I’m just curious about how common it is, for people to have used an AirBnB type of place. I know, it’s going to vary widely based on which population I’m looking at, but starting a poll here is easy. So here goes:
I’ve rented twice from AirBnB, both times in locations away from traditional hotels, and unique on their own. Once on a goat/cattle farm, and once in the middle of a lava field.
I enjoyed both times, and zero issues. So…
Much better than a hotel room and usually much cheaper.
Here’s our vacation rental on the Big Island. We have a great manager and a wonderful house cleaner that keeps the place spotless. Only downside is that my wife and I have to book a place in our home far in advance so we can enjoy it sometimes ourselves.
I’ve stayed at an AirBNB a half dozen times or so. Aside from the occasional flaky host it’s been great.
So far I’ve stayed at AirBnB/VRBO in:
Paris x3
Nassau, Bahamas x2
London
Reykjavik
Fort Lauderdale FL
For short stays, the lack of luggage drop and the cost of the cleaning and service fee makes them less attractive to me. For longer stays (3+) nights and with the kids in tow, I appreciate the extra room, kitchen, and laundry facilities that AirBnB brings.
We’ve been very happy with AirBnBs - in a city like Paris or London, for the same price as a tiny room in a tourist hotel you can stay in an apartment with a separate bedroom and kitchen/laundry facilities and get a bit of the feel of living like a local resident - the only problem we’ve come across is hosts cancelling reservations, requiring a scramble to find a new place to stay.
Spent 5 nights at an AirBnB place while in New Zealand. It was located near the things we wanted to see in the Auckland area and the price was right. Bonus was the owner’s cat that just adored me for some reason.
Ever since I started using AirBNB, I’ve never paid for a hotel room. AirBNBs are cheaper, located in funkier neighborhoods and are far more relaxing places to be in. I was the type of hotel stayer who immediately puts a DND sign on my door from the moment I enter the room so the fact that AirBNBs offer no additional services apart from the room are perfect for me.
Yes, we’ve used them quite frequently. Most recently a North Vancouver, BC house and a San Diego, CA apartment. They’re significantly better than hotel rooms for travelling with kids, and we’re gotten pretty close to our normal home routine when travelling (kids go to sleep in separate bedrooms, adults have some time to themselves in the common areas, etc.). It is particularly nice if you’re travelling with others outside your nuclear family (e.g. my wife and our kids with my parents up in North Vancouver). I don’t think you can get to the same level of convenience even with hotel suites, and the AirBnB options are typically far more cost effective.
My in-laws and others use similar services for beach houses on their typical vacations, so it seems quite common in my extended family and friend circle.
I’ve never had a bad experience. Every place has been as you would expect from the listings, and some have been exceptional. I’ve never had an issue with flaky hosts. The places we’ve stayed at have ranged from the small time host renting out what is otherwise a family home to essentially the small business proprietor who has bought a few properties solely for AirBnB style renting. We’ve also tended to be lucky with locations, with centrally located homes close to good, local restaurants and the attractions we want.
When we moved back here from Thailand, I came ahead first, because US Immigration wanted me to establish a residence before they would let the wife in. I found a room on Airbnb up in the Nuuanu Valley, north of downtown, that I stayed in for a month while searching for a place to stay. It cost almost half what the cheapest hotel I could find would have cost, and it was a great house. Still friends with the owner.
We have friends coming soon for a visit from Thailand and will be staying in a house on one of the other islands that we found on Airbnb. That will be my second experience with it.
Along with my brother, who’s an Air BnB fan, once for two nights in Ventura CA. $40 a night, about a third of the cheapest hotel I could find. The woman who owned the place was slowly renovating it and had two bedrooms with a common bath available upstairs. One of the two nights another couple was in the other bedroom.
It is the perfect place to stay when you have more than 2 people on a trip. They are often much closer to where you want to be than hotels that cost about the same, have more room, and lets you cook when you want to.
We’ve stayed at AirBnBs in
New Orleans
Lafayette Louisiana
Copenhagen
Mendocino
Cambridge MA for my reunion. The only other hotels in walking distance to MIT were both very expensive and booked.
