The before and after of my hostel stays 5 years apart is wild

I stayed at a hostel in Prague back in 2019 for $12 a night and it was a total dump. Shared a room with 12 people, the locker didn't lock, and the shower had a weird smell. Fast forward to last month, I paid $18 a night at a hostel in the same city and it had privacy curtains, charging ports by every bed, and free breakfast. The difference was actually crazy for just $6 more. What changed? More hostels are competing for budget travelers now with better perks. Has anyone else noticed their budget stays getting way nicer over the last few years?

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aaron1971mo ago

Nah, you're totally right about the competition thing but I think the real story is that $18 is still basically nothing for a place to sleep. Six bucks more for an actual functioning room with perks is a no brainer. Those dumpy hostels from a few years back were straight up depressing, you had to wonder how they stayed in business. Now it feels like the bar has been raised for everyone, even the budget spots have to bring something decent to the table or they just die off.

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benbrown1mo ago

Wait, you're telling me that hostel in Prague went from a straight up nightmare to actually decent for only six bucks more? That's WILD to me because I feel like the competition you mentioned is real, but it's also forcing a lot of the cheap places to clean up their act or get left in the dust. Honestly, I think the privacy curtains and charging ports are becoming a new standard like how free Wi-Fi took over hotels.

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