To not get the appeal of airbnbs

[cadburyegg]

I've stayed in a couple with a friend and she's always booked it, so I'm not familiar with the requirements/setup.

I just can't get comfortable with staying in someone's home 🙈 i just felt like the owner could reappear at any moment! I would much rather stay in a hotel/travelodge even if it means just a bedroom without any kitchen facilities.

With one we stayed in lately, we were kept waiting about 10 mins outside for the owner to get the keys, which wasn't a big deal, but it got me thinking, what would happen if the person just didn't turn up?

Also, my friend insisted we had to leave the place absolutely spotless because otherwise her ratings would suffer. But we paid a hefty cleaning fee...

Am I missing the appeal?

i’m sure the majority of airbnbs could be long term homes. There’s certainly been a big problem in major cities that have seen a huge rise in short term lets facilitated by Airbnb (though many cities have attempted to regulate to prevent this with varying degrees of success.

However, as someone who does consider the impact of my tourism quite carefully (eg I rarely fly, try to avoid over-touristed destinations etc), I still find Airbnb one of the best ways to find accommodation that’s in line with my values, even if the platform as a whole does more harm than good.

my main rules of thumb are:
-avoid Airbnb in places with high housing demand (would use a hotel instead)
-avoid airbnbs that could be sold/let as a long term home
-avoid hosts with multiple listings (unless it’s eg six tents on a campsite or something)
-use it to seek out accommodation in lesser known places which aren’t over touristed (I find Airbnb really good for this)

There are such things as restaurants!

I much prefer being able to have breakfast at the time I want not the time the hotel wants. Also my choice of what I want for breakfast. We can choose to eat it at the Airbnb or out in a cafe, pub or where ever.

Me and DH both love cooking so quite happy to cook on holiday. We also often eat out but like having the choice. We don't see the point in paying over the odds for a meal we can cook as well if not better

I’ve rarely stayed in hotels with my children growing up. It’s not only more expensive, it’s much less convenient.

Hotel room with a toddler that needs putting to bed at seven? Hotel room with a toddler who wakes at 5am? No thanks.

There have always been holiday lets. I own one now. It was converted into apartments 20 years ago. Prior to that it was a hotel for sixty years. It’s literally never been a primary residence in 80 years, as it’s in a tourist resort, where there has always been a stock of holiday accommodation.

However I do notice a huge number of properties sold on by local families when a relative dies, many of which were their relative’s primary residence, but which they don’t personally want to live in. They would be free to market exclusively to local families but (a) families tend not to want teeny tiny cottages with no parking or garden and (b) they prefer to get the highest possible price.

Ironically it’s then the local population who turn on ‘evil holiday let owners’ as the root cause of all problems, when clearly the root cause is lack of other affordable housing, which is down to the failure of successive governments to address the issue and the willingness of locals to sell their properties for use as holiday lets.

In some areas there’s been a sea change towards new properties being passed for planning with restrictions on sale, but I think there ought to have been local restrictions on licensing of new holiday lets a long time ago.