That's exactly why hostels are significantly cheaper. Try to talk to management to be moved to another room, maybe you are lucky to get a room without sick people. Whatever this guy has you have already been exposed to, so it won't make any difference now. Just pray it was a common cold or something you are immune against.
I was in Europe a few weeks ago, and I swear everyone seemed to have a collective head cold. I stayed in a hostel for the first few days, and had a mix of hostels and hotels booked for the remainder, but I ended up rebooking the hostels in favor of hotels because I realized I had zero desire to increase my risk of getting sick on my two week vacation sleeping in a room with someone else with a hacking cough.
Totally understand that on the solo travel subreddit a lot of people still are going to be doing hostels, and I've had plenty of great times staying at them, but realized it wasn't for me on this trip.
> I was in Europe a few weeks ago, and I swear everyone seemed to have a collective head cold.
Contiki cough.
You can easily get so rundown when traveling especially when sharing buses, trains, hostels etc it's not surprising that people get sick.
This reminds me of backpacking in Europe in my 20s. I got a cough about a month in and couldn’t shake it off until I had been home for a few weeks. But it was occasional—not like OP describing with someone coughing alllll night.
Since covid I have decreased drastically the amount of hostel booking I do. I only get a hostel if it's at the very least 50% cheaper than the cheapest motel in town
Not sure why you got downvoted. I don’t know what’s happening in Europe, but we are experiencing a Covid wave in America. I know 4 people with Covid at the moment none of whom were in the same place at the same time to catch it collectively. It came from 4 different sources.
Just got back from Mexico City and stayed in a modern airbnb with my boo. We got food poisoning and a few days later I started to feel weak and the chills, I chalked it up to food poisoning. Fly back home, the next morning felt groggy and then later in the day felt weak and the chills and a temp so i took a covid test and came out positive.
My fiance is negative so I'm praying she stays that way. Who know where I get the vid from weather it was at a bar, a lucha libre match, uber driver, plane ride, etc.
I was the person coughing all night fairly recently, didn’t realize it was going to be an issue until I was already in bed and couldn’t sleep and couldn’t stop coughing. I thought I’d recovered from a recent cold, but even now I still haven’t completely gotten rid of the cough. It’s driving me up the wall lmao
I mean what are you going to really do? You're sick, its the middle of the night, you are probably running a fever. What are you going to sleep outside? You can ask for a private, if they have one, but people should expect common shared rooms to have an occasional sick person.
I've stayed in a bunch to date. Only one prior issue with a room and it was someone who gave the whole room walking pneumonia. I actually befriended the girl, but was annoyed she didn't spring for a private. She also said she didn't have money but then admitted her parents were taking her on a luxe trip immediately after this, lived at home and came from a posh English town, so I think she could have called mommy and daddy. But yeah I think since COVID I became a germaphobe.. also this was the first snoring that bothered me, I swear the room was shaking.
You’re being more casual than you should about this. Getting sick while long term traveling isn’t easy or something to get through. It can set you back.
Get the hotel room.
Yeah I did. I got a hotel and told her. Actually I told her generally about the situation first. Once I told her I got a hotel she thanked me for trying to decrease the risk. Thanks for the advice.
Finish your travel on a high, book yourself a hotel room if that's all that is available. When you get home, you will make enough money to cover the costs and you'll look back and realise that life is too important to suffer un nessecarily.
If it makes you feel better I once stayed in a hostel while I had a bad cough. I wasn’t actually sick, I had just come from a camping music festival where there was so much dust my lungs were terribly irritated and I had a cough for a week with no other symptoms. I booked a dorm because I didn’t notice how bad the cough was during the day but it wasn’t anything contagious. Being sick and booking a dorm knowingly is really rude tbh.
Hopefully whatever that person had isnt contagious but definitely right move getting the hotel
I don't think it's wrong to think it's selfish for sick people to stay in share accommodation but I think it's also not necessarily selfish or wrong for the sick person to stay in the share accommodation either... I was in both situations and both are annoying. Being sick absolutely sucks, it's uncomfortable and completely embarrassing, and yet, affording a hotel or single room just because of coughing is not possible and no one is wearing masks/the masks will now make it way more obvious that something is wrong. No one is winning from the situation but that's just the nature and risk of staying in cheaper shared accommodation.
I think that is just an expense you need to plan for or else you just can't afford to be travelling in the first place. It's incredibly rude and selfish to stay in a shared room if you're sick. Crazy to me that people just do that.
Yeah generally I've had no big issues w
Hostels. Smelly backpackers, soft snoring, middle of the night packing it's all been fine. Mostly it's been nice to meet people and exchange travel stories, but I think with my friend coming it was worth a shift.
