The HOSCARS Awards 2022 Terms and Conditions

We’re happy you’re here and planning to join us for HOSCARs! Following another year of upheaval, we couldn’t let the incredible things you’ve achieved in 2021 go unrecognized. Please read this whole document as we explain the awards, the submission process, and the very important terms & conditions (‘T&Cs). Please don’t submit your hostel for an award until you’ve read and agreed to the T&Cs.

How to enter:

Step 1: You must have an existing hostel partnership with Hostelworld

The awards are open to current hostel partners.  This means that hostels must have been a Hostelworld partner since 1 January 2021 and continue the partnership in June 2022, at our exciting awards announcement.

We love to recognize our new hostels and have a special ‘New Hostel’ award category.  This is open to hostels that have been a Hostelworld partner since at least 1 June 2021 and continue the partnership in June 2022.

If your hostel does not meet the above conditions, unfortunately, it cannot be nominated, but we look forward to receiving your nomination at our 2023 HOSCAR awards.

Step 2: Your nomination must be for a hostel

The clue is in the name, only hostels qualify for awards.  Unfortunately, if you have an amazing campsite, hotel or other form of accommodation, it will not qualify for a prestigious HOSCAR award.

 Step 3: On your marks, get set, nominate!

Choose the award you feel best suits your 2021 activity and nominate your hostel here. You can enter as many award categories as you like, by completing the submission process for each category. However, we (at Hostelworld) reserve the right to re-allocate nominations to alternative categories where we consider it appropriate.

Each award category contains three questions, why the nominated hostel should win an award in the selected category.  The questions are as follows:

• Why? – What customer/social/environmental need your hostel tapped into.
• What/How? – How have you tackled that need? How have you executed the initiative?
• Results – What outcomes were achieved and what was the impact of the initiative?

Responses to all three questions should contain a maximum of 300 words, along with any supporting images, videos or other material which might be relevant to the nomination. The final winner in each category will be determined by a combination of an independent judging panel together with a public vote (see below for further details).

If you represent a hostel chain, you can either choose to nominate an individual hostel, or the entire chain, depending on the nature of the initiative.

Hostelworld Checks and Balances

On receipt of completed nominations (with responses to the questions and supporting material), we (at Hostelworld) will review each submission to confirm it meets the entry criteria.

As part of our review, we will also check current and previous customer ratings for the hostel on our Hostelworld site as well as checking the customer service record of the nominated hostel.

• A nominated hostel will only be considered further where it has an exemplary customer service record and a minimum rating of 8.5 on the Hostelworld platform from Friday, 1st January 2021 to date or such alternate period as appropriate. The time period of ratings for nominees in the “New Hostel” category will be adjusted accordingly. To ensure fairness in ratings for hostel partners that were forced to close due to COVID-19 at any point in 2021, the associated review period will be adjusted in line with the period of closure.  Accordingly, all hostels will have a comparable review period, regardless of closure in 2021.
• A nominated hostel must have accommodation inventory loaded on the Hostelworld platform to at least the end of 2022.
• The closing date for self-nomination entries is 23:59pm GMT on Friday, 18^th March 2022.

Independent Selection of Finalists

Following Hostelworld’s review of all entries, each submission will be shared with an independent panel of expert judges from the travel/hospitality industry who will shortlist 5 hostels for each award category. Each judge will consider the responses to the three questions in line with the following weighting:

The judges will use a five-point scale where 1 = Poor (the lowest score), 2 = Average, 3 = Good, 4 = Very Good, 5 = Excellent, (the highest score).

The judges’ scores will be averaged together to determine each entry’s overall score. The entry with the highest score per category is the Category Winner. Judges may abstain from a category if they believe there is a conflict of interest or for any other necessary reason, in which case, some categories may have more scores than others.

Public Vote on Finalists

Following the selection of finalists based on the ratings of the independent panel of judges, voting will then open to the public (for Hostelworld and non-Hostelworld customers) through our social channels and our subscriber base between Monday, 23^rd May and Sunday, 5^th June 2022.

Hostelworld and our panel of judges will share the finalists across social media and other promotional channels. Shortlisted hostels are encouraged to share their nomination in their associated category across their own subscriber bases and social channels.

Finalists may be requested to submit optional supporting videos showcasing your initiatives to assist with the public vote.  Please note that additional content will only be requested if you are a finalist.

Selection of Winners

Once public voting closes, the independent judges’ score will be added to the public vote to decide the overall winner in each category, which is outlined below:

Winners will be announced the week commencing Monday, 20^th June 2022.

In the event of technical failure or other circumstance impacting any stage of the review process (i.e. Hostelworld Checks and Balances, Independent Selection of Finalists, Public Vote on Finalists, Public Vote or Selection of Winners), the decision of the winner is at the sole discretion of Hostelworld’s HOSCAR Committee.

