FAQ - Frequently asked questions

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

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 to a Customer Service Agent. Then you can arrive later without any problem. 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.

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

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

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

Forgot something? We would love to help you out! Just use our contact form for a personal inquiry directly to the desired a&o house. If we have found what you lost, we will send you a short manual for the pick-up request via DHL.

You can view and download the house rules here.

Important downloads for your stay
In cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, Bremen, Budapest, Dortmund, Dresden, Frankfurt, Graz, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Weimar, Salzburg, Venice and Vienna tourists pay a city tax.

"City Tax" in Amsterdam | "Übernachtungssteuer" in Berlin | "Tourismusabgabe" in Bremen | "Idegenforgalmi adó" in Budapest | "Beherbergungsabgabe" in Dortmund | "Beherbergungssteuer" in Dresden | "Nächtigungsabgabe" in Frankfurt und Graz | "Kultur- und Tourismustaxengesetz" in Hamburg | "Kulturförderabgabe" in Köln und Weimar | "Gästetaxe" in Leipzig | "Turistický poplatek" in Prag | "Ortstaxe" in Salzburg und Wien | "Tassa Soggiorno" in Venedig

In certain cases guests are exempt from payment. For this purpose, if applicable, a corresponding form (see blue boxes) must be filled out in advance and presented on the day of arrival.

Attention – Special cases:

AMSTERDAM:
Guests in Amsterdam pay a city tax of 7 % on the net accomodation price plus an additional € 3 per night / person over 16 years. The legal regulations can be read in original language here.

BERLIN:
Guests in Berlin pay a city tax of 5 % on the net accomodation price. Special rule for Berlin: Freelancers and employees staying overnight on business trips are exempt. The links to the exemption forms can be found below. Associations, foundations and religious communities are also exempt. Before traveling, please fill out this form.

BREMEN:
Guests in Bremen pay a city tax of 5 % on the net accomodation price if they are 18 years or older. Special rule for Bremen: Freelancers and employees or guests staying at the a&o for more than 7 nights in a row are exempt from the 8th day. You can find the links to the exemption forms below.

BUDAPEST:
Guests in Budapest pay a city tax of 4 % on the net accomodation price. Special rule for Budapest: Exempted are guests under 18 years, students (second or higher education), performers of a service obligation, performers of an entrepreneurial activity with a registered office in Budapest or persons performing the work / service of an employee as well as persons staying overnight due to official / judicial arrangements. You can find the links to the exemption forms below.

DORTMUND:
Guests in Dortmund pay a city tax of 7.5 % on the net accomodation price from the age of 18. There are no exceptions made. Please check the information sheet below for further detail

DRESDEN:
Guests in Dresden pay a city tax of 1 / 15 (approx. 6.67 %) on the net accomodation price from the age of 18. Special rule for Dresden: Freelancers and employees staying at the a&o are exempt. You can find the links to the exemption forms below.

FRANKFURT:
Guests in Frankfurt pay a city tax of € 2 per person on the net accomodation price. Special rule for Frankfurt: Freelancers and employees staying at the a&o are exempt. You can find the links to the exemption forms below.

GRAZ:
Guests in Graz pay a city tax of € 2.50 per person on the net accomodation price if they are 18 or older. Special rule for Graz: Freelancers and employees or guests staying at the a&o for more than 13 nights in a row are exempt from the 14th day. You can find the links to the exemption forms below.

HAMBURG:
Guests in Hamburg pay a city tax if the net charge is less than € 10 - € 0, € 25 - € 0.54, € 50 - € 1.07, € 100 - € 2.14, € 150 - € 3.21, € 200 - € 4.28 (price per person, incl. VAT). Special rule for Hamburg: As of 01.01.2023, all exemption regulations regarding professional overnight stays or school trips are abolished, unless the reservation took place before 01.01.2023. Tax exemption only applies in the case of social accommodation..

COLOGNE:
Guests in Cologne pay a city tax of 5 % on the net accomodation price from the age of 18. Special rule for Cologne: Freelancers and employees staying at the a&o are exempt. You can find the links to the exemption forms below.

LEIPZIG:
In Leipzig, guests over the age of 18 pay an accommodation tax. The tax is 5% of the price of the overnight stay including VAT.
Exceptions are persons with a degree of disability of 80% or more, as well as accompanying persons listed in the disabled person's pass.

PRAGUE:
In Prague, guests without exception pay an accommodation tax of CZK 21.

