Explain AirBnB to a complete idiot

[SummerRoberts]

I've never used Air BnB before but have heard good things and from browsing on the app it seems too good to be true! There's some lovely places and good prices on there.

Does anyone who's used it before have any tips for me- someone who's only ever done the typical Thomas Cook package deal?

Does the owner meet you there with the keys? Do you contact them to let them know your flight times? Are they trustworthy? I'm a complete novice! Any help appreciated!

Awful company. Wouldn’t go anywhere near them ever again.

Most often the owner will meet you with keys but occasionally it will be a housekeeper or other trusted friend.

I have found Air BnB to be a really excellent way to do things.

Usually they will ask for you travel times if they are going to meet you or they may just set a time with you to meet. It will depend where you are travelling to/from and how nearby they are. They may arrange that you call when you are leaving the airport so that they can be there on time and know they won't be hanging around.

I have always found them trustworthy, you can see reviews left by previous visitors to the property and also about the owner if they have other properties too.

I've used Air BnB all over the world, and never had a bad experience.

You book through the website, and then the owner will communicate directly with you about keys etc. I've had owners meet me at the property to hand over keys, and owners who leave the keys in an outside safe and give me the code. I have given owners flight times.

I've also stayed in apartments with the owner present - ie. they're renting out a room in their home. That's also been fine. I'm not sure I'd do that if I was travelling on my own, but I feel fine about that travelling with my husband. I've eaten breakfasts with the family and it's always been pleasant.

I always go for properties where there are lots of positive reviews, and lots of photos.

You have to remember that while you are booking through Air BnB it's a bit like ebay in the sense that you are actually dealing with an individual.

In my experience owners on Air BnB have been really helpful in advance if there were any questions you had. For example, we travelled to australia and rented an entire house as a family (me and DS, my DSis, DBiL, and their two DDs, my DM and DD) My nieces were very young and we knew that car seat laws in australia were very strict s had a lot of questions and concerns. The owner was really helpful and located a company which was run and staffed by local mums and provided equipment hire (buggies, cots etc.) and taxi services with all the correct car seats.

research the area well and be sure that the property is located where you want to be. remember that you'll be self catering compared to any all inclusive hols you're used to going on. and remember to factor in the costs of all the food etc. when evaluating how good value it is.

Book only places with lots of good reviews. Read all reviews!
Check the small print on extra fees like cleaning costs.
We only stay in places that are whole property let’s - not places where you share.

It’s an unregulated industry so there is a risk. You can save money but it’s not 100% safe.

We have happily stayed in several places - all very good quality.

Oh I love Airbnb

Been to Rome, Florence and Barcelona

No problems at all.

Look for hosts who have lots of positive reviews. I've never had a truly abysmal experience but two of our trips were not brilliant either - minor problems that the host did their best to sort out but which did impinge on the quality of our visit. Irritatingly I was too busy clearing the backlog on my desk when I came home to get a review posted in time both times. All the rest of our trips have been absolutely fine and two have been absolutely brilliant!

We've used Airbnb loads too and never had any trouble. We only go to places with lots of reviews and never stay in places where you share the house with the owner. Sometimes you don't see the landlord at all your whole stay (keys are left in a key safe outside the property and they send you the combination) and other times they're around to say hello/goodbye. We've usually had a decent chat with the landlord on the chat partof the app before we go and they've all been really helpful with local advice and info about the house etc. I'd definitely recommend it!

Just bare in mind that airbnb is just an advertising site, there are others. And airbnb take an extra fee so if you like a property try and find them directly which might be cheaper. Airbnb do not own or even inspect properties so go will get good ones and not so good ones.

Just want to second what Frenchfancy said about the Airbnb fee. If you see a place you like, google the name and the local village/town and you'll find the owner's own website. Chances are it'll be significantly cheaper. Lots of owners take credit cards now. We bump up our prices on Airbnb to take account of the large commission they take, so guests are paying quite a bit more. Worth doing if cost is an important factor for you!

I also think the search filters on Airbnb aren't great and it's hard to find what you're looking for. The switch to commission-based listings means that far more owners are advertising (since it costs them nothing unless they get a booking), which swamps the site with houses of very variable quality and makes it even harder to wade through the search results. This also applies to Booking.com and HomeAway/OwnersDirect. There are still some sites, such as Spain-Holiday.com, who require villas to be licensed, and are paid by subscription, but who knows how long this will last!