General

• HOSCARs Awards 2022 is open to all properties listed as “hostels” on the Hostelworld platform who were partners of Hostelworld between 1^st January 2021 to 31^st December 2021 (inclusive) and who have accommodation inventory loaded on the Hostelworld platform to at least the end of 2022.
• Nominees for the “New Hostel” category are required to be listed as “hostels” on the Hostelworld platform, but are only required to be partners of Hostelworld since a least 1^st June 2021.
• Hostelworld reserves the right to verify the eligibility of all entrants.  Hostelworld may require such information as it considers reasonably necessary for the purpose of verifying the eligibility of an entry.
• Only properties listed as “hostels” on the Hostelworld platform are eligible for entry. For the avoidance of doubt, no property listed as a “hotel”, “guesthouse”, “B&B”, “apartment” or “campsite” shall be eligible for entry.
• Entries not complying with these terms and conditions will be invalid. All entrants must be aged eighteen (18) years or older.
• The closing date and time for nomination is 23:59pm GMT on Friday, 18^th March 2022. Entries received after the closing date and time will not be considered. Selection of finalists by the independent panel of judges takes place between Monday 4^th April 2022 – Friday, 22^nd April 2022. Public vote takes place between Monday, 23^rd May 2022 and Sunday, 5^th June 2022.
• Participants can nominate their hostel in any number of categories, however only one nomination per category is allowed.  In the event of multiple nominations by the participant for the same category, Hostelworld, in its sole discretion shall select the appropriate nomination for that category.
• The winners in each HOSCAR category shall be announced during the week commencing Monday, 20^th June 2022.
• Any instructions provided at nomination form part of these terms and conditions and in the event of a conflict, these terms and conditions take precedence.
• The overall winners for each category will be selected from all eligible entries received as set out above.  Each winner will be notified within a reasonable time by both phone and email.  Each HOSCAR is awarded conditionally upon acceptance and if a winner is unable to be contacted after a reasonable period or if any HOSCAR is unclaimed or declined within a reasonable time period (determined by Hostelworld at its absolute discretion), the HOSCAR shall be deemed as unclaimed or unaccepted and another entrant may be awarded the HOSCAR at Hostelworld’s sole Hostelworld will not be responsible for any inability of a HOSCAR winner to take up or claim their HOSCAR or for any issues or delays in receipt of communication.
• In all instances, the decision of Hostelworld is final and no correspondence shall be entered into.
• Hostelworld accepts no responsibility for incorrectly completed, incomplete, lost or delayed entry submissions, notices, acceptances or any other documents related to a HOSCAR.
• In respect of a HOSCAR, all conditions, terms, warranties and representations whether express or implied by law in relation to the provision of a HOSCAR are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
• In the event of fraud, abuse, and/or an error affecting the proper operation of the HOSCAR Awards 2022, Hostelworld reserves the right to: end or suspend the HOSCAR Awards 2022; amend these terms and conditions and declare void the notification of winner(s).
• If any part of these terms and conditions are held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal or unenforceable, the validity or enforceability of the remainder of these provisions shall not be affected and such provision shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make such provision consistent with applicable law and, in its modified form, such provision shall then be enforceable and enforced.
• By entering the HOSCAR Awards 2022, you agree that, if you are chosen as a winner, you will participate in such promotional activity as is reasonably requested by Hostelworld, such as providing the Hostelworld with further content for our website, blog, e-newsletters, and social media channels for further marketing purposes following the HOSCAR Awards 2022.  Participants shall not be provided with any form of reimbursement for their participation in such promotional activities.
• HOSCAR winners may be required to participate in publicity connected with the HOSCARS Awards 2022 and it is a condition of entry that each winner agree to their name, the name of their hostel and their country of residence being made publicly available.
• Entrants’ personal data will be collected, stored and processed for the purposes of administering and assessing the HOSCAR Awards 2022 and strictly in accordance with our Data Protection Notice which is incorporated into, and forms part of, these terms and conditions. The personal data we process as part of the HOSCAR Awards 2022 includes your name, social media username, physical address (if available), email address (if available), IP address and geo-location (if available).
• Hostelworld shall not be liable for any breach of its obligations resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control and Hostelworld reserves the right to suspend, cancel or amend HOSCAR Awards 2022 and/or review and revise these terms and conditions at any time without giving prior notice without liability. By continuing to take part in HOSCAR Awards 2022 subsequent to any revision of these terms and conditions, entrants shall be deemed to have agreed to any such new or amended terms.
• By submitting content directly to us via our website/submission tool, you confirm that:
• you grant Hostelworld.com Limited and each member of its group of companies (referred to together as Hostelworld) a non-exclusive, royalty free, worldwide perpetual licence to copy, edit, publish, sub-license and otherwise exploit the Content in any media in connection with any promotional or other activities that they undertake, including but not limited to use on our websites, blogs, mobile applications and social channels;
• you understand there is no obligation for Hostelworld to utilise or distribute any submitted content;
• you agree not to take any legal action against, and release and discharge Hostelworld, and its directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates, or any other person or entity acting on its behalf, for all claims in connection with the use of any submitted content;
• you took the photo/video or wrote the content which you are submitting and that you have the right to grant us a licence to use it;
• you warrant that all submitted content does not contain any third-party trademark or copyrighted material, or material that is subject to other third party proprietary rights; and
• in the case of any photo/video, all the people who are personally identifiable therein have provided their consent for Hostelworld to use the photo/video for the purposes set out above. If a child appears in the photo/video you confirm that the child’s parent or guardian has given such consent.
• Hostelworld may, at its sole discretion, but shall not be obliged to amend or substitute any award or prize offered in conjunction with the HOSCARS 2022.
• Winners shall not be entitled to a cash or alternative prize or award as part of the HOSCARS.
• These terms and conditions will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland and each entrant hereby agrees that for the benefit of Hostelworld and without prejudice to the right of Hostelworld to take proceedings before any other court of competent jurisdiction, that the courts of Ireland shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any suit, action or proceedings that might arise out of or in connection with these terms and conditions and for such purposes the entrant irrevocably submits to the jurisdiction of such courts.