Have you read that line with the tiny font, below all the text and offers in an advertisement? The font there is so tiny that it hardly looks like text. But, it’s essential to people selling things, and equally scary for people buying those things. The ‘terms and conditions’ usually include underlying charges. And these hidden charges are so hidden, a lot of us are living without knowing what we ‘actually’ paid for.
An Airbnb receipt that I came across on Reddit shows the price for the ‘actual staying’ way less than the cleaning fee. Basically, it charges $61/night for using a room, and $245 or around ₹19,492 for getting it cleaned. I’m just imagining the sheer surprise for the person who thought that they’d “stay for $61”.
These hidden charges are the real reason for trust issues and not relationships. It’s like that episode of FRIENDS, where the delivery charge of Ross’ couch was just as much as the couch. I don’t blame the guy for carrying it to his apartment. If only they allowed people to clean the rooms themselves. Now that’s the literal definition of ‘ghar hai ya hotel’.
Redditors are not having a hard time believing. Because apparently (sadly), a lot of us have been there.
Stay toh complimentary hai.