the_laura•15d agoProlific Poster

Vent: Found out my "budget" hostel was secretly charging me $15 a night in hidden fees

I booked this hostel in Barcelona through a third party site because it showed $22 a night. Seemed like a steal. But when I checked in, they hit me with a mandatory "linen fee" and then another charge for a locker rental. I added it up later after talking to a backpacker from Australia who'd been there a week. The base rate was $22 but with all the add-ons and a city tax that wasn't listed clearly, I paid $37 a night. Found the real breakdown on a Reddit thread about Hostelworld scams. Now I always message the hostel directly before booking to ask for the full price out the door. Has anyone else gotten burned by these hidden hostel fees?

3 comments

3 Comments

sean4814d agoMost Upvoted

Got hit with the same thing at a place in Lisbon last year. Listed at $20 a night and ended up closer to $35 after they tacked on a "check in fee" and charged for using the locker that was supposed to be free. Now I just ask them straight up what the real number is before I even click book.

fionat5514d ago

@sean48 same here, I just screenshot the real total before booking so they can't add anything later.

fisher.jessica14d ago

@fionat55 that screenshot trick is solid, gonna start doing that myself. Same thing happened to me in Prague last year - they hit me with a "wristband fee" for the keycard and a city tax that doubled the price. Now I always email the hostel direct and ask for the total including every fee before I book anywhere.