These are the guidelines when a review/ complaint is submitted to our site mentioning assault of any kind involving an employee of the hostel, we expect an investigation for part of the property and a full collaboration with the local authorities in order to clarify the serious complaint.
When a review mentions assault of any kind involving an employee of the hostel, the review is not initially published, in accordance with our guidelines, and the property is suspended pending further investigation.
We would expect that the alleged victim would be treated in a sensitive manner, and that the local authorities would be notified. If the alleged victim does not wish to speak to the local authorities then as an alternative they should be offered the option to contact their national consulate where possible. Properties should always be mindful of the age of the compliant as if the person is a minor this may involve mandatory reporting depending of the jurisdiction.
We also advise that a log is kept by the property with events of the incident, which can be referred to again at a later date if required.
We reserve the right to leave a review offline permanently if it does not meet our review guidelines but will investigate all cases as is our obligation.
Hostels must have a process in place to deal with any reports of assault by a staff member. This includes notifying Hostelworld immediately where a Hostelworld customer reports an assault.