Done with Airbnb

All of the above plus hotel prices have come down (relatively) in response. Who needs the hassle of dealing with Airbnb anymore.

I'm back to booking hotels too.Airbnb has been ruined

This is why I’ve been reluctant to book one. They aren’t run like hotels or even BnBs. When I pay for 5 star, I demand 5 star!

Their policies for handling obvious scams are particularly bad. You will not get support from them.

I was really scammed with a bait-and-switch two years ago in Dublin (four days before I was supposed to stay in the room the offer was withdrawn, and what was substituted was an offer to stay in a much more expensive place farless centrally located), and since then I have not used airBNB again. The surprise of not knowing what you're getting until you get there, and of potentially being scammed again, is too much for me to feel it is worth it.

If I hear it starts getting safer not to be ripped off, I will try it again: but until then, I will only use hotels.

We had an awful experience in Whistler, BC about three years ago. The place was nearly impossible to find and cold as fuck. Cramped, smelled weird and the hot tub looked like a cauldron of milky soup. Had to park at the bottom of a huge HUGE hill and hike everything up in the snow bc cars couldn't get up to it. Place was $350 a night. We left after first night and had a six-month battle to get any money back and the owner said we'd left the place a mess when we slept in it for about seven hours then left. Didn't even unpack or shower there it was so gross.

There was another thread like this not too long ago. When any cool idea gets adopted by the masses, the quality plummets. We had great stays when we started about 7 years ago. Then we hit a place in Santa Barbara that looked awesome, but when we arrived the furniture had been propped up on books to compensate for missing legs, and the entire place was full of mother/daughter photos of the single mom who obviously lived in the place. I mean FULL. Cutesy mom and me selfies. The bathroom had inspirational sayings written on the walls with markers. That was the beginning of the end for us. The end came in LA. Outside our AirBnB there was a gang of dangerous looking men on a street corner. When we called the manager (! ! Our AirBnb was part of a conglomerate) to complain about the gang and the stains on the bedroom rug, he said not to worry about the men. They protected the street. We called AirBnB that night, and they refunded our money.

I used to have a condo I inherited on AirBnB. I gave up after two years because of shitty guests. To be fair, I live in a bit of a party town. So there's always the other side of the coin. I had a terrible experience staying in one in Austin, Texas, so I've seen both sides. It's like communism, it seems like a good idea on paper, in practice, plain old human stupidity and avarice will inevitably fuck it up.

Nice responses so far, glad this happens to many of us..

I do have to say that Airbnb is still great when you’re with a group of friends. You can rent gorgeous villas with 8 bedrooms, with every occupant paying less than €50/$45 per night

My brother swears up and down he found a hidden camera in a place they stayed in in Key West.

Never tried Bnb before but’s doc they usually have housekeeper or you do your own cleaning? I had a bad experience with housekeeper (stole stuff from my luggage) in a hotel I stayed recently. so I’m considering Bnb next time.

I use booking.com for apartments, they’re more accurate and have better cancellation policies.

[quote] That was the beginning of the end for us. The end came in LA. Outside our AirBnB there was a gang of dangerous looking men on a street corner. When we called the manager (! ! Our AirBnb was part of a conglomerate) to complain about the gang and the stains on the bedroom rug, he said not to worry about the men. They protected the street.

Why did you stay in Compton?

Same here. Prices for AirBnb have skyrocketed - plus all the BS “fees” that are hidden until you go to book. They are now more expensive than a decent hotel. I’ve gone back to hotels in most places. Same if not cheaper price - and so much more reliable and less hassle. Only if I’m going somewhere remote- and even then VRBO usually has more and cheaper options.

Yes, what really annoys me is the "cleaning fee". Just include all of that nonsense in the price per night, so we know what we're going to pay. Nobody likes surprises.

