🏨 Hostelworld Backpackers & Budget Hostel Scraper

Extract real-time hostel listings, dorm and private room rates, backpacker review scores, amenities, geo-coordinates, and availability directly from Hostelworld at lightning speed.

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🥊 Why This Actor Beats the Competition

Feature	⚡ Hostelworld Scraper	🐢 Traditional Browser Scrapers
Speed	100+ hostels in < 3 seconds	1–2 minutes with heavy browser rendering
Pricing	$1.50 / 1,000 items (Platform Usage: FREE)	$5–15/mo in heavy compute fees
Data Quality	Direct JSON schema with dorm & private breakdowns	Prone to DOM changes & missing prices
Anti-Bot Blocking	Zero Captchas / Direct Native Endpoints	Frequent Cloudflare / Akamai blocks
Proxy Economics	Runs on direct container HTTP	Requires costly residential proxies

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🛠️ Step-by-Step: How to Use

Method 1: Apify Web Console (No-Code GUI)

1. Enter your target City Name (e.g. London, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Dublin, Munich).
2. Select your preferred Currency (USD, EUR, GBP).
3. Set Max Items and click Start.
4. Download results in JSON, CSV, Excel, or integrate via Webhooks.

Method 2: Python SDK

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run_input = {
    "city": "London",
    "currency": "USD",
    "maxItems": 50
}
run = client.actor("litezero/hostelworld-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"{item['name']} - Dorm: ${item['dormPricePerNight']} - Rating: {item['overallRating']}")

Method 3: Node.js SDK

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('litezero/hostelworld-scraper').call({
    city: 'Amsterdam',
    currency: 'EUR',
    maxItems: 50,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(`Extracted ${items.length} hostels.`);

Method 4: REST API / cURL

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/litezero~hostelworld-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"city": "Berlin", "currency": "USD", "maxItems": 25}'

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📥 Input Parameters

Field	Type	Default	Description
city	String	"London"	Target city name (e.g. London, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Munich).
cityId	Integer	Optional	Specific numeric Hostelworld city ID (e.g. 3 for London, 15 for Amsterdam).
currency	String	"USD"	Currency for pricing (USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD).
maxItems	Integer	50	Maximum number of hostel records to extract.

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📤 Output Data Dictionary

{
  "id": 90149,
  "name": "Wombat's City Hostel London",
  "type": "HOSTEL",
  "cityName": "London",
  "countryName": "United Kingdom",
  "overallRating": "8.8",
  "overallRatingPercent": 88,
  "reviewCount": 14200,
  "currency": "USD",
  "lowestPricePerNight": 28.5,
  "dormPricePerNight": 28.5,
  "privatePricePerNight": 110.0,
  "starRating": 0,
  "isFeatured": true,
  "hasFreeCancellation": true,
  "distanceFromCenterKm": 3.8,
  "latitude": 51.5113,
  "longitude": -0.0682,
  "imagesCount": 24,
  "primaryImageUrl": "https://ucd.hwstatic.com/propertyimages/...",
  "hostelworldUrl": "https://www.hostelworld.com/pwa/hosteldetails.php/90149",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-04T10:00:00.000Z"
}

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💡 Top Use Cases

1. Travel Price Aggregators & Budget Booking Engines: Power backpacker discovery portals with live dorm and private bed pricing.
2. Hospitality Competitive Intelligence: Monitor competitor occupancy, pricing strategies, and review velocity across European tourist capitals.
3. Nomad & Student Travel Planning: Identify top-rated youth hostels near city centers with free cancellation options.