GOMIO.COM is the brainchild of ‘The European Hostel Cooperation Ltd’ (EHC), an Irish company founded in April 1994 that has its head office in Berlin, Germany.

It is owned and operated by a group of 20 European hostel companies, who between them run over 50 individual hostels in Europe, among them the Bulldog in Amsterdam, the Ashlee House in London, the Sea Point in Barcelona, the Circus Hostel in Berlin, Sir Toby’s in Prague, the Euro Youth Hotel in Bad Gastein, the Hostels Allessandro in Rome, plus many more.

The EHC was founded with the idea in mind that as the hostel infrastructure in Europe grows, there was a need for an organisation that can bring all hostels in Europe together. The EHC is open to any hostel, and operates on a principle of cooperation to achieve the following:

• Representation of hostels and hostelling to the outside world
Support hostels with software and other technical tools
• Share information between hostels and offer advice, shared marketing etc.
• Run an annual European Hostel Meeting to allow hostels to ‘network’.

The other main role of the EHC is to operate GOMIO.COM. The main aim behind GOMIO.COM is to satisfy all the needs of an independent traveller, of course including booking hostels and low budget accommodation, but also:

• A hostel list of all options in a given destination
• Reviews and Rankings of hostels from fellow travellers
• A forum for tips and chat with other travellers
• Information on destinations and other articles on travel in Europe
• A links directory, to find out the info that we can’t provide

We are constantly working on the GOMIO.COM website to make it even better for the travellers that use it, and if there are ever any suggestions we would love to hear from you at info@gomio.com.

But there are lots of hostel portals and backpacking websites out there. Is there anything that makes GOMIO.COM unique?

There sure is. GOMIO.COM is completely independent and hostel-owned. We treat all hostels impartially, the hostels that own the EHC the same as those who are members, those that choose to advertise, and those who do not. There is no preference given, and there never will be. We are not interested in telling you were to stay... just the information, including the ratings and rankings, that allows the traveller to make their own choice.

No commissions from hostels... good for the traveller

Another thing that makes GOMIO.COM unique, is that the hostels pay no commissions or fees to GOMIO.COM when we send them a booking. This means they charge you – guaranteed – the same or less than they would to someone who walked in off the street.

The benefit for you, apart from the guarantee of a fair price, is that it also allows you to book many hostels on GOMIO.COM which would be unavailable on other booking portals, especially in high season, when hostels reduce their online allocations to avoid the commissions on beds they can fill anyway.

The booking fee that you the traveller pays covers the credit card process, the development of the portal, and the salaries of the lovely people in Berlin who make all this happen.

By using GOMIO.COM you help the hostels stay what they want to be: low budget. Prices can be brought down because no commissions have to be paid. This helps the hostel concentrate on what it wants to do anyway: win you the customer through hospitality, a trouble-free atmosphere, and great service.

If you want some more information about GOMIO.COM, check out the FAQ’s

If you would like to meet the people behind the portal, check out the GOMIO.COM Team

If you are interested about how we deal with your bookings, check out the Privacy Policy and the Security Statement

If you’ve got something to tell us, you can always Contact Us

Hostel Owners, you’ve got a page all for yourselves, check out Hostel Owners for more infomation