My spouse used it this past weekend for a cabin up north. First time, and no problems. I have a friend who does it. Rents out the second story of her house and it has been a great source of needed income for their family. It’s worked very well for them.
Never stayed or hosted, or even really visited listings, but I find the entire thing fascinating. Occasionally I will browse through some reddit posts to pass the time. Not a lot of traffic, but once in a while there’s a good read.
I’ve successfully found places in neighborhoods of Boston and San Francisco that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford, when visiting friends and going to conventions. No bugs, no fuss. Sometimes weird layouts and cheap mattresses, especially in the “you get my spare room” as opposed to the “you get my apartment while I’m away” ones, but eh, you get what you pay for.
My parents actually used it for the first time a few months ago in Prague and really loved the experience too. They got a full studio apartment near the tourist district and it worked perfectly for their needs, and their host was an American expat so no worries on language. We also stayed unofficially in a spare room in Florence (family knew the host, so we didn’t go officially through AirBNB) which went well.
Booked one last fall in WI. It was the only place that would accept my dog. The guy seemed nice but when I arrived about an hour after expected (lost on a 6 hr drive) he started getting passive aggressive. He was upset b/c he had something to do and did not want to wait for me. Kept txt me asking for ETA updates even thought I kept telling him I was trying to drive.
ಠ_ಠ
Upon arrival the house was gross. It smelled funny, some of the furniture had stains (read bed comforter was one, carpet was another) and oh yeah the door lock didn’t work. You could just push and the door would open from the outside.
When I called to tell him I was leaving that the house just didn’t work he told me my standards were too high.
Lesson learned, never ever again. But if you do, don’t call the host, call Air B&B immediately. They were great. In my scenario he asked me NOT to call them so I didn’t call until my vacation was over. This was WRONG, call immediately. First, they will find alternative housing or put you in a hotel.
In my situation they were responsive and provided a full refund. The host was told to fix the issues or he would be “shut down”.
I AM CURRENTLY RESIDING IN AN AIRB&B RESIDENCE FOR WHICH I PAID FULL RENT FOR THE YEAR!!! THE OWNERS SAY I GOTTA GO BUT I DON’T CARE THAT THEY CAME BACK FROM THEIR OWN VACATION, I ALREADY PAID FOR THE YEAR AND I’M GOING TO STAY!!! THEY SHOULD STAY AT A NEIGHBOR’S PLACE WHO DOES AIRB&B!!! BUT IF THEY FORCE THE ISSUE BY PHONING THE DEEP STATE AND DEPLOYING SPACE MARINE REPTILIANS, I WILL BE PREPARED TO BUG OUT TO THE WOODS AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE!!!
My wife and I prefer Bed and Breakfasts, usually nice hosts and very often nice people that you meet. We have friends who are very “hipster” and they AirBnB all the time for all their vacations. We did a vacation with them to New Orleans and had a really nice room very close to the French Quarter at a reasonable rate. The room was however more of a hotel thing, someone had a bunch of rooms in this building and they were ONLY AirBnb rooms, so at that point it’s really more of a hipster hotel isn’t it?
Haven’t tried it, but not opposed to the idea. My wife’s really good at finding interesting and unusual lodgings when we travel, and if she told me she found a cool one at our destination, I would totally trust her judgment.
We’ve done it a couple times, once in Key West and once for Folly Beach SC, and had great experiences. The Folly owner wasn’t around but the Key West guy was and was super nice and helpful with recommendations etc.
@cinoclav Church groups have always been the absolute worst guests. I had a church group smear dog waste on the kitchen counters just before check-out. I block them from booking whenever possible.
I have been renting my seven homes on Tybee Island for eleven years now. I use HomeAway and Airbnb to book the properties. I deal with about 800 + sets of guests a year and OMG are they getting more and more obnoxious.
Example: guest sends me this message at 2:23 a.m. (a month before their check-in date. I’m expected to respond to guests asap so I freakin wake up and answer)
“We are looking forward to our upcoming trip! I have a few questions and will certainly have more later. Can you send me the menus for the restaurants on Tybee. I’m on a diet and need to plan my meals and my wardrobe. Will it rain during our stay? What will the ocean temperature be at that time? What is the UV index in September? What places should we visit in Savannah and Tybee? What will the traffic be like for our travels to GA?
Thanks,
Beth
FML. I get crap like this all the time from guests and it gets worse every year. Thankfully, 60% of guests are really pleasant and don’t expect me to be Google for them since that’s not my job.
@msqaf00 So, that Angies List commercial with the neighbors is true?!! Can I ask you… do those types of customers fall into a particular age range or does it run the gamut?
@lseeber it’s all types. Usually the people that are using Airbnb for the first time. Every guest that badgers me with questions is always the guest that tries to check-in early, stay past check-out time and leave the house a mess. It’s just part of the business so you get somewhat used to them.
