Bad hostel, recourse?

I've just spent a rather unpleasant night at a hostel in Barcelona.

I didn't sleep well. Quite hot and loud and I was being eaten by insects. A few hours sleep woken by the place shaking at 8 due to construction.

My friend had an even worse time and had no sleep. Complained at night and was able to get a full refund.

I persevered until the morning when we had to leave. She couldn't take another day there and that really didn't appeal to me either. I was only able to get the money for one of my three days back (only stayed for 1) from a very hostile guy at the front desk and my deposit is in the aether.

Is there anything that can be done to fight back against this?

Bad reviews are an option of course. But something official? Any possibility my bank can do something about the deposit?

It's a hostel. It's not huge money. But still. Feels annoying to be conned. Would be good to see a wee bit of justice even if it doesn't benefit me.

Best Answer

In 2016, a bad online review with a lot of visibility is a big deal. Find a few high traffic websites (tripadvisor, google, facebook) and leave them not an angry rant, but a bad and polite review. Companies are very sensitive about their online reputation and image (and if they're not they won't survive very long) and are much quicker to react than in offline, in-person interactions because of this public visibility.

As for a financial recourse, I think you can forget about getting your money back. After the date of check-in most places would have kept the money anyway even if you didn't show up. As much as I feel your pain, there was technically no fraud or con, which means there's no ground for reversing a charge on a credit card (for example). The hostel did give you a room in exchange for your money, except it was awful.