Also, most hotels now offer breakfast included, which may be a small detail; but it's still a nice start of your day when everything's taken care of. Your bed is made, the room is cleaned upon return, etc. Back when Airbnb was still fun, it wasn't a problem to do all these chores myself, as I would stay in a nice apartment at a very low price. To wake up in the heart of Vienna in your very "own" place felt really special. Again, the low price is what made it amazing.

Nowadays, that apartment in downtown Vienna has been split into two, and the price per night has doubled or tripled. So off you go, finding an alternative in the suburbs, commuting to the city centre every day of your trip.

And then, you realise there is this antiquated concept of hotels. The room is almost as spacious as the Airbnb "studio", it's in the beating heart of the city, and you're all sorted out withing lifting a finger.

Truly a no-brainer, these days. Hotels are back!

The last time I was planning an NYC trip, the airbnb offerings were almost as expensive as the Murray Hill hotel I normally stay in, they were in annoying locations, and you just don't know what you're getting. I've stayed in airbnbs in Savannah GA, Portland OR, Iceland, Vancouver BC, and Kauai with wonderful results, but when I was looking at the NYC vacancies, my gut told me no.

The entire sharing economy is a shameless cash-grab that feels almost third-world in its desperation.

I have never had a problem with them, although I've never used them as a solo traveler. Only with a group of friends.

Fuck AirBNB and VRBO.

As a solo traveler ive used Airbnb for the last 5 years, and really only had one annoying experience. In fact Im in a great Airbnb right now, I have it booked for 6 weeks, its right in the heart of Budapest and right next to the Ritz Carlton Hotel. An amazing location, the Ritz is about 350 Euro to 450 Euro a night and here im paying $52 bucks a night and have several rooms plus a balcony that looks out over the city.

I'll stick with hotels. At least in a hotel you have a staff on site to fix most any situation that isn't right, then and there. I'm also not confident that Airbnb hosts clean their properties, especially the bed linens, to my satisfaction.

Have never used an Air BnB. Hotels only. The idea of staying in the personal house of someone you don’t know is a baffling concept. Who wants to sit on their shitty sofa and eat off their disgusting plates. Gag.

Some of you think hotels are a lot cleaner than they actually are.

If you only knew.

Hotels aren’t as clean as they should be but they’re sure as hell cleaner than someone’s personal crap shack. At least they change sheets with every guest and the dishes are washed with industrial dishwashers. You can get fresh towels every day.

A key to Airbnb is to check out the owner. If it is indicated that the owner has multiple units available on Airbnb I would avoid those types of listings.

You can still find some good deals, but make sure there are at least 20+ reviews that are all positive.

I have been using Airbnb for over 6 years and there are more shady listings now than before. I had one awful experience in Fort Lauderdale - the place was crapy , the owner was a real creep, and I found cameras in the unit, including the bedroom.

Apparently many of the people posting here have never actually stayed at an Airbnb, most of them are no longer peoples personal homes filled with their possessions. They are properties bought and rented out strictly as for Airbnb, they have cleaners who come in between guests to clean, and most of the dishes and so forth are new stuff purchased from IKEA and places like that.

Im not sitting on grandmas fart stained sofa eating off her old corelle plates.

It really depends on the city. My husband and I tried renting out our fully furnished in law suite apartment with a separate entrance on Airbnb. 700 ft.², off-street parking, fully stocked kitchen, desk/work area, large screen TV with cable etc. Plus we stocked the fridge with breakfast items. We are in midtown Atlanta.

Even though comparable hotel rooms two blocks away were renting for $185 a night, we were unable to rent it for $100 a night. Even when we set the price at $85 a night people kept trying for discounts.

Finally we got sick of the hassle and placed an ad on Craigslist to rent out the apartment fully furnished for $1450 a month. Three days later we rented it to the first person we showed it to. And that was the end of our Airbnb headache!

It seems that the relatively cheap housing in Atlanta – it’s one of the least expensive major cities in the United States – plus the culture of Southern hospitality meant that every third person in the city has a room or in-law suite for rent on Airbnb.

