Friend swore by booking hostels in person, cost me $60 more in Lisbon

My buddy said skip advance bookings and just walk in, claimed hostels drop prices same-day. I tried it on Rua Augusta in Lisbon and got quoted $38 a bed while the same place online showed $24 two hours earlier. Has anyone else had luck with the walk-up trick, or is it only a thing in smaller towns?

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allen.charlie6d ago

The walk-up trick works way better in places that aren't big tourist zones. I pulled it off in a tiny town in Morocco once, got a room for half the online price. But Lisbon on Rua Augusta in summer, that's peak demand. The front desk knows they'll fill that bed in an hour, so they're not dropping anything. Numbers on the screen are usually the last rooms they have left, so walking in just means you're paying for the ones that are still there.