Am I the only one who got hit with a $70 "resort fee" at a hostel in Lisbon

I booked a spot in Lisbon for 4 nights back in March and the listing said 22 euros a night. When I showed up at the front desk, the guy tells me there is a mandatory 8 euro per night "city experience fee" plus a 15 euro cleaning charge that was buried in a drop down menu I never opened. That added $70 to a trip I had budgeted down to the euro. I stood there with my backpack on and just asked him to show me where it said that before I paid. He pulled up the listing on his own screen and scrolled for a while, then admitted it was worded badly. I asked for the manager and got the cleaning fee taken off, but I still ate the 8 euros a night. Now I read every single line of a listing before I book, even the fine print at the bottom that nobody clicks. Has anyone else gotten surprised by a hidden fee at a hostel or cheap hotel, and did you get any of it back?

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nancy_davis2h ago

That cleaning fee scam is wild because it sounds like they made it up just knowing most people are too tired to fight after a long travel day. What gets me is that the "city experience fee" is often just a straight up cash grab that hotels slap on, and some cities have actually started going after them for it since it's not a real tax. Reading every line is the move now, and honestly I screenshot the whole listing plus the checkout page before I pay, so if they try to add stuff later I have proof on my phone. Takes two minutes and it has saved me real money twice.

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