Why does Hostelworld allow Last Minute Cancellations?

Since Feb 2018, Hostelworld allows cancellations up to 11.59pm on arrival day through their MyWorld Hostelworld account.

When the booking is cancelled in MyWorld Hostelworld account, the room goes back on-line to be resold straight away and an automatic notification e-mail is sent to property's booking e-mail address. 

It is important to understand that, in case a customer is cancelling a booking past your cancellation grace period a notification informs the customer that, if this is a late cancellation, the property is authorized to charge the late cancellation fee.

The reason this function was enabled was to make it easier for guests to ‘communicate’ their last minute schedule changes as soon as possible, allowing you to sell any beds that will no longer be occupied.