To think Air bnb is over rated?

[jennymanara]

We have stopped using air bnb unless it is literally just for a bed for 1 night. Because the standard is invariably poor, unless they are very expensive, or are already a proper bnb just advertising on air bnb.
I adopted a few years ago a policy of only staying with superhosts. But have decided to abandon even that after staying with a few that were fine, they had all 5 star reviews, but not as good as other places I had stayed for similar money in the same city.

I think when air bnb started there were genuinely real bargains for what you got. But this is no longer the case. Instead it is full if people who are renting at the going rate locally, but really have no idea how to be professional.

have never used Airbnb and have no desire to. We always stay in apartments or hotels and just shop around for the best price. I would have no interest in staying in someone's home
I've used Airbnb a lot and have only stayed in someone's home on one occasion. Usually just rent a full apartment, cottage or whatever.

Obviously lots of people commenting on airbnb haven't realised that it's moved on considerably since it started and is now mainly just a booking platform for the same apartments and cottages that you find on booking.com, homeaway, cottages2you or whatever.

It's not really about people renting out their spare room or Granny annex any more, a bit like how eBay used to be people selling their second hand bits and pieces but is now more about widgets from China being sold by the million.

Have only used airbnb in UK but been really pleased. Go on reviews and like the pet option if we take the dog.

A lot of holiday home businesses use it to take up out of season slack.

I wont use Airbnb as it contributes to the housing crisis. In my tiny village we have 4 houses that have now been bought and used as Airbnb. That 4 less families in our village who arent registering children in our school, 4 less that are using the post van, bank van and library van. Villages are suffering because of it

Airbnb is also incredibly useful if you just want 1 or maybe 2 nights somewhere in high season when everybody else insists on full weeks

I can see that - one of my biggest bugbears is when hotels or B&Bs insist on multiple night stays. I understand the hassle of changing sheets etc especially if you run a family B&B but one place we stayed just charged an extra £5 a night for a one night stay which was fine. I find it really annoying. I don't get told if I go into Tesco for one loaf of bread that I have to buy two (unless it's an offer).

Years ago when premier inns weren't as common as they are now, my dad had a small one bedroom flat so we couldn't stay with him. He lived in a semi touristy area so you'd expect it to be easy to find accommodation locally. But it was quite difficult finding somewhere that took smaller children and would let us stay for one night.

We’ve stayed in several and only had good experiences. We are staying in one in November for a long weekend, and already have one booked for next year. We only stay in whole rental properties and usually ones that are professionally managed, not someone’s house. .I see Airbnb as just another booking portal. . Often the same property will be on booking.com or home away. This is the case with the one we have booked for next year, except on Airbnb it was cheaper.

I’ve had a lot of good experiences and two mediocre ones on Airbnb, compared to two out of two extremely bad experiences with SC properties on booking com.

Its great if you want an unusual property or one night as pp have said. We had a lovely stay on a Dutch houseboat. Just been to France for a short break and unfortunately we stayed at a low budget characterful house but it wasn't very clean (Hairs everywhere, rubbish under the bed, food stuck to the sink, bathroom sink and mirror dirty). I gave a review of 3 stars for cleanliness and have had 3 days of rude emails from the owner. We will continue to use the site but will book more expensive properties in future and check all reviews are 5 star.

I haven’t used them but have found this thread fascinating.

If they aren’t subject to health and safety checks which is what seems to be the case I’m pretty surprised.

DS and his friends used one and they had to pay an excess, they said what was reported was incorrect. So we advised to lodge a dispute but being young and inexperienced the guy who paid the deposit just got stressed and paid.

Airbnb host here. I do have my boiler checked, smoke alarms and an electrical certificate. I can earn up to 7.5k by renting a room in my house, I just make sure I don’t go over that.

I’ve met some lovely people and have great reviews. At times I get a bit tired of being used as a free language teacher, but that’s all part of what Airbnb originally set out to achieve.

Out of around 70 guests I’ve only had problems with two people. Not bad really. Just read the whole description and look at the property photos before you book.

Re ratings. I have guests who say that they never give 5 star reviews. If I hear that from someone I will give them a 3 or 4 star review. I’ve had people message me and spit fire. What’s that all about? I’m told by people that nothing can be that perfect that it would merit 5 stars, but it seems not to apply to the guests themselves.