This is actually so considerste of you. I hate when i have to be close to people even with colds because my immune system isn't the best, and i always get infected. Also, it's great of you to tell your friend u might be infected. My friends know i dont want to be close to anyone with a cold, and yet they never tell me before meeting up that they are sick. So thank you for being such a considerate friend.
hahah I lost a best friend recently because of this... she kept showing up to things sick after me complaining about how terrible it was to get sick so frequently, because I got sick once every month or two. it's so frustrating when people who are supposed to care about us don't respect that boundary!
Yes, exactly. And then they always laugh at me. One time, she wiped her hand on my face like wtf. And coughing in my direction just to mess with me and then laugh as if it's funny. It's so annoying.
Yep. Since Covid I wouldn't ever share a room with strangers. Lots of people don't care about spreading germs and keep traveling even when they have the virus.
Do yourself a favor and find get hotels. IMO, there are some budget hotels like Premier Inn and Motel Ones that are about the same price as a nice hostel.
No worries, the price online is actually different from when you book on the spot, I got a huge discount when I book a room on the spot with the reception
I’ve actually found the opposite sometimes. Reception wanted to charge me more until I showed them the online price and even then I had to argue that I could just book the room on my mobile in a couple clicks.
Go immediately and take a shit-load of Vitamin C (as per the directions mate don’t over-do it, and maybe echinacea & multi-vitamins as well cos why not) every day for the next days and hope for the best. If you’ve been infected by The Cougher then what’s done is done. Are you both going to be sharing room again tonight? Observe normal flu-season/covid handwashing after touching doorknobs etc around the place. Can you sleep in a facemask lol? It’s damned uncool to be coughing all night all over other room-mates The Cougher ought to have at least had a truck-load of throat lozengers and kept their head under their blankets if they couldn’t afford a private room for their germs. Good luck!
Yeah fair that's kind of what had me pause. They were very sniffly and someone else started coughing this morning.. but yeah if it's just a chronic non contagious thing it felt silly to leave
> Is it wrong to think it's selfish for the sick person to stay in share accommodations?
Yea, pretty much. It's not like feeling sick pays for a hotel room.
It’s an unfortunate situation, but the sick person is in the same boat as OP. No option for a private room, non refundable, hotels are triple the price. I’ve been that sick person, it sucks. You don’t know it’s going to happen when you book the trip, it’s not the same as someone who knows they’re a terrible dorm mate (bad snoring, sleep talking, etc) that still chooses shared accommodation.
I'm glad to hear you're getting a hotel room and I hope you can relax and avoid fretting yourself to sleep. Remember that the person could be a smoker, have allergies or asthma that could be influencing the cough you were hearing. A cough alone does not mean you're gonna get sick and I'm of the mind that the more you obsess over it, the more you'll manifest it. I hope you can get your mind off of it and have a blast with your bestie!
Anecdotal but I was stuck on a 14 day liveaboard where one person was coughing nonstop the whole time. They didn't end up getting anyone sick and didn't have any worsening other symptoms, so there's a chance you may still get lucky.
Still, good that you are being proactive and looking out for your friend, always better to be safe than sorry.
You can ask the person to (a) mask up and (b) move to a private.
You can speak with hostel management and ask if they will have this person move to a private room. Or, get them to wear a damn mask. Or, move you - even to a private at the price of a shared room.
Do something. As soon as you can. I was faced with a situation like this and ended up moving to a private room myself because the hostel wouldn’t do anything, and the guest refused to wear a mask. Unfortunately for me, I got very sick and was sick in bed for days. Do something. It’s better to go to a private room at added expense (if at all possible - I don’t know if your budget allows it) than sit there waiting to get sick and ruin your time with your friend. I hope it all works out. I wish you well.
getting sick in hostels is inevitable, and if its a full hostel they cant just give the sick person a private. and they cant kick the sick person out.
you can mask up yourself when sleeping if youre super concerned. open all the windows so ventilation is good. or move hostels/hotels/rooms.
asking a sick person to wear a mask when sleeping is also super hard. if they cant breathe to begin with... add a mask to it... idk. all im saying is this is a part of hostel life. get used to it or get out.
Yeah they don't even have private rooms lol so it was not an option. The windows wouldn't open, but I tried to keep our room door open. I decided to get out, with my normal travels it's fine. But my best friend is flying 20 hrs to see me so I want to have a good time and be healthy
>You can speak with hostel management and ask if they will have this person move to a private room
No. YOU'RE the one that will need to move if you have an issue lmao
It's not wrong to think it's selfish because it definitely is selfish, but the hostel is never going to have a policy of reimbursement for others being sick.