Maybe it's different in the U.S. than Europe. I alternate staying in Airbnbs and hotels, depending on the location. The key, as mentioned above, is checking out the reviews before booking. Over the years I've stayed in over 60 Airbnbs and only have a few bad experiences. I rent the whole apartment and don't share the space. Right now I'm on Malta and have a huge place on the sixth floor overlooking the bay. I can cook my own meals in the fully furnished and modern kitchen, with dishwasher. Sure I've had a few bad experiences over the years, but also have had bad experiences in hotels as well.

My sister rents the cheapest place she can find. Fortunately, with the internet, she can view pictures ahead of time and not get a complete dump. She says “it’s just a place to rest my head” and she is very active. I am not active. I like room service, something I never, ever, ever used before I was 50. I thought it frivolous for someone with legs that work. My legs still work, but I have a little money now.

But it bugs the heck out of me when we plan to meet somewhere. One time, we were to meet in Florida to meet the cousins, and she picked a hotel with no air conditioning. $200 a night, IIRC. Then she didn’t show up, as her partner has some medical imagination and needed to go home. It was a residence hotel! I only stayed one night before I bailed.

There have already been several threads on this OP. Would it have killed you to have done a search first before you posted this? I mean really? What’s wrong with having a little consideration for others and doing a search first? Would it really have been that hard? Would it? Are you going to be able to give us an honest answer to this? Are you?

R28: What are you paying per night? And also.. where are you from? Just curious..

Hey, I'm through with hotels and Airbnb. A friend's dad passed away, and I bought his old camper. My friend is a mechanic, and had installed a complete new drivetrain. I took it into the RV shop for updating, and I'm off and running, complete with hound and two cats.

Swore after having the most horrific experience in Barcelona that I would never use AirBnB again. Air conditioning was advertised, but there was one tiny unit in the living room. The owner lived in with her cat. She said to leave the bedroom door open to get the air con. However, the cat was one of these half wild breeds (it looked like a mini leopard). It scraped me twice, and tried to escape every time we opened the door to leave. It really was a nightmare. The cat was also jumping everywhere in the apartment. Everytime it looked at me I thought it was going to attack me. Never ever again!!!

I've done Air BnB three times and every time it's been great. Cheaper than a hotel with better facilities (a whole apartment as opposed to just a room) and owners who have been friendly, communicative and easy to deal with.

Absolutely no complaints. I always look for places that have plenty of positive reviews though.

I'm a sightseer so I'm out from when I get up to when I want to go to bed. I just need a bed and a shower. I never lounge around at these places. Haven't had a bad experience yet. Sometimes you don't ever see anyone else. I always book with a super host who's been on Airbnb since the early days.

I'm with [r28] and [r35]. I've rented on airbnb dozens of times all around the world (I'm writing from a gorgeous space in Hobart, Tasmania, where I'm paying a fraction of the price I would in a hotel). I only book where there are numerous positive reviews and the host is a "Superhost." I can cook my own meals, make my own coffee, don't have to pay for extras like I do at hotels, don't have paper thin walls or ice machines keeping me awake. (If the place is noisy, the reviews tell you that...) I can write the owner before I book with any questions or concerns. I can wash and dry my clothes, which means I pack only carry on luggage. I stay in funky neighborhoods with personality and nearly always the hosts leave personal recommendations on groovy restaurants, bars, walks, etc. I've never had a problem with cleanliness (read those reviews beforehand!), which I certainly have had in hotels. Owners almost always bend over backwards to be helpful and resolve problems, both because they tend to be nice people, or because they know one bad review from a Pissy Queen can ruin their business. Yes, I don't like that in some places airbnb rentals remove long term housing stock from the market, but it's up to local governments (and not me) to regulate housing and short term rentals. One of the best innovations in travel of my lifetime.

Now that trashy people like the OP are out of the picture, the time is to invest.