My cheap hostel in Prague turned into a nightmare for a week
Booked a place for $12 a night near the main square, thinking I scored. The first night, the hot water was out. The manager said it would be fixed 'tomorrow'. It wasn't fixed for five days. I had to boil a kettle to wash my hair. The wifi only worked in the hallway, and my room was right next to the noisy common area. Has anyone else had a budget stay go this wrong, and did you get any money back?
Honestly, that's still better than my friend's hostel in Berlin where the bed literally broke. He got a partial refund after arguing for an hour, but it was only like ten bucks. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and leave.
Hold on, why should the hostel pay for a broken bed? Those places get trashed by guests all the time. Your friend probably just got unlucky with a weak frame, and ten bucks back is fair for the trouble. They fixed it, right? Expecting a full refund for a cheap bunk is just being greedy. Would you pay a guest if something broke in your own house?
Had a similar thing in Budapest with no hot water for three days... I took photos and videos every day and sent them to the booking site's help desk. They ended up giving me a 50% refund for those nights. It's a pain but sometimes you have to push a little.