Hot take: hostels aren't always the money saver people claim

Stayed at a hostel in Barcelona last month that cost $45 a night and I had to share a room with 6 strangers. You can find actual hotels on the outskirts for $50-60 that give you privacy and your own bathroom. Did the math and after buying earplugs, lockers, and breakfast since the hostel had nothing, I basically broke even. Anyone else notice hostel prices creeping up to hotel territory?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel85726d ago

Why do hostels charge city taxes that hotels already include?

rodriguez.diana26d ago

Broke even" is my life motto, right before I realize I spent the same money and lost all my dignity.

evan_campbell21d ago

Honestly, people miss the REAL reason hostels do that. Hotels write those taxes into their room prices because they want you to think you're paying one flat rate. Hostels do it separately because they want to show you a lower base number to make the price LOOK cheaper at first glance. It's all about the psychology of that initial number you see when you search online. You click on the $25 bed, then get hit with the extra $5 tax later. They're basically tricking your brain into thinking you're getting a deal. It's not about "including" anything, it's about making that first number as LOW as possible to get you in the door.