Trying to plan ahead so any know if card payments are common at hostels in Austria or cash is king?
Out of four hostels, two charged card with a small fee, one took card but the terminal was down, so cash was required. Only one insisted entirely on cash. Hostel check-in in Austria is mostly cash-and-card hybrid. I kept €30 handy to avoid last-minute ATM runs on arrival days.
In Innsbruck, I was able to pay with Visa in two of three hostels; the other wanted cash. The card machines worked, but were unreliable offline. Cash remains useful for smaller properties, though city hostels support cards more now. I always brought €50 in cash as a backup - even if Hostelworld shows “card accepted.”
I stayed in four Austrian hostels - three accepted Mastercard or Visa debit with no issues, although the technology was sometimes slow. One in Hallstatt required cash only. Card payments at hostels in Austria are generally accepted, but occasionally unavailable. Preload hostel fees where possible and carry €20-30 to cover any terminal outages.
At least three of the five hostels I used in Vienna, Salzburg, and Innsbruck let me pay by card - mostly Visa or Mastercard. One hostel charged a 2% fee on card use; others let me pre-pay through booking sites. A couple still insisted on cash on check-in. Hostel payments in Austria are mostly card-friendly, though have cash ready just in case.