Seattle
LA - twice. One was in walking distance from the UCLA hospital where my grandson was born.
Have always had good experiences with them. They have all been complete apartments - no couch surfing.
I’ve reached the point where I generally stop looking at hotels altogether. Air BnBs are usually roomier, in more convenient neighborhoods (hotels are mostly downtown, near the airport, or in some tourist trap), and priced better.
I’ve used Owners Direct and Air BnB in Mallorca, Sardinia, Barcelona, Sitges, and Reykjavik. Worked really well.
I have come across some horror stories on Tripadvisor of folk that have had owners cancel on them at the last moment - presumably because they got a better offer from another rental route. There is also the chance of getting scammed if you don’t carefully follow Air BnB payment methods. Always, as a bare minimum, do a Google image search to check the veracity of the owner’s photographs. There’s also the possibility in cities like London that it is illegal to sublet.
I have a second home which I have on Air BnB, and have only had one bad experience so far - someone that left the place in a bit of a tip and said they expected to be able to because of my “hefty cleaning fee” (which is actually less than I pay my local housekeeper to do the cleaning and linen changeover). Here’s my wee place: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/14412481
I’m not a fan of Airbnb. I’ve stayed in them twice now the first time was just some dude’s house but I had to hang my clothes next to his the the closet and there were pictures of him and his girl friend all over the house. When I went shopping I had to move his stuff in the fridge to make room. In the end it felt like I was a guest in someone’s home and I never got comfortable.
The second time it was a work trip with 4 of us staying together. The house itself wasn’t bad since it was obviously a professional rental and not someone’s home but I didn’t have my own space and I constantly had to see my coworkers and share what we watched on tv.
I’ll probably try it again traveling with the family particularly once we need more than a normal double queen but for business trips and solo trips I’ll take a hotel room with a bed, a tv, quiet and most importantly maid service any day over airbnb.
Have used Homeaway the last two summers for week long lake house rentals in Michigan. Have had no problems and the owners, or management companies, have been fine to work with. The first year I was hesitant, the second year I researched locations and prices and then booked without worry.
Have my first AirBnB coming up in a little over a month. It is for a short stay in Iceland. Owner is well reviewed and should be fine. Have a Homeaway stay in London just before it and have no worries there. Both are less expensive than a hotel and give my family more room.
Mrs. L.A. used HomeAway to rent a condo in Puerto Rico, and a house on the Big Island of Hawaii. Better than hotels, and much cheaper.
I’ve used it a couple of times with Mrs. Charming and Rested. Once was in Reykjavik where we had a great apartment in a convenient location. The AirBnBs are usually cheaper compared to an equally well-located hotel. I don’t spend my time using the hotel amenities, so those are largely irrelevant to me. I don’t mind not having maid service during my stay since I’m not that messy.
Uh, this is pretty much what I thought they where. A ‘guest’ room in a strangers house. I would NEVER do that. No way in hell.
I wouldn’t want to share my space with co-workers either. I mean WTF?
You can screen to select only “whole house or apartment” listings or something similar. We’ve never shared space with the host during our stays. I like my privacy too much.
I have heard that most of the rentals on AirBnB now are professional hosts who have an apartment or condo that they offer full time. The “hosts” don’t live there at all. They are basically hotel rooms in apartment buildings or condos. Full-time residents in the building object to strangers in their midst all the time. Housing advocates think AirBnB is taking housing off the market. Cities are objecting to losing hotel taxes on AirBnB rentals.
I’ve been in an AirBnB but one of the people at the destination had extra space at his place so I stayed there. I think if you’re travelling with multiple people and don’t mind cooking your own meals then it would be worth it, but I fall into neither category.
I also don’t need many in-room amenities and also simply hang my DND tag from the moment I arrive, but I like having a built-in restaurant and room service when I am at a destination. I guess if I were booking a place to simply sleep while on the road and the choices were an AirBnB and a motel that doesn’t even offer a free cooked breakfast, and they were both similarly close to the highway, I’d choose the AirBnB because it would tend to be more spacious and quieter than cheapo motels, but I can nearly always find a (quiet and breakfast-providing) Hampton Inn on the road.