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The HOSCARs 2009: Hostelworld.com announces top hostels worldwide
The red carpet was rolled out in Dublin, Ireland last night for one of the budget travel industry’s most anticipated events of the year as the HOSCARs (HOStelworld Customer Annual Ratings) took place to recognize the best hostels in the world.

The Travellers House hostel in Lisbon, Portugal won the coveted prize of number on hostel in the world while Rossio Hostel wand Lisbon Lounge Hostel gave the Portuguese town an impressive one, two three. Goodnight Backpackers Hostel also in Lisbon was not far behind claiming 8th place.

The honours didn’t stop there for Lisbon which has proved to be a backpackers favourite with Travellers House winning an award for ‘Best Location’ and ‘Best Character’, Rossio Hostel proved that small things come in good packages by winning ‘Most Fun Hostel’ along with ‘Best Small Hostel’ while Lisbon Lounge Hostel claimed the award for ‘Cleanest Hostel’.

More than 20,000 properties from across the globe, all featured on Hostelworld.com, were eligible for the awards. The winners were voted for by over 800,000 customers worldwide who booked their accommodation online and rated and reviewed the hostel on six criteria - character, security, location, staff, fun and cleanliness.

Gonzalo Figueira, co-owner of the hostel was delighted with the award, saying, “We are very happy. It’s been a successful year for us, so we thought we had a good chance of winning a HOSCAR. “

Manager of the hostel, Adriano Cardoso, said he believed the hostel was popular because guests were treated the way they would like to be treated when staying in a hostel. He said, “You have to be there for travellers and take care of them – know your guests and offer the things you know they need.”

Alongside those mentioned above, HOSCAR’s were also awarded for the top three hostels on each continent, and categories including ‘Best location’, ‘Most fun’, ‘Best character’ and ‘Most improved’. In a new category for this year, and proving that a backpacker’s favourite pastime hasn’t changed, the backpacker pub crawl in Dublin won the award for ‘Best tour’.

Top 10 Worldwide Hostels
1. Travellers House, Lisbon, Portugal
2. Rossio Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
3. Lisbon Lounge Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
4. The Riverhouse Backpackers, Cardiff, Wales
5. Greg- Tom Hostel, Krakow, Poland
6. Sitting on the City Walls Courtyard House, Beijing, China
7. Academy Hostel, Florence, Italy
8. Goodnight Backpackers Hostel, Lisbon, Portugal
9. Flamingo Hostel, Krakow, Poland
10. Mambo Tango Backpackers, Barcelona, Spain

The HOSCAR’s took place as part of Hostelworld’s 5th annual Hostel conference and was attended by over 350 hostel owners, managers and industry professionals from around the world. This year’s conference addressed the issue of the current economic climate and the subsequent impact on the travel sector. Industry leaders looked at the opportunities the environment has created alongside new and emerging markets, how to market hostels and maintaining profit margins. Tatiana Rokou - Wednesday, January 28, 2009