airbnb

Whilst I do enjoy staying in some hotels, I am finding for longer trips I am longing for a bit more space and some home comfort and privacy. A colleague suggested renting apartments through airbnb, so I had a look. I was pleasantly surprised.

For our September trip to Washington DC and NYC the hotel prices are high (rack rates and high season) and for the same price as a basic, mid-range box of a hotel room we could have a wonderful one bedroom apartment. As we are staying for 6/8 mights in each city, this is going to work out well I hope.

Have any of you experience of renting through airbnb? https://www.airbnb.com/

We always rent, but beware it is a bit like turning left on the plane. You rent a nice apartment then browsing see a better one and so on. We spend a full month in one place and so treat ourselves. Next month we are off to South Carolina yet again and will have a three bed condo on the beach.
I haven't used airbnb as we go through a local agency at our destination.
Another site you may consider is Flipkey.

Dick D

An Australian colleague uses nothing else for his jaunts around Europe,

My biggest concern is what happens if your "host" changes their mind at the last minute and decides they need the property at that time?

Cancellation by the host is a concern I agree. Though for some hosts property rental is clearly a business venture and they can not afford bad press. With airbnb you do get to read reviews that the host can not delete or alter (a bit like Tripadvisor) and there is some intermediary help from airbnb should things go pear-shaped. I have noted airbnb do automatically flag up if a host cancels a reservation, so it is evident if they have previous form.

I have found two apartments I really like, great locations, decent price and with rave reviews, so think I may book them. You certainly get a lot more for your dollar than in a city hotel room.

Food for thought for our SFO trip in May, we have 2 x 5 night bookings at the Omni with 4 nights in LAS in between. The first block at the Omni (and other hotels we've looked at) is considerably more expensive than the latter, and SFO hotels generally aren't cheap either. This requires more investigation. Thanks for posting.

I haven't used them but there was a series of news articles (perhaps 18 months or so ago) relating to the legality (or not) of AIRBNB type rentals in NYC.

This is on their website https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/868/new-york--ny and a bit here, plenty more on google - http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/how-to ... ng-evicted

In my limited experience of Airbnb the most frustrating thing is owners who don't respond to booking enquiries.

I suspect many of those who offer long-term lets in particular ignore people who just want a few nights in the hope of getting a more lucrative booking.

hmm I personally dont like the idea.
In a hotel you dont have to clean and tidy everyday or before you check out, you have 24hr room service plus a concierge to assist. Airbnb im guessing you have to tidy before you leave and location wise wont be as good as hotels. When I go on holiday I dont want to feel like I am at home otherwise I might as well stay at home.

I guess it comes down to personal needs/wants for the stay. Even in luxury hotels I tend to make little or no use of room