World Booking reserves the right (but not the obligation) to delete, move, or edit messages that it, in its sole discretion, deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, in violation of these terms, or otherwise unacceptable. Instant World Booking does not endorse any information that may be posted on this website through the User Areas.
You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any messages, information, or Content associated with the User Areas, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such messages, information, or Content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you may not rely on any Content Instant World Booking creates or information submitted to Instant World Booking by third parties, that are contained within the User Areas.
Instant World Booking's revised Privacy & Security Policy is hereby incorporated into and forms part of these terms and conditions.
Instant World Booking
HostelTraveler.com
223 Wall Street
Suite 370
New York 11743-2060 USA
Phone: +1.917.725.6990
Email: supportinstantworldbookingcom