Prerequisite for tax exemption:

-    Children and young people up to the age of 18.
-    pupils, students and trainees from the age of 18 to the age of 25
-    Severely disabled persons in the sense of the Social Code (SGB) IX
-    Accompanying persons of severely disabled persons, if the necessity of the accompaniment is proven by an official medical certificate, a severely disabled person's identity card or a pension certificate.
-    Sick persons who cannot leave their accommodation after the person concerned has proved the duration of the impediment by presenting a medical certificate.

SALZBURG:
Guests in Salzburg pay a city tax of € 1.75 per person.

VENICE:
Guests in Venice pay a city tax of € 1.40 (from 16 years) or € 0.70 (age 10 - 16) per person / night. Special rule for Venice: Guests in Venice pay a lower city tax of € 1 (from 16 years) or € 0.50 (age 10 - 16) exclusively in January. Children under 10 years are exempt.

Condition for tax exemption (with proof* / without proof):

-    Residents of the city of Venice (incl. suburbs)
-    Children up to and including 9 years of age
-    Guests who are in Venice for rehabilitation purposes *
-    Accompanying persons of patients in Venetian hospitals (max. 1 accompanying person) *
-    Parents of patients in Venetian hospitals *
-    Bus drivers / teachers / guides (travel agency) of groups of 25 people or more
-    Volunteers in social services for events (organized by the city / province) or in states of emergency
-    Police, fire department or armed forces personnel on duty in Venice
-    Disabled persons 

* Only with proof from the hospital, the presentation of the personal data of the person to be treated and an estimate of the duration of the stay in the hospital.  

If any of these cases apply, please fill out this form before travelling.

Weimar:
Overnight guests in Weimar pay a "cultural promotion levy for overnight stays". The levy is 1.50 &euro for a single room and 1.10 &euro for a double or shared room in accommodation with less than 49 rooms. For accommodation of 50 rooms or more, the levy is 3 &euro for a single room and 2.25 &euro A verbal statement at check-in regarding professional reasons is sufficient; proof of employment is not mandatory. The information sheet for overnight guests can be downloaded here.

VIENNA:
Guests in Vienna pay a city tax of 3.2 % on the net accomodation price. Special rule for Vienna: Exempt are students at Viennese universities and universities of applied sciences, minors staying in Vienna for school attendance or vocational training or in youth hostels as well as persons staying at the a&o for more than three months in a row. The links to the exemption forms can be found below.

Dogs are always welcome at all a&o locations! You can bring a maximum of 2 dogs in your room for a fee of £11 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.

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

With our Early Check-in for 12,50€ you can enter your room at 11 am. On Weekends at 12 pm. - You can book this service for single, double or family rooms at aohostels.com.

The Late Check-out until 2 pm for 12,50 Euro allows you a nice and long sleep-in. Available also online.

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

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

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.

We make it easy for you to find suitable attractions even before you arrive: When you book a bed or room online, you will be asked in the next step about additional services such as breakfast, parking and so on. At this point, we recommend the CityCards! These "cards" also include a ticket for public transport - museums and cultural and leisure facilities are thus greatly reduced.

Buy tickets for your new favourite attraction here from the comfort of your own home.

If you are already on site, simply speak to our colleagues at reception. Our friendly staff have a selection of tickets of various types ready for you and will of course help you.

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

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.

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.

*The only exception is our a&o Hamburg Reeperbahn, where there are still a few bathrooms on the floors.*

You can expect a rich breakfast buffet for only 9,30 €. Please note that prices may differ in countries where the euro is not accepted as a means of payment. You can book the breakfast online for 8,65 €. Children 6 and under get breakfast for free and young adults 18 and older pay full price.
Breakfast hours are Mon-Fri 7.00-11.00 am and Sat-Sun 7.00-11.00 am. For groups of 10 or more we also offer dinner (by arrangement). On request we prepare packed lunches for 6,90 € (groups of 10 or more get a 50ct discount). This includes a sandwich, fruit, a sweet and a drink. For detailed information click here.
We ask for your understanding, as lunch and/or dinner cannot be added for individual guests. However, you are welcome to book packed lunches in advance online or on site (one day before required).

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.

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

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

We make it easy for you to find suitable attractions even before you arrive: When you book a bed or room online, you will be asked in the next step about additional services such as breakfast, parking and so on. At this point, we recommend the CityCards! These "cards" also include a ticket for public transport - museums and cultural and leisure facilities are thus greatly reduced.

Buy tickets for your new favourite attraction from the comfort of your own home.

If you are already on site, simply speak to our colleagues at reception. Our friendly staff have a selection of tickets of various types ready for you and will of course help you. 

In general, you can use your booked parking space as soon as you have arrived. We usually have so many parking spaces in the cities with their own parking facilities that it is easy to find a previously free space.