A host can ask a guest to leave at any time. A friend got thrown out after 24 hours. I won’t go into details because it might identify her, but it something that single women need to be aware of.

Does anyone know if Airbnb is still illegal in New York? If, so does that include Brooklyn and New Jersey. I know that local laws can apply.

I've only used Airbnb twice, for this and last year's family holiday abroad, and they were absolutely gorgeous. But you tend to spend more on accommodation for your main holiday.

My sister uses them regularly abroad for business and short stays though and has always said each place was amazing.

IME it's good to find out more from the host before you book. I had a long phone call with a French host this year, but it was worth it as her posting was ambiguous. She had left out some key details that meant we would have booked a very different experience to the one listed 😬

I have seen evidence of hosts who don't even wash the bedding between guests.

This happened to us with a Home and Away property!! 🤢

I travel a lot for work, often to the same city and had a look at Air BnB as an alternative to hotels. What a total waste of time. The prices were also outrageous. More than happy to shell out the extra €30 per night fir a 5* hotel with pool and parking!

Adversecamber22
DS and his friends used one and they had to pay an excess, they said what was reported was incorrect. So we advised to lodge a dispute but being young and inexperienced the guy who paid the deposit just got stressed and paid

That's interesting. This happened to DS2 & his friends earlier this year in the NL - the owner sent images of a damaged washbasin. None of them had noticed it despite a big dent in the edge & bits on the floor

I was a bit sceptical too but what can you do, really? 4 of them actually stayed & 4 others had visited. iirc the owner asked for €100 & they paid it between them.

If they make a habit of that they could do very well out of it

I personally have only ever had good experiences, I have used them 3 times in the last year, 2 static homes and one cottage. All fab, clean and comfy and cheap.

ExecutiveFiat
Does anyone know if Airbnb is still illegal in New York? If, so does that include Brooklyn and New Jersey. I know that local laws can apply.

I thought it was just Manhattan? I know though when we were looking a while ago there were loads in both Brooklyn & NJ - not just Airbnb, other agencies too - but very few in Manhattan (we stayed in one & were instructed that if anybody in the building asked who we were we had to say cousins . Host stayed with his boyfriend while we were there).

So I think they are (or were, this was about 4 years ago) OK

This from a year ago seems to say in NJ it depends which city/county?

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g28951-i77-k11663825-Is_airbnb_legal_in_new_jersey-New_Jersey.html

I've used it about a dozen times and have had really good experiences.
I only book sites with a high number of previous bookings and read every review very carefully. I also check the star ratings for key elements eg if there's a low rating for cleanliness.
I tend to only hire places that would be a holiday let usually and some are often on other sites.
I think you can have bad experiences on any holiday let site but with the reviews on Airbnb you can lower the risk....

@Adversecamber22 it's against Airbnb terms for a host to ask for an actual money deposit. The 'deposit' you see on some listings is the amount up to which the host can claim later if there is damage. And the criteria for claiming damage is amazingly strict (photographic evidence before and after guest checkin, and no claims can be filed if a new guest has already checked in, which sometimes means it needs to be filed within 3 hours)

Had 4 Airbsndb in the last few years.
All have been lovely.
Clean.
As advertised.
Helpful hosts.
Good parking.
Reasonably priced.
All in uk though.

I’ve only had great experiences on airbnb.

I try to avoid the more ‘commercial’ listings - mostly for ethical reasons as previous posters have said, people buying up property and pricing locals out of the market.

Everywhere I have stayed has been someone’s home (either the whole house or in one case a self-contained annexe). I like the experience of staying somewhere that feels ‘real’ and lived-in, and it means you generally have access to more amenities (well stocked kitchens, books, kids toys, etc).

It’s also given me the opportunity to stay in areas and neighbourhoods I wouldn’t otherwise have considered outside of the main tourist hotspots.

@LadyLanka, don't know where you travel to but I am amazed that the Airbnb places are so expensive.

As I said, I have used them here and abroad (France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Sweden) many many times. Me and DH use them at least once a month in the UK.

We always choose the entire property and have had many places from a 1 bed flat, a 2 bed penthouse in Docklands to a 4 bed detached house with 3 bathrooms. All of them cheaper than hotels in the areas even Travelodge and Premier Inn.

When Travelodge is £70 to £90 a night (if not more) and the 4 bed detached was only £50 a night there is just no contest.

I don't know where a 5* hotel with a pool would be cheaper than a nice Airbnb