@msqaf00 That sucks. I’d probably immediately send someone (via email or whatever) a note explaining that I am not a concierge, nor am I google. I will try to be helpful but here are some websites that may help you. If you want to check in early, with notice, it will cost you --$–, if you leave late there will be an additional $50 (whatever) charge on your CC. And, I presume you get a cleaning deposit from them before hand?
I figure tho that you’ve already tried everything you can. bummer.
Used it many times. Many places, very different size houses. It does vary for sure in what you get, but it is nice to get places close into town usually. We use them on vacations often with just 2 of us or with whole family.
Have had some homes/rooms that were maybe not the nicest but never anything that was gross.
I’ve used them in London, Paris, Bruges, Luxembourg and Arkansas. We had a great experience each time, especially in Paris as the host was very helpful in our short stay sightseeing.
Stayed at one in Houston instead of my car. 4 bunk beds in one room, 2 in another and the host had walled off the living room and used that as their room. Was cheap - something like $25/night (around the medical center you struggle to find any hotel for less than about $80 or so a night. And totally, absolutely filthy - rooms, bathrooms, kitchen, fridge, stove… The other people were all guys from India doing their residency stuff so they could sit for the USA medical licensing exam. Personally the lot of them were so filthy I’d never want them as my MD. I decided sleeping in my car, like I have done for the last bunch of years, was better for the future.
@Limewater Walmart parking lot (unless it is a no overnight place) or places like Love’s or similar gas stations that have truck overnight parking (usually the parking lot on the car side has some people sleeping all night there too). Sometimes in the parking garage there ($13 or so for 24 hours) as you can always go inside to use the bathroom and no one hassles you. There used to be a semi hidden from general view couch inside I’d sleep on but they have remodeled and that spot is no longer there.
Never used it, and I’m not particularly opposed to it, but I voted “no thanks” by default.
This
My spouse used it this past weekend for a cabin up north. First time, and no problems. I have a friend who does it. Rents out the second story of her house and it has been a great source of needed income for their family. It’s worked very well for them.
I prefer corporate bedbugs.
@thismyusername They’re way more aggressive than the self-employed ones
I’m using it for first time in two days when my sister and i go to Iceland
Our “first time” was in Istanbul…and it was in an AirBnB.
Never stayed or hosted, or even really visited listings, but I find the entire thing fascinating. Occasionally I will browse through some reddit posts to pass the time. Not a lot of traffic, but once in a while there’s a good read.
I use the app from time to time, and it’s great. I’ve never booked a reservation though.
I’ve successfully found places in neighborhoods of Boston and San Francisco that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford, when visiting friends and going to conventions. No bugs, no fuss. Sometimes weird layouts and cheap mattresses, especially in the “you get my spare room” as opposed to the “you get my apartment while I’m away” ones, but eh, you get what you pay for.
My parents actually used it for the first time a few months ago in Prague and really loved the experience too. They got a full studio apartment near the tourist district and it worked perfectly for their needs, and their host was an American expat so no worries on language. We also stayed unofficially in a spare room in Florence (family knew the host, so we didn’t go officially through AirBNB) which went well.
I like browsing the listings but haven’t had an occasion to book yet. I, like others above, would use it but had to vote no on the poll.
Booked one last fall in WI. It was the only place that would accept my dog. The guy seemed nice but when I arrived about an hour after expected (lost on a 6 hr drive) he started getting passive aggressive. He was upset b/c he had something to do and did not want to wait for me. Kept txt me asking for ETA updates even thought I kept telling him I was trying to drive.
ಠ_ಠ
Upon arrival the house was gross. It smelled funny, some of the furniture had stains (read bed comforter was one, carpet was another) and oh yeah the door lock didn’t work. You could just push and the door would open from the outside.
When I called to tell him I was leaving that the house just didn’t work he told me my standards were too high.
Lesson learned, never ever again. But if you do, don’t call the host, call Air B&B immediately. They were great. In my scenario he asked me NOT to call them so I didn’t call until my vacation was over. This was WRONG, call immediately. First, they will find alternative housing or put you in a hotel.
In my situation they were responsive and provided a full refund. The host was told to fix the issues or he would be “shut down”.
I AM CURRENTLY RESIDING IN AN AIRB&B RESIDENCE FOR WHICH I PAID FULL RENT FOR THE YEAR!!! THE OWNERS SAY I GOTTA GO BUT I DON’T CARE THAT THEY CAME BACK FROM THEIR OWN VACATION, I ALREADY PAID FOR THE YEAR AND I’M GOING TO STAY!!! THEY SHOULD STAY AT A NEIGHBOR’S PLACE WHO DOES AIRB&B!!! BUT IF THEY FORCE THE ISSUE BY PHONING THE DEEP STATE AND DEPLOYING SPACE MARINE REPTILIANS, I WILL BE PREPARED TO BUG OUT TO THE WOODS AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE!!!