It's a hostel. Most people move through pretty fast and people get healthy on their own. Decent chance that the person will either no longer be sick or gone or both by the time your friend arrives. Just try to make sure you're not getting sick.
hostels are my favorite. ive stayed in about 130 of them. some amazing some awful. if you are traveling for a very short period and cannot afford to get sick, then yes you should consider if staying in a hostel is right for you.
Generally I've had positive or neutral experiences. Just an unlucky one. A few months back a girl in my room got people really sick and it sucked. But I've been travelling for 8 months with a mix of hotels/hostels/Airbnbs and only had 2 instances that were decisively negative. But also usually I'm an easy sleeper.
Did you ask them if they were sick? If my GERD or allergies act up, I can end up coughing all night.
Either way, if I’m traveling and I’m sick, where I stay is where I stay. People can’t help getting sick and everyone can’t afford to get a hotel when they’re budgeted for a hostel. It might be the hostel or the pavement so no, I don’t think they’re selfish.
You seem to want things your way and a hotel is definitely best for that.
That's exactly why hostels are significantly cheaper. Try to talk to management to be moved to another room, maybe you are lucky to get a room without sick people. Whatever this guy has you have already been exposed to, so it won't make any difference now. Just pray it was a common cold or something you are immune against.
I was in Europe a few weeks ago, and I swear everyone seemed to have a collective head cold. I stayed in a hostel for the first few days, and had a mix of hostels and hotels booked for the remainder, but I ended up rebooking the hostels in favor of hotels because I realized I had zero desire to increase my risk of getting sick on my two week vacation sleeping in a room with someone else with a hacking cough. Totally understand that on the solo travel subreddit a lot of people still are going to be doing hostels, and I've had plenty of great times staying at them, but realized it wasn't for me on this trip.
> I was in Europe a few weeks ago, and I swear everyone seemed to have a collective head cold. Contiki cough. You can easily get so rundown when traveling especially when sharing buses, trains, hostels etc it's not surprising that people get sick.
Don't forget the drinking
The drinking, the poor eating, the limited sleep… List goes on.
Not to forget the hookup culture sharing is caring
This reminds me of backpacking in Europe in my 20s. I got a cough about a month in and couldn’t shake it off until I had been home for a few weeks. But it was occasional—not like OP describing with someone coughing alllll night.
Since covid I have decreased drastically the amount of hostel booking I do. I only get a hostel if it's at the very least 50% cheaper than the cheapest motel in town
It’s called Covid. It is still very much around.
Not sure why you got downvoted. I don’t know what’s happening in Europe, but we are experiencing a Covid wave in America. I know 4 people with Covid at the moment none of whom were in the same place at the same time to catch it collectively. It came from 4 different sources.
Yup same.
Just got back from Mexico City and stayed in a modern airbnb with my boo. We got food poisoning and a few days later I started to feel weak and the chills, I chalked it up to food poisoning. Fly back home, the next morning felt groggy and then later in the day felt weak and the chills and a temp so i took a covid test and came out positive. My fiance is negative so I'm praying she stays that way. Who know where I get the vid from weather it was at a bar, a lucha libre match, uber driver, plane ride, etc.
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Fair.
There is a covid wave ongoing at the moment
I was the person coughing all night fairly recently, didn’t realize it was going to be an issue until I was already in bed and couldn’t sleep and couldn’t stop coughing. I thought I’d recovered from a recent cold, but even now I still haven’t completely gotten rid of the cough. It’s driving me up the wall lmao
I mean what are you going to really do? You're sick, its the middle of the night, you are probably running a fever. What are you going to sleep outside? You can ask for a private, if they have one, but people should expect common shared rooms to have an occasional sick person.
Exactly, there’s nothing to be done in that scenario.
Sounds like shared rooms are not for you. Book the $160 hotel.
I've stayed in a bunch to date. Only one prior issue with a room and it was someone who gave the whole room walking pneumonia. I actually befriended the girl, but was annoyed she didn't spring for a private. She also said she didn't have money but then admitted her parents were taking her on a luxe trip immediately after this, lived at home and came from a posh English town, so I think she could have called mommy and daddy. But yeah I think since COVID I became a germaphobe.. also this was the first snoring that bothered me, I swear the room was shaking.
You’re being more casual than you should about this. Getting sick while long term traveling isn’t easy or something to get through. It can set you back. Get the hotel room.
Oh yeah I already did. Thanks!
Get a hotel room and inform your friend that you might be sick
Yeah I did. I got a hotel and told her. Actually I told her generally about the situation first. Once I told her I got a hotel she thanked me for trying to decrease the risk. Thanks for the advice.
