I wish I 'd read your post before I booked with Hostelworld!!! I booked a room at the Alcazar Hotel in Guadalajara through Hostelworld and paid a deposit online. When I arrived they had no record of my reservation and said that they don't work with any online agencies. Luckily, they had 1 room left and were nice enough to honor the discounted rate that I'd paid for. Hostelworld can only be contacted by email, there are no phone numbers on their website. It took 2.5 weeks for them to answer my email and then they have offered me a credit for next time when I use Hostelworld. Yeah, right!!! I've started fraud proceedings through my credit card agency.