My wife and I prefer Bed and Breakfasts, usually nice hosts and very often nice people that you meet. We have friends who are very “hipster” and they AirBnB all the time for all their vacations. We did a vacation with them to New Orleans and had a really nice room very close to the French Quarter at a reasonable rate. The room was however more of a hotel thing, someone had a bunch of rooms in this building and they were ONLY AirBnb rooms, so at that point it’s really more of a hipster hotel isn’t it?
@enville Until you stayed there, nerd.
Haven’t tried it, but not opposed to the idea. My wife’s really good at finding interesting and unusual lodgings when we travel, and if she told me she found a cool one at our destination, I would totally trust her judgment.
We’ve done it a couple times, once in Key West and once for Folly Beach SC, and had great experiences. The Folly owner wasn’t around but the Key West guy was and was super nice and helpful with recommendations etc.
VRBO ftw. Just about every time I’ve seen the same listings on both sites, VRBO has had cheaper fees.
@cinoclav That’s what we use when we go to the beach.
Airbnb owner outraged as 25-person bible group refuse to leave his 3-bed home – and then they STEAL
https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/6960661/airbnb-owner-25-people-house-refuse-to-leave-steal/
@cinoclav Church groups have always been the absolute worst guests. I had a church group smear dog waste on the kitchen counters just before check-out. I block them from booking whenever possible.
I have been renting my seven homes on Tybee Island for eleven years now. I use HomeAway and Airbnb to book the properties. I deal with about 800 + sets of guests a year and OMG are they getting more and more obnoxious.
Example: guest sends me this message at 2:23 a.m. (a month before their check-in date. I’m expected to respond to guests asap so I freakin wake up and answer)
“We are looking forward to our upcoming trip! I have a few questions and will certainly have more later. Can you send me the menus for the restaurants on Tybee. I’m on a diet and need to plan my meals and my wardrobe. Will it rain during our stay? What will the ocean temperature be at that time? What is the UV index in September? What places should we visit in Savannah and Tybee? What will the traffic be like for our travels to GA?
Thanks,
Beth
@msqaf00 So, that Angies List commercial with the neighbors is true?!! Can I ask you… do those types of customers fall into a particular age range or does it run the gamut?
@lseeber it’s all types. Usually the people that are using Airbnb for the first time. Every guest that badgers me with questions is always the guest that tries to check-in early, stay past check-out time and leave the house a mess. It’s just part of the business so you get somewhat used to them.
@msqaf00 what the hell? That woman sounds like the most annoying moron ever.
@msqaf00 That sucks. I’d probably immediately send someone (via email or whatever) a note explaining that I am not a concierge, nor am I google. I will try to be helpful but here are some websites that may help you. If you want to check in early, with notice, it will cost you --$–, if you leave late there will be an additional $50 (whatever) charge on your CC. And, I presume you get a cleaning deposit from them before hand?
I figure tho that you’ve already tried everything you can. bummer.
Used it many times. Many places, very different size houses. It does vary for sure in what you get, but it is nice to get places close into town usually. We use them on vacations often with just 2 of us or with whole family.
Have had some homes/rooms that were maybe not the nicest but never anything that was gross.
I’d be afraid I’d end up in Freddy Krueger’s house or he’d end up in mine.
I’ve used them in London, Paris, Bruges, Luxembourg and Arkansas. We had a great experience each time, especially in Paris as the host was very helpful in our short stay sightseeing.
I use it but kinda feel icky about it.
I have never used it, so I voted no thanks.
Stayed at one in Houston instead of my car. 4 bunk beds in one room, 2 in another and the host had walled off the living room and used that as their room. Was cheap - something like $25/night (around the medical center you struggle to find any hotel for less than about $80 or so a night. And totally, absolutely filthy - rooms, bathrooms, kitchen, fridge, stove… The other people were all guys from India doing their residency stuff so they could sit for the USA medical licensing exam. Personally the lot of them were so filthy I’d never want them as my MD. I decided sleeping in my car, like I have done for the last bunch of years, was better for the future.
@Kidsandliz Where do you park to sleep in your car and not get hassled?
@Limewater Walmart parking lot (unless it is a no overnight place) or places like Love’s or similar gas stations that have truck overnight parking (usually the parking lot on the car side has some people sleeping all night there too). Sometimes in the parking garage there ($13 or so for 24 hours) as you can always go inside to use the bathroom and no one hassles you. There used to be a semi hidden from general view couch inside I’d sleep on but they have remodeled and that spot is no longer there.