FAQ - Frequently asked questions

a&o offers its own free app for guests in German and English. It shows you the daily online prices of each hotel, a picture gallery with hotel information, contact options, access assistance and a map. Of course, you can book directly through the app.

Available for free here: Google Play Store; Apple App Store.

Use the app’s highlight when activating your GPS:

As soon as you check-in to our a&o and open the app, the hotel and surrounding area will be recognized and you will be able to use the intelligent online travel guide.

The hot spot search near your location will show you useful information about the city you are visiting, including phone numbers of taxis, tourist information offices, opening hours of the attractions, assistance with the use of public transport and important emergency numbers on the spot.

Guests with a FIX booking (cheaper rate; paid in advance) can arrive at any time without hesitation.

Guests with a FLEX booking (payable on site; can be cancelled free of charge by 6 pm) should call us on +49 30 80 947 5110 and have their booking guaranteed by submitting their credit card details with CS Service Agent to be on the safe side. Then you can arrive later without any problems. The credit card is for security purposes only – you can still pay on arrival. The card will only be charged if you do not arrive. Without a credit card, we cannot guarantee that your room will be available after 6 pm.

There are bus parking spaces free of charge in close vicinity. Some a&o's offer bus parking spaces.

Almost every a&o location has its own parking lot or underground parking. Street-level spaces cost from 5,-€ per day.

An extensive breakfast buffet awaits you Mon-Fri 6-10 am and Sat/Sun 7-11 am for only 7 EUR. Breakfast is free for kids below the age of 6 years (after that it's only 3.50 EUR). Guests who are 18+ years old pay the full prize of 7 EUR per person (online discount: 6,75 EUR)
For groups of 10 or more we also offer dinner (upon request). We can also provide you with packed lunch for 6 EUR (groups from 10 people get a 50ct discount). It contains a sandwich, fruit, a snack bar and a drink. More information here.

Check-in is possible at any time. Your room is ready for you at 3pm.  

Check-out workdays is until 10am. Weekends and also holidays until 11am.

Yes, these offer ample space for smaller and medium-sized groups. Should the room still be too small we can make the dining area available (non-eating times only). For teachers and accompanying persons there is also a teacher and guide lounge, called a&o Lounge.

With our Early Check-in for 10€ you can enter your room at 11 a.m. On Weekends at 12 a.m. - You can book this service for single, double or family rooms at aohostels.com.

The Late Check-out until 2 p.m. for 10 Euro allows you a nice and long sleep-in. Available also online.

From the age of 14 you can stay in our A&O's all by yourself.  All you need is a signed declaration of consent from your parents and a copy of the personal identification from the parent who signed the form.

A precise description of the directions can be found on each location's website.

Important downloads for your stay
In some a&o cities a so-called ‘culture tax’ (accommodation tax) is charged on visitors.

The tax is either based on the net sum paid by each person per night or is simply a sum added to your overnight stay. For your comfort, the tax is never included in your accommodation because it might be possible that you are excluded from it.

The following cities charge a city tax:
Amsterdam, Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Dortmund, Dresden, Frankfurt, Graz, Hamburg, Prague, Salzburg, Venice, Vienna, Weimar

Attention – special cases:

AMSTERDAM:
In Amsterdam, all tourists pay 7% on the net price of your accommodation. Read more about the “Toeristenbelasting” regulation here.

BREMEN:
All guests older than 18 years pay a tourist tax of € 2,00 per day (including 7% value added tax) to the city of Bremen. Exempted are freelancers and employees who are staying for business purposes. The exemption forms can be found below.

Guests staying longer than 7 nights in a row are also tax-free from the 8th day on.

SALZBURG:
All guests pay 1.50 € local tax per day. Groups of students up to the age of 15 and people staying for more than two weeks due to a business purpose are freed. Please indicate the reason that applies in a respective form.

VENICE:
In Venice tourists pay the "tassa soggiorno", a residence tax for tourists who stay overnight, depending on the high or low season and the type and location of the accommodation.

A&O Venice Mestre is a "Foresterie per Turisti" accommodation on the mainland. This means, that in the main season (1 February - 31 December) you pay only 1.40 € per person and night (all 16 years and older). In the low season (month of January) it is 1 € per person and night.

Children up to 10 years of age are excluded. For 11 to 15 year olds there is a 50% discount. So, young people pay 0.70 € per person and night (except in January: only 0.50 €). From the 6th night onwards the tax is omitted.

People with disabilities or impairments are tax-free. Important for group travel: Per 25 travellers one bus driver or teacher will not be charged with the tax.
There are some more exceptions that allow you to refuse the tax payment. Please read if one of the following things is applicable and fill out this form, if so.

• Exemptions (without or with proof *)

- inhabitants of the city of Venice (including suburbs like Mestre etc.)
- Children up to 9 years of age
- guests who stay in Venice for rehabilitation *
- Accompanying persons of people who are patient in one of the hospitals of Venice (up to 1 companion per patient) *
- Accompanying parents of hospital patients *
- bus driver and travel guide (from travel agency) from a tour group of at least 25 persons - all bus drivers and 1 travel guide per 25 Pax.
- Volunteers in the social service during events (organized by the city / province) or emergency situation
- Venetian Policemen / firemen or armed forces in service 
- People with disabilities

* Only with proof from the hospital with personal data from the patient and duration of the hospital delivery
 

You can store your luggage in our lockers. For groups there is also a free luggage room.

Dogs are always welcome at all a&o locations! You can bring a maximum of 2 dogs in your room for a fee of 5€ per night and dog.
Unfortunately it is not possible to bring dogs into the multi-bed rooms, as it is possible that it would make other guests uncomfortable. For the same reason we ask you not to bring dogs to the breakfast room. We appreciate your understanding.

In almost all of our a&o establishments, you can find single, double and family rooms, however you can also book a bed in a dorm for four to eight people.

*Exceptions to this rule are the a&o Hostels Köln Dom / München Hauptbahnhof / Hamburg Hammer Kirche, as these hostels only have private rooms, and are therefore unable to offer bookings for a bed in a dorm.*

Therefore, you have two options for booking with a&o:

• The First option means…
You are booking a private room i.e. a single, double, or family room. The price includes bed linen, hand towels, 2-in-1 shampoo, a hairdryer, and you can enjoy the convenience of your own bathroom.

• The Second option means…
You are booking a bed in a dorm room. This option offers you affordable accommodation in an uncomplicated atmosphere. With this option, each room has its own bathroom with 2-in-1 shampoo and a hairdryer. You can also add bed linen and hand towels to your booking.

*Exceptions to this are our “firstling” hostel, the a&o Berlin Friedrichshain, which still has a few shared bathrooms on each floor, and the a&o Hamburg Reeperbahn.*

You can view and download the house rules here.

You can of course also bring your own food when staying with us. Our tip: It is best to check in advance whether the a&o you have booked offers a guest kitchen where you can prepare your meals.

You can find out either by reading the e-mail sent to you 48 hours prior to your arrival or by checking our website here.

If you are already on-site, please ask at the reception for selected tickets. Our friendly staff will be happy to help you.

Of course, you can already book selected tickets on our website upon your arrival. Simply choose an a&o city and get some inspiration. For example we offer WelcomeCards which already include a ticket valid for public transportation and huge benefits for several leisure and culutural activities.

Every a&o offers free Wi-Fi in all public areas, such as the lobby or the bars, and in every room as well.