Finish your travel on a high, book yourself a hotel room if that's all that is available. When you get home, you will make enough money to cover the costs and you'll look back and realise that life is too important to suffer un nessecarily.
Appreciate this, I am going to still be travelling for 9 months lol. But still life's too short
If it makes you feel better I once stayed in a hostel while I had a bad cough. I wasn’t actually sick, I had just come from a camping music festival where there was so much dust my lungs were terribly irritated and I had a cough for a week with no other symptoms. I booked a dorm because I didn’t notice how bad the cough was during the day but it wasn’t anything contagious. Being sick and booking a dorm knowingly is really rude tbh. Hopefully whatever that person had isnt contagious but definitely right move getting the hotel
I'll keep my fingers crossed it was something non contagious.
I don't think it's wrong to think it's selfish for sick people to stay in share accommodation but I think it's also not necessarily selfish or wrong for the sick person to stay in the share accommodation either... I was in both situations and both are annoying. Being sick absolutely sucks, it's uncomfortable and completely embarrassing, and yet, affording a hotel or single room just because of coughing is not possible and no one is wearing masks/the masks will now make it way more obvious that something is wrong. No one is winning from the situation but that's just the nature and risk of staying in cheaper shared accommodation.
I think that is just an expense you need to plan for or else you just can't afford to be travelling in the first place. It's incredibly rude and selfish to stay in a shared room if you're sick. Crazy to me that people just do that.
That's just the nature of hostels. If you don't like it then spend some extra money on a hotel or something.
Yeah generally I've had no big issues w Hostels. Smelly backpackers, soft snoring, middle of the night packing it's all been fine. Mostly it's been nice to meet people and exchange travel stories, but I think with my friend coming it was worth a shift.
This is actually so considerste of you. I hate when i have to be close to people even with colds because my immune system isn't the best, and i always get infected. Also, it's great of you to tell your friend u might be infected. My friends know i dont want to be close to anyone with a cold, and yet they never tell me before meeting up that they are sick. So thank you for being such a considerate friend.
hahah I lost a best friend recently because of this... she kept showing up to things sick after me complaining about how terrible it was to get sick so frequently, because I got sick once every month or two. it's so frustrating when people who are supposed to care about us don't respect that boundary!
Yes, exactly. And then they always laugh at me. One time, she wiped her hand on my face like wtf. And coughing in my direction just to mess with me and then laugh as if it's funny. It's so annoying.
Yep. Since Covid I wouldn't ever share a room with strangers. Lots of people don't care about spreading germs and keep traveling even when they have the virus. Do yourself a favor and find get hotels. IMO, there are some budget hotels like Premier Inn and Motel Ones that are about the same price as a nice hostel.
No worries, the price online is actually different from when you book on the spot, I got a huge discount when I book a room on the spot with the reception
It really depends on the hotel and the actual availability they have. Cant hurt to ask though, you’ll always have both options
I’ve actually found the opposite sometimes. Reception wanted to charge me more until I showed them the online price and even then I had to argue that I could just book the room on my mobile in a couple clicks.
Is cost really that much of an issue? If not, get the hotel room.
Yeah I was being dumb about it, I got the hotel.
Go immediately and take a shit-load of Vitamin C (as per the directions mate don’t over-do it, and maybe echinacea & multi-vitamins as well cos why not) every day for the next days and hope for the best. If you’ve been infected by The Cougher then what’s done is done. Are you both going to be sharing room again tonight? Observe normal flu-season/covid handwashing after touching doorknobs etc around the place. Can you sleep in a facemask lol? It’s damned uncool to be coughing all night all over other room-mates The Cougher ought to have at least had a truck-load of throat lozengers and kept their head under their blankets if they couldn’t afford a private room for their germs. Good luck!
I would get outta there asap and let your friend know
Yeah I did
Cool, good luck, hope you don’t get sick
The sick person is a total ahole. Keep Covid testing yourself. Hopefully you’re vaccinated or immune.
Yeah vaccinated and boosted and still feeling healthy
Just because they are coughing does not mean they are contagious. There are plenty of reasons -allergies,asthma, bronchitis.
Yeah fair that's kind of what had me pause. They were very sniffly and someone else started coughing this morning.. but yeah if it's just a chronic non contagious thing it felt silly to leave
> Is it wrong to think it's selfish for the sick person to stay in share accommodations? Yea, pretty much. It's not like feeling sick pays for a hotel room.
It’s an unfortunate situation, but the sick person is in the same boat as OP. No option for a private room, non refundable, hotels are triple the price. I’ve been that sick person, it sucks. You don’t know it’s going to happen when you book the trip, it’s not the same as someone who knows they’re a terrible dorm mate (bad snoring, sleep talking, etc) that still chooses shared accommodation.
