Hostel vs Airbnb in Barcelona that forced me to pick one

Last spring I was booking a 5 night trip to Barcelona and had to choose between a $28 hostel bunk in Gracia or a $72 Airbnb studio near the Gothic Quarter. I went with the hostel because I figured I'd be out all day anyway. Big mistake honestly. The $72 Airbnb would have saved me from buying 4 separate dinners out since I could have used the kitchen. Plus I spent an extra $40 on metro passes going back and forth from Gracia to the main sights. Anyone else ever miscalculate the hidden costs of cheap lodging like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

masondixon1mo ago

Spent more on transit than you saved on the bed, classic.

james5331mo ago

Well hold on now, you gotta also factor in what that transit actually costs if you don't already own a car or have a pass. Not everyone lives in a city where a bus pass is like 50 bucks. Where I'm at, a round trip to the suburbs can run you 15 dollars easy, so that 20 dollar savings on a mattress gets eaten up fast if you have to do that twice. Plus the time spent hauling a bed frame on a bus is no joke either, gotta be careful not to ding someone's car door or block the aisle. The real kicker is if they didn't check the weight limit on the bus rack, because some drivers will straight up refuse you if it looks too heavy. So yeah, I get the joke but it's not always a pure math thing, sometimes the logistics just kill the deal before you even start.