The right to use your parking space usually begins at the start of your stay with us, i.e. at the check-in and check-out times: 3 p.m. to 10 a.m. the next morning (or 11 a.m. at the weekend).

You will find barrier-free rooms in almost all a&o hotels and hostels. Please feel free to call us on +49 30 80 947 5110.

The rooms in the a&o hostel area as well as in the hotel area receive a daily needs check. For a careful and compatible use of resources, we avoid a daily complete cleaning with chemicals. We restock the hygiene articles, remove the rubbish and, of course, carry out a basic cleaning on departure.

For the environment's sake, you can request a new towel at the reception in the hotel area (for a small extra charge) or simply leave your towel hanging on the hook in the bathroom for further use.

Since January 1, 2008 all of our locations are smoke-free.

All single, double and family rooms come with bed linen and towels. Only guests in multi-bed rooms need bed linen and towels, if they didn't bring their own. You get bed linen for 3.85€ and a towel for 1.65€ either at the reception or as an online feature when booking your stay.

In every a&o there is a "Kids' Corner" with toys, a colouring board, crayons and children's books. In some a&o's the kids' corners even have slides or playhouses. Your children can let off steam while you relax and enjoy a coffee in the lobby or breakfast room.

We do not offer in-house childcare, but we can offer you a good babysitting network for some cities, which you can contact independently.

As a "frequent traveller" you will receive special treatment at a&o - similar to the major airlines. For €69 you can order your a&o Traveller Card at any reception desk or by phone/e-mail. If you need more than one a&o Traveller Card, we would also like to accommodate you here: The price of the second a&o Traveller Card is 60€ and each additional one costs 50€.

You can find all the advantages of this card for you as our guest here. Please understand that the Traveller Card cannot be combined with other a&o discounts.

You can purchase our "a&o TO GO blue" gift box for 119,-€ for yourself or a special occasion. The box includes 2 nights in a double room for 2 people with breakfast buffet included. Kids younger than 7 years stay overnight for free in their parents' room. A great tip for backpackers is our "a&o TO GO orange" gift box for 29,-€ that lets you sleep in dorm for 2 nights with bed linen and free Wi-Fi. Find out more here.

Our Online Shop has got plenty of other useful and interesting products.

We don't request a deposit, but we request that groups behave themselves properly.

Up to the age of 7, your children stay in your room free of charge. Families usually choose the room category "family room" (designed for 4-6 people, in some hotels also for 8 people). The room rate is determined by the number of parents (legal guardians) travelling with the children. The little ones are always welcome. That's why we are happy to provide cots (up to 2 years recommended) and highchairs free of charge if required.

You don't need to worry about anything - the children's discount counts automatically when you book. Therefore you can also combine other discounts.

It depends on the rate you booked. If you booked using our Flex-Rate, then you can cancel at any time. Otherwise the room will be kept available for you until 6 pm on the day of your arrival. Please let us know if you will arrive later. The Fix-Rate is, as the name says, "fixed" and cannot be cancelled. The price cannot be reimbursed even if you do not stay here. That's why this rate is especially low. For groups of 10 or more there are special cancellation rules that you can find in our Terms and Conditions.

Our prices are determined by availability – completely fair, completely transparent! That means that if beds of one room category are in short supply at a specific date, then the prices go up. And if the desired occupancy rate has not been reached, then the prices also fall automatically. What does that mean for you? Basically, the earlier you book, the lower the price. Those who make decisions on the spur of the moment also benefit from exclusive last-minute deals – of course, only as long as the respective category is not fully booked.

Journalists get a 20% discount on overnight stays. MICE Travel Card holders also get to use this special price. Please contact [email protected] to make a reservation and show your valid press pass at the check-in counter.

Each student with a valid ISIC- oder ITIC-ID card gets 10% off the daily-updated rate at all a&o HOTELS und HOSTELS including a free, non-alcoholic soft drink. Simply type in the discount code "isic" into the appropiate field when booking online.

You can choose from a pool of payment options. We offer you the convenience of paying your bill by instant bank transfer, by credit card (VISA or MasterCard), by Paypal or by direct debit. When paying by Paypal, we charge a processing fee of €2.45 if the amount to be paid is less than €200. You should only choose direct debit if your arrival does not take place within the next 5 days.

If you stay at one of our a&o HOTELS and HOSTELS for a longer period of time, we recommend purchasing a Traveller Card. It offers exclusive prices for frequenters and other great advantages. Find more information here.

When travelling with lots of people or at regular intervals, we're happy to advise individually. Our competent sales team deals with your requests at: [email protected].