AirBnB - Bed no breakfast?!

[Teapleasemilknosugar]

Not sure whether IABU but I'm miffed! Stayed in an AirBnB last week and there was only B, no B! First time I've stayed in an AirBnB where this has happened.

We arrived 5pm too (unavoidable delays) so we're too late to head out and forage for breakfast foods, but thankfully I had packed a box of cereal from our kitchen at home so at least kids were happy. We were left 1pt of milk in the fridge. We were staying a whole 6 nights.

Is this the norm? It's literally in the name; I book an AirBnB and expect BnB. Or did I misunderstand?!

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We did leave it open once when we has a lone elderly lady staying who had taken ill the day before, she didn’t have a phone or anything so we put a bell by the door and told her to open the door and ring that/shout us if she was unwell in the night. Its still fairly common for main homes to be accessible, until recently we just had a curtain up at the stairs, but we were worried we might be a bit noisy and there is only an internal door in the porch for the airbnb, so we didn’t want to disturb guests.

Also, unless you were somewhere extremely remote (i.e. an hour plus to shops!) 5pm is in no way "too late" to go out and buy some breakfast food. What did you eat for dinner - had you brought that with you?

I do wish welcome packs would be a large (2-4 pint) milk, loaf of bread and jar of jam rather than one pint of milk, local fudge, fancy biscuits… the former is more useful and probably cheaper.

I think there are plenty of airbnbs abroad that I have stayed in which wouldn’t have a nearby shop open at 5pm - or at least, not one easy to find if you have arrived at the place at 5pm and have to dump your cases and take a breath before you venture back out and search. Not every country has a minimart attached fo every petrol garage.

We have an AirBNB, and leave fresh milk and wrapped local biscuits, with tea, coffee, oil, etc in the pantry. I'd happily leave some home baking or bread, but the general advice is not to, because of allergies. If you start leaving alcohol, especially, it takes you into a whole different area of licensing/liabilities/responsibilities.

LOL I have stayed in about 10 Airbnb and I always had breakfast of some sort provided or if not breakfast then some sort of food/snacks. I'm surprised so many people never had any food in Airbnb.

@Simonjt you sound like lovely hosts.

Are these welcome packs for an extra charger? I wouldn’t expect more than tea and coffee, milk and basics. Leaving cake/biscuits is a nice touch but I wouldn’t expect it..

I expect welcome packs to be included in the price - probably add up to £10-£15 max, though.

Our first AirBnB was in a Devon farmhouse. We were her first guests, so we were both novices. She provided a lovely cooked breakfast.

We stayed in one in Liverpool, and a light breakfast (cereal/toast) was included.

We've stayed in quite a few AirBnBs since, but tend to go for those where we have the whole property to ourselves, so have no expectations of any food being provided.

But it's a good point. If it's a B&B, whether Air or not, the title would indicate that breakfast is provided.

Should "do" them under the Trades Description Act".

This is funny. I wouldn't expect food to be left in any self-catering property whether hired through AirBNB or any other platform! We've stayed in dozens of self-catering properties all over the UK, many will leave a welcome pack but more often than not it's a pint of milk in the fridge, a bottle of wine/prosecco, some jam and biscuits/oatcakes. Not breakfast food.

It's mostly self catering these days renting the whole place but the more original style rent a room AirBNB I've stayed in have provided a basic breakfast. Completely varies from cereal and fruit to a huge veggie fry up one host made us. When it's been self catering we have often been left milk and tea and a locally or homemade cake or biscuits.

I wouldn’t expect to get breakfast in an AirBnB. I only stay in the ones that you have the full run of the place though so not sure if that makes a difference. I would check if that’s what you are expecting.

Stayed in multiple Airbnbs, currently in one, thought it was just like a holiday cottage. Big bonus if the owner leaves anything, 2 pints of milk here, several packs of individual weetabix, bottle of booze, biscuits, a ‘useful’ drawer of eg wrapped toothbrushes, soap etc if you forgot to pack something, but I don’t expect food to be provided. I thought Airbnbs were just self catering holiday places? We always book a whole cottage, never in someone’s house.

It's hard to understand your misunderstanding.
Airbnb is a tradename.

It's not a description of what's provided.

It doesn't mean you have to FLY there (Air) and it doesn't mean they provide breakfast.

Did you not read any reviews on the property before booking it?

If you did, (and obviously no breakfast is provided), then all the other people who'd stayed there and thought like you would have said so!

Airbnb is just renting a bed - sometimes a room in someone's house but most often just a holiday rental flat/house.

Some hosts will leave teabags and a pint of milk - occasionally a loaf of bread or a cake.

Why is 5pm too late for you to "forage" for breakfast? Big supermarkets may be shut at that time on a Sunday but convenience stores/corner shops/petrol stations would have done the job.

How have you got to 2024 and confused Airbnb with an actual bed and breakfast? Were you expecting the host to cook you a full English?

I've had a mixture, but it's always clear in the listing. Having said that we stayed somewhere recently and was disappointed to not even have enough milk for a cup of tea.

I hate welcome pack and would rather have a lower rental fee. we take all our own food to get us through a day or two or shop en route.

I also hate homemade cakes because the hygiene of the 'cook' is never clear.

Do you mean the name of the booking platform?

Surely the welcome packs you've previously been left haven't covered you for your whole stay or have you only stayed for 1-2 nights previously?

Like pretty much everyone I've stayed in a few AirBnBs and it's never even occurred to me breakfast might be provided. Are you from Mars?

The only time I've ever been supplied with breakfast in an AirBnB was in Hull - and I've stayed in AirBnBs throughout Europe.
I now book a mix of hotels and self-contained apartments through either Booking.com or Airbnb and breakfast is often not even included in hotels.
Generally, if you are in a 'self catering' (the clue is in the name ) accomodation, then you are doing just that.
If breakfast is included, it is usually stated in the advert.

It will say on the listing if breakfast is included.

In a self catering holiday let property breakfast is usually not included. In a B&B ( a room, like a hotel) it usually is.

There is often a welcome pack in self catering properties, but not always. I leave a loaf of bread and a cream tea in mine but I don't advertise it- its a surprise gift hopefully.

I agree it is strange that a company uses the well known term 'BnB' in its name when in fact what it provides is nothing of the sort. I'm surprised it gets away with it and would have expected that someone would have challenged under false advertising but I think it has just developed that most people know that it is just a provider of self catering accommodation.

Airbnb is just self catering properties or rooms, although lots of hotels and bnbs also do advertise on there too I find. I thought it was just a catchy name for the company, not a description of the offer.

Clearly a case of a typo in the large print name then 🤨

Large print name?

No @Teapleasemilknosugar It's clearly a case of you not understanding it's a trade name, not a literal description of a service.

Surely you check the breakfast situation when you book? Even a lot of hotels these days, particularly more basic ones in continental Europe, do not include breakfast in the room rate and sometimes do not offer any at all.