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When a man traveling to Miami for work spotted accommodation for just $20 a night, he immediately booked it. It wasn’t until he arrived that he discovered the reason behind the suspiciously good deal.
TikTok user Irving Angulo (@irvgulo) had unknowingly reserved a bed in a 10-person dormitory at a hostel — an accommodation style far more prevalent in Europe and Asia than in the United States.
His video documenting the experience has now garnered over 49,000 views.
“Guys, so I’m in Miami for a commercial shoot that I’m doing,” Angulo explains in the clip. “I accidentally booked myself a hostel ’cause it was super cheap.”
The footage shows a surprisingly attractive reception area with clean furniture and good lighting. “They’ve got private rooms,” he points out before panning to another lounge space filled with couches and decorative pillows.
“Like a dumba–, I ended up booking a bed in a 10-bedroom dormitory,” he continues while touring the property’s amenities — a small seating area, a well-maintained pool surrounded by beach umbrellas, and a comfortable shaded lounge.
“People get lit over here,” he remarks about the pool area. “I’ve done it once in Spain, so I was like, f— it, let me just stick with it.”
The $20 Reality
The tour eventually leads to Angulo’s dormitory. The shared bathroom facilities feature white tile and modern sinks, while the rows of bunk beds appear clean and well-kept.
“That’s mine right here—made a little bit of a mess,” he admits, showing his bunk. “There’s someone sleeping over there, the one toilet… but yeah.”
With a laugh, he adds, “If anything happens to me, this is where I was. But if you’re trying to ball out in Miami, it was like 40 bucks for two nights… let me push through it.”
In his caption, Angulo posed the question to his followers: “Would you stay in a hostel for 20 bucks a night?”
The budget-friendly accommodation option — while standard practice for international travelers — remains surprisingly uncommon throughout the United States, where private rooms and traditional hotels dominate the market.
The Points Guy suggests that Americans often perceive shared accommodations as a “cheapskate” approach to travel, contrasting sharply with European attitudes where hostels are embraced by travelers of all backgrounds.
Another key factor: America’s car-centric transportation infrastructure. Unlike Europe’s extensive rail networks that make city-hopping affordable and convenient, the U.S. lacks the backpacker-friendly transit systems that typically support hostel culture.
Despite these cultural differences, hostels do exist in major U.S. cities — as Angulo’s experience demonstrates. They’re just significantly less common, with approximately 300 hostels nationwide compared to nearly 47,838 across Europe.
@irvgulo
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The comments section revealed mixed reactions to Angulo’s accommodations, with safety concerns outweighing price considerations for many viewers.
“Be careful Florida is a sunny place for shady people,” warned one commenter.
Another added, “Feel like that could turn into a spicy situation real quick.”
Others were pleasantly surprised by the hostel’s appearance. “That looks nicer than I thought,” noted one user, while another commented, “Wait but this is kinda cute tho lol.”
