Note: This is not what I want to be the situation, it is what I see as the actual situation that the OP has to live with.
The hostel did follow the rules, you did not.
So the hostel is due the money though it feels very unfair to you.
They have this rule in hostel and hotel contracts as they often have to reject people who would stay the week for your reservation and may not fill up the room when you do not show up. I have seen it in the fine print but also stated clearly on the booking confirmation, if you do not cancel before (date) you will be charged (x amount) which is often the full amount for the whole booking.
If you had contacted the hostel they would likely have adjusted the reservation to the time you would actually be there, or at least kept the bed for you arriving when you did.
We now suffer for many people who made and ignored reservations in the past, hostels have learned to charge, to teach people to cancel properly.
You can of course ask nicely, explaining you are a (poor) traveler who now has to pay more for a new booking.
This shows again that you always have to check your bookings against your travel information, when you make the booking and shortly before traveling, (and it does not hurt to do it a few times in between.)
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘
5 Mar, 2024
5 Mar, 2024
4 Mar, 2024