All in all, I think Airbnb with its huge market dominance has made life more difficult for owners and renters alike, as most other sites are feeling compelled to adopt the same business model. It was much simpler 10 years ago (sorry for the rant)!

We've used it a few times and mostly it's been brilliant. A few things to look for:

Avoid anywhere without reviews

Avoid anywhere with lots of reviews saying host cancelled at the last minute.

Let your host know when and how you're arriving, they'll be able to advise you on public transport or parking. Take your phone with you so you can access emails.

In order to book you'll need to upload pictures of your passport for ID, bit of a faff but you only need to do it once.

Be aware that hosts can cancel quite close to the trip and then you'll have to find somewhere else at short notice.

On the whole, it's well worth doing. The kids can have their own room and you can book places with cots, high chairs etc.

Have used airbnb many times and have yet to have a bad experience.

Whilst I appreciate that some are saying airbnb is more expensive than booking direct, that's partly because airbnb is providing some security. Money is held in escrow until your stay, which is safer than transferring to someone direct and you can pay by credit card which gives you protection that way as well.

I personally find airbnb the easiest site to navigate and find properties. One of the other's has the ridiculous search option where you enter number of people as 2+, 4+ etc. If i want somewhere to sleep 2 people I don't want to trawl through places that sleep 6/8/10!

We recently used Airbnb for the first time. The place we chose had excellent reviews which were very recent. The photos looked good too & we had brilliant pre-stay communication with the owners. We arrived & were met by the owners son who enthusiastically showed us round their "beautiful home". The size and layout of the house were just as described but the photos were evidently very old and the kitchen was filthy. The elderly owners were absolutely lovely but utterly deluded. We scrubbed the kitchen, they apologised profusely and brought us wine, we left a very truthful review on the Airbnb website and they agreed that it was true and gave us a very good guest review in return. Has it put me off Airbnb? No but I'll accept that sometimes all is not quite as it seems!

Forgot to mention, I always try to rent places where it's the owner renting an annex or cottage out or similar as this is closer to the original ethos of Airbnb. You can normally tell as the owner is only linked to one or two properties.

These days there are a lot of agents on airbnb, renting out properties on behalf of others. I avoid these as unlikely to get a personal touch and if things are problematic it's harder to sort out and get in touch.

We've always stayed in self contained places but the owners have lived next door or nearby.

Do you have to pay upfront for Airbnb rather than a deposit then balance 8 weeks before like is the norm with holiday lettings etc? That puts me off a wee bit.
I have been tempted a few times but hesitated. A couple of friends have used them and had some great properties although one friend had the property owner cancel on them about 4 days before they were due to travel which was pretty stressful.

I've used Air BnB several times. I rented a room one night a week for 6 weeks with a couple in Edinburgh. I even fed the cat one night they were away! I've rented an apartment in Barcelona and a house in Lanzarote. I love that you can usually use all the stuff you don't get in regular self catering, simple things like salt and washing powder but you have to accept that their belongings will be around the house. I enjoy seeing how different people live.

Like others have said, read the reviews and avoid the bad ones like the plague! Get into a dialogue with the owner, if they are chatty and helpful they probably get the ethos of Air BnB. Be a nice guest, they get to review you too!!!

I've used it a few times over the past year. I've stayed for a week in a one bed flat in Edinburgh, one night in a studio flat in Edinburgh and a week with my son in a 3 bed flat in Reykjavik in Iceland. All were great, and I got the keys either from friends of the owners or in a key safe. The flat in Reykjavik was excellent - very much a family home. The owners were on holiday in Sweden when we were there, but we were in contact with them throughout our stay. We had forgotten to take a small backpack with us, so I asked if they had one we could borrow. They got back to say that wasn't a problem, and suggested a couple of cupboards to look in for it.

So far I've always stayed in a self-contained home, but in a couple of weeks time I'll be staying in a room in someone's home in Malta. The host has been in touch to confirm details and has given me her mobile number and says if she's in, she'll come and get me from the airport.

As others say, read the reviews, watch out for any which seem to cancel and look for superhosts who have lots of experience and a good reputation.

What Airbnb actually is and does

I've always wondered after staying in a home how much cleaning do you do?
Obviously you clean up after yourself but do you strip the bed, hoover etc?

I have used it a couple of times but it’s been people letting professionally not someone’s home.
I have wondered as it’s unregulated how owners meet fire regulations, carbon monoxide risk etc. I guess they don’t. So I would hesitate before staying for a long period of time with DC.