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TV presenter Craig Doyle hosted the 9th annual Hoscar (HOStelworld Customer Annual Ratings) awards tonight at a gala ceremony in London. The awards created by Hostelworld.com, the leading online provider of hostel reservations for over 10 years, recognise excellence in the budget accommodation industry. Winners are chosen by Hostelworld.com customers from 25,000 properties across 180 countries around the globe.
The winners are chosen based on their overall score in six categories – fun, cleanliness, staff, security, location and character, and were voted for by over 1 million Hostelworld.com customers who booked their accommodation online and stayed in the properties in 2010. Hostelworld.com’s Hoscars are the only awards in the travel industry decided exclusively by guest appraisals – a crucial point in light of recent news regarding the integrity of online customer reviews.
The Portuguese city of Lisbon has yet again proved itself to be the jewel in the crown for budget-conscious travellers around the world securing the top three spots. ‘Travellers House’ was voted Best Hostel in the World for the third year in a row, followed closely by ‘Lisbon Lounge’ and ‘Living Lounge’ respectively. The ceremony recognises the top hostels in a number of categories including the best hostels in each of the seven continents, the most improved and the top hostel chains. Several new categories were introduced this year including the top ten Best Large and Small Hostels along with Best Seasonal Hostel, Best Hostel for Groups, New to Hostelworld and a Special Contribution and Lifetime Achievement Award.
According to Tiago Venancio, co-owner of Traveller’s House in Lisbon, it is the Portugese passion for hosting that is the key behind the city’s continued success, he comments, “We are delighted, honoured and surprised to have won the Hoscars for the third time this year. At Travellers House we pride ourselves on treating our guests the way we want to be treated when we were travelling. We try and offer them everything that we would like – comfortable accommodation, a great location and friendly atmosphere. It is important to everyone at Traveller’s House that our guests have a good time in every element of their trip when visiting our city and our hostel is just the start.”
For the first time this year, the Best Large and Small Hostels were recognised with awards. Although Lisbon again dominated these categories, Eastern Europe also had a successful year with a total of three hostels being voted into these two categories and the ingeniously named ‘Naughty Squirrel Backpackers Hostel’ in Riga scooping the award for Best Hostel for Groups. After 12 years of unparalleled service, ‘Wombats City Hostel – The Base’ in Vienna, has been honoured with The Lifetime Achievement Award. As the first of the Wombat group to open, it has been the blueprint on which many of today’s most popular hostels are modelled.
Hostelworld.com’s Chief Executive, Feargal Mooney commented on this year’s awards, saying: “The Hoscar awards ceremony is now regarded as the biggest event in the budget travel calendar and the announcement of category winners is eagerly anticipated each year by hostel owners and customers alike. Hoscar reviews and ratings have become a significant factor for customers in accommodation selection and the continued growth in reviews and ratings from genuine customers on Hostelworld.com reflects the expanding appeal of hostel accommodation worldwide.”
He continues, “The wider travel industry now recognises the importance of customer-based reviews. Hostelworld.com has been leading the charge for a number of years and the Hoscar awards are based only on reviews and ratings of those guests who have actually booked and stayed in the accommodation. We believe that this is the only real way to ensure a true reflection on a property’s strengths and weaknesses. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners.”
Best Hostels Worldwide
- Travellers House – Lisbon, Portugal
- Lisbon Lounge Hostel – Lisbon, Portugal
- Living Lounge Hostel – Lisbon, Portugal
Best Large Hostels Worldwide
- Travellers House, Lisbon, Portugal
- Living Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
- Yes! Lisbon Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
- Hostel Mostel, Sofia, Bulgaria
- Friendly Fun Franks Backpackers Hostel, Riga, Latvia
- Montreal Central, Montreal, Canada
- Han Tang Inn Youth Hostel, Xi’an, China
- Home Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
- EastSeven Berlin Hostel, Berlin, Germany
- Castle Rock Hostel, Edinburgh, Scotland
Best Small Hostels Worldwide
- Lisbon Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
- Rossio Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
- Greg & Tom Hostel, Krakow, Poland
- Academy Hostel, Florence, Italy
- Rivoli Cinema Hostel, Porto, Portugal
- Hostel of the Sun, Naples, Italy
- Oporto Poets Hostel, Porto, Portugal
- Oasis Backpackers Hostel Granada, Granada, Spain
- BackHome Kuala Lumpar, Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia
- Sant Jordi Diagonal Hostel, Barcelona, Spain
Special Contribution Award – INOUT Hostel, Barcelona, Spain
Lifetime Achievement Award – Wombat’s City Vienna – The Base, Vienna, Austria
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
