Approval, and getting your hostel live

5 min read  ·  Updated October 2026

Unverified directory listings

Some directory entries appear publicly before ownership has been checked. They are clearly labelled Unverified, appear after verified results, and use labelled illustrative images rather than photographs of that hostel. Address and map information may be outdated. Their owner phone numbers and contact details stay private.

These pages cannot confirm availability, book a visit or reserve a bed. Their Request nearby options action asks for consent to share an accommodation request with relevant nearby verified hostels. It does not contact or book the unverified hostel.

Directory pages initially ask search engines not to index them. Up to 100 eligible pages a day can become indexable and enter the directory sitemap after quality and duplicate checks, including useful location details and nearby verified alternatives. Fewer may qualify. Indexability is not a promise of search-engine inclusion or ranking. A withdrawn, disabled or unsuitable entry is removed from public availability or indexing as appropriate.

To correct an entry you own, follow Claim This Hostel. After ownership is checked, at least three actual hostel photos, a floor and a room are required before the listing review can approve a claimed entry. Ordinary listing and booking switches still apply after approval. Use Support to report a duplicate, incorrect location or removal request.

Owner-submitted listings are reviewed before they appear as verified hostels. Unverified directory entries follow the separate process below.

What we check

Nothing difficult. We are looking for a real hostel that a real person could turn up at:

• The hostel exists at the address given, and the map pin is on it.
• The phone number is answered.
• The photos are of that hostel, not stock pictures or another building.
• The details are consistent. A “girls hostel” that describes boys' rooms gets sent back.
• Nothing in the description or rules is offensive or misleading.

Most hostels are approved within a working day. A profile with photos, a correct pin and a working number goes through fastest, because there is nothing for us to come back and ask about.

What you can do while you wait

Almost everything. Listing approval controls whether your hostel can appear as a verified public listing, and it does not hold up your dashboard. While your hostel is pending you can already:

• add floors, rooms and beds
• upload photos and videos
• add your existing residents and assign them rooms
• record rent, expenses and receipts
• add staff and set what each of them can see

So if you are moving off a paper register, start now. By the time you are approved, the hostel is already running in the system.

The five conditions for an ordinary verified public listing

This is the part that surprises people. Approval on its own is not enough. An ordinary verified listing appears when all five conditions below are met and the account remains active. Unverified directory entries are the separately labelled exception:

1. Your hostel is approved by our team.
2. Your listing is switched on. That is the Listed on Houstel.pk switch at the top of My Hostel. You can turn it off yourself when you are full and back on when you are not.
3. You have at least one photo. A listing with no photo gets almost no clicks, so we do not publish one.
4. You have at least one floor.
5. You have at least one room.

If your hostel is approved and still not showing, look at that switch first. If it is off, turning it on is all it takes. If it is on but something else is missing, the switch reads Not live on Houstel.pk and a box at the top of My Hostel says what to add, with Add photos or Go to rooms beside it. It is almost always one of the last three: a photo, a floor, or a room on that floor. A room you have hidden from Houstel.pk does not count. Your page goes live by itself once the box is cleared, and View live page appears beside your hostel's name.

How you find out

You get a notification in the dashboard, and an email, the moment the decision is made. If your hostel is sent back, the message says why, and fixing it and saving is enough. You do not start again.

After you are approved

Changes you make afterwards go live on their own. Editing your rents, adding rooms, changing photos or updating your description does not need a second approval, and updates usually show on the public page within minutes.

From this point your listing starts bringing you enquiries, visit requests and reservations, and you can see how many people are actually looking at your page under Performance.

If your hostel is rejected

Rejection is nearly always one of three things: photos that do not match the hostel, a phone number nobody answers, or a listing for something that is not a hostel. Fix the cause, save, and tell support you have. We will look at it again. Nothing you have already entered is lost.

Common questions