I emailed hostelworld.com, the site I originally booked with, saying:
"Just briefly, can you tell me if the organisation Hostels United Worldwide exists? I have recently given a lower-than-their-average rating to a hostel, booked through this website, and they disputed it and I got an email from HUW, saying that I have been blacklisted from all hostels in North America as a result of giving them 60% to their usual 90%+. I am just wondering if this is true at all, or if there is some foul play and intimidation tactics going on. IS there such a thing as a lifelong ban on staying in hostels?"
And got the response:
"Hello,
I do not think it actually exist, and even if it does you cannot be banned for giving a lower rating, that is non sense.
You are welcome and free to book any hostels that you would like anywhere on our site."
Hah! Tell me, what should I do now? Should I shrug off the faux blacklisting and pretend it never happened, or should I do something about reporting the hostel, or otherwise let them know that I know that they're full of crap?