An outstanding 79 per cent of the Hostelworld Hoscars were awarded to hostels in European destinations, highlighting the continent at the heart of the budget travel industry.

The top awards of the four worldwide categories were taken by hostels from European destinations: Soul Kitchen Junior in St Petersburg; Home Lisbon Hostel in Lisbon; Tattva Design Hostel in Porto; and Wombats City Hostel Budapest in Budapest.

Previous worldwide winners Yes! Lisbon took home their 5th consecutive award from the Hoscars this year as Second Best Large Hostel Worldwide. Other hostels featuring in the top 10 of the core categories spanned across Europe, USA, Asia, South America and Oceania.

The Hoscars, organised by leading budget travel website Hostelworld.com, is the biggest trade event in the budget travel industry. Now in its 12th year, the awards honour the world’s top hostels, as voted for by Hostelworld.com customers.

Hostelworld.com's CEO, Feargal Mooney, commented on this year's awards:“Hostelworld’s annual Hoscars have always been the most eagerly anticipated event on the budget travel calendar and there was no change this year. We take great pride that these awards are based solely on the reviews and ratings of guests who have booked, stayed and experienced the accommodation – it’s the only fair way to ensure a true and accurate reflection of the properties’ strengths and weaknesses. We would like to extend our congratulations to everyone involved and direct special congratulations to the European entrants, who have enjoyed a particularly successful year.”

The Hoscars is the only awards in the travel industry decided exclusively by guest reviews. Over one million Hostelworld.com customers, who booked their accommodation online and stayed in the properties in 2013, voted for their favourite properties. The winners were chosen based on their overall score in seven categories: cleanliness, staff, security, location as well as three new categories: character, atmosphere and value for money. Other awards are given out in categories such as ‘Best New Hostel to Hostelworld.com’ and ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’.

*For the full list of winners please visit www.hostelworld.com/Hoscars-2014