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68style · 03-29-2018, 08:25 AM

I loved AirBnB a few years back... now it's kind of expensive... almost as expensive as a legit hotel which kills the experience... except for what Spoon said above, multi-generational trips would be great at a large private AirBnB place compared to a hotel. I still check it anytime I go anywhere, but I definitely don't go that route anywhere near as much anymore.

I had so many nice hosts all over Europe and shared their lives with them in their homes and their stories of their families in those countries or how they came to be in a new country (ie: Irish guy with a house on the lake in Italy) and like Geneva I stayed with a guy who worked for the UN in a fascinating job and stayed up talking to him until 3am one night, stayed a few nights in a photography school in Prague complete with a female dummy in a red dress/wig with a "Use me but don't abuse me" sign on her... hilarious... you can't buy these experiences or have them at a hotel... however... my wife hated it, my wife doesn't care to "meet new people" or talk about stories or whatever, she doesn't like sharing space, she doesn't like not being quite sure whether the host will meet up with you or not and had a lot of anxiety and uncertainty on that side of it so I had to kind of hide that part from her. It's very personality based. I have friends on Facebook to this day of hosts that I stayed with around Europe and still keep in touch with them.

I had a problem in Venice where a booking cancelled on me last minute, they said they had flooding... who knows... it's Venice, that's definitely possible... however, AirBnB (at this time, granted it was 3 years ago so maybe they're more big business and jaded now?) stepped up and asked me where I had to re-book, which was a hotel nearby at significantly more cost... they told me to send them a photo of the bill after and they paid for my hotel! Sent me a credit for the entire thing... whoa... crazy right? As I said maybe they are too big for their own good now but that was impressive.

All in all I like it, but I notice the costs have really gone up as I mentioned above making it much less attractive than a hotel and a lot more people, especially in Asia, are listing entire buildings and taking photos of 1 suite and you notice those same pictures are in like 20 other listings... the prices are super cheap and Tokyo for example is a great deal on AirBnB compared to hotels, but it's obviously not the same unit you will end up in shown in the photos and that feels risky. Reviews are your friend though ultimately, they will tell the story more often than not although I will say even some negative reviews, much like food ones, you can just tell the person was an entitled dick that nobody could make happy... so I don't always write something off because of a bad review or 2. Sound judgement and common sense is king!

03-29-2018, 08:25 AM	#23
68style Performance Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Richmond Posts: 19,354 Thanked 21,358 Times in 7,275 Posts Failed 331 Times in 220 Posts	I loved AirBnB a few years back... now it's kind of expensive... almost as expensive as a legit hotel which kills the experience... except for what Spoon said above, multi-generational trips would be great at a large private AirBnB place compared to a hotel. I still check it anytime I go anywhere, but I definitely don't go that route anywhere near as much anymore. I had so many nice hosts all over Europe and shared their lives with them in their homes and their stories of their families in those countries or how they came to be in a new country (ie: Irish guy with a house on the lake in Italy) and like Geneva I stayed with a guy who worked for the UN in a fascinating job and stayed up talking to him until 3am one night, stayed a few nights in a photography school in Prague complete with a female dummy in a red dress/wig with a "Use me but don't abuse me" sign on her... hilarious... you can't buy these experiences or have them at a hotel... however... my wife hated it, my wife doesn't care to "meet new people" or talk about stories or whatever, she doesn't like sharing space, she doesn't like not being quite sure whether the host will meet up with you or not and had a lot of anxiety and uncertainty on that side of it so I had to kind of hide that part from her. It's very personality based. I have friends on Facebook to this day of hosts that I stayed with around Europe and still keep in touch with them. I had a problem in Venice where a booking cancelled on me last minute, they said they had flooding... who knows... it's Venice, that's definitely possible... however, AirBnB (at this time, granted it was 3 years ago so maybe they're more big business and jaded now?) stepped up and asked me where I had to re-book, which was a hotel nearby at significantly more cost... they told me to send them a photo of the bill after and they paid for my hotel! Sent me a credit for the entire thing... whoa... crazy right? As I said maybe they are too big for their own good now but that was impressive. All in all I like it, but I notice the costs have really gone up as I mentioned above making it much less attractive than a hotel and a lot more people, especially in Asia, are listing entire buildings and taking photos of 1 suite and you notice those same pictures are in like 20 other listings... the prices are super cheap and Tokyo for example is a great deal on AirBnB compared to hotels, but it's obviously not the same unit you will end up in shown in the photos and that feels risky. Reviews are your friend though ultimately, they will tell the story more often than not although I will say even some negative reviews, much like food ones, you can just tell the person was an entitled dick that nobody could make happy... so I don't always write something off because of a bad review or 2. Sound judgement and common sense is king!