Crossed 40 nights in hostels this year and my budget math flipped

I hit 40 hostel nights across 12 cities by October and realized my average nightly rate dropped to $31, way under my $50 hotel cap. Seeing that number made me switch my whole booking strategy to dorms with private bathroom options instead of chasing cheap private rooms. Has anyone else tracked their actual per-night average and changed their rule on what to book?

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chen.james27d ago

Wait, is that per-night average including some pricier cities or did you luck out everywhere? Same thing happened to me last year when I hit 55 nights and my average was like $34, because I stopped being stubborn about private rooms and just went for dorms with en-suite baths, honestly the privacy difference is small when you get a good pod or curtain setup. It completely changed how I plan trips now, I'll book a dorm for three nights in a cheap city and splurge on a solo room for one night somewhere nice, that balance keeps my average way below my old $60 cap. The math just works out so much better for longer trips, I can stretch a two week budget into almost three weeks just by picking smart dorm options. Plus you meet way more people in hostels, which is a bonus I didn't expect to care about as much as I do now.