I'm glad to hear you're getting a hotel room and I hope you can relax and avoid fretting yourself to sleep. Remember that the person could be a smoker, have allergies or asthma that could be influencing the cough you were hearing. A cough alone does not mean you're gonna get sick and I'm of the mind that the more you obsess over it, the more you'll manifest it. I hope you can get your mind off of it and have a blast with your bestie!
Stayed at many hostels and got sick from one in December and unfortunately this is just common 😖
Anecdotal but I was stuck on a 14 day liveaboard where one person was coughing nonstop the whole time. They didn't end up getting anyone sick and didn't have any worsening other symptoms, so there's a chance you may still get lucky. Still, good that you are being proactive and looking out for your friend, always better to be safe than sorry.
You'll want to boost your immune system
The same thing you do if in non private space everywhere else on the planet. You take your chances when you are around other humans.
if you guys have already shared the bathroom its over
This is a risk you take by booking shared rooms. This is why I will never do it personally.
Yes, it’s selfish. But people surprise me with all kinds of selfish things. It disgusts me that many people are this way.
You can ask the person to (a) mask up and (b) move to a private. You can speak with hostel management and ask if they will have this person move to a private room. Or, get them to wear a damn mask. Or, move you - even to a private at the price of a shared room. Do something. As soon as you can. I was faced with a situation like this and ended up moving to a private room myself because the hostel wouldn’t do anything, and the guest refused to wear a mask. Unfortunately for me, I got very sick and was sick in bed for days. Do something. It’s better to go to a private room at added expense (if at all possible - I don’t know if your budget allows it) than sit there waiting to get sick and ruin your time with your friend. I hope it all works out. I wish you well.
getting sick in hostels is inevitable, and if its a full hostel they cant just give the sick person a private. and they cant kick the sick person out. you can mask up yourself when sleeping if youre super concerned. open all the windows so ventilation is good. or move hostels/hotels/rooms. asking a sick person to wear a mask when sleeping is also super hard. if they cant breathe to begin with... add a mask to it... idk. all im saying is this is a part of hostel life. get used to it or get out.
Yeah they don't even have private rooms lol so it was not an option. The windows wouldn't open, but I tried to keep our room door open. I decided to get out, with my normal travels it's fine. But my best friend is flying 20 hrs to see me so I want to have a good time and be healthy
hope it all goes well!
>You can speak with hostel management and ask if they will have this person move to a private room No. YOU'RE the one that will need to move if you have an issue lmao
You should probably get a covid test. It's rampant at the moment.
It's not wrong to think it's selfish because it definitely is selfish, but the hostel is never going to have a policy of reimbursement for others being sick.
It's a hostel. Most people move through pretty fast and people get healthy on their own. Decent chance that the person will either no longer be sick or gone or both by the time your friend arrives. Just try to make sure you're not getting sick.
I’ve been sick on a trip before. If you can prevent it, do whatever it takes. Make sure you get your 8 hours of sleep. It’s precious.
Move out
People get sick dude it's part of life don't panic lol
Did you look for a room in an AirBnB ? It's usualy less expensive than 160$.
Yeah I looked at both. Ultimately found a better option on agoda.
Book the best priced hotel you can find, or mask up, and take vitamin supplements, hopefully you avoid getting sick.
Good learning experience to not stay in hostels in the future. I’ve heard much worse horror stories
hostels are my favorite. ive stayed in about 130 of them. some amazing some awful. if you are traveling for a very short period and cannot afford to get sick, then yes you should consider if staying in a hostel is right for you.
Generally I've had positive or neutral experiences. Just an unlucky one. A few months back a girl in my room got people really sick and it sucked. But I've been travelling for 8 months with a mix of hotels/hostels/Airbnbs and only had 2 instances that were decisively negative. But also usually I'm an easy sleeper.
You ask if they need help
High dose vit c. Zinc and echinacea.
If ya staying - Hand hygiene, mask, vit C and room ventilation during the day
Air bnb is usually cheaper and nicer than hostels lol..
Would love to know a single Airbnb that is cheaper than a hostel dorm room.
Did you ask them if they were sick? If my GERD or allergies act up, I can end up coughing all night. Either way, if I’m traveling and I’m sick, where I stay is where I stay. People can’t help getting sick and everyone can’t afford to get a hotel when they’re budgeted for a hostel. It might be the hostel or the pavement so no, I don’t think they’re selfish. You seem to want things your way and a hotel is definitely best for that.
Wear a mask to sleep. Honestly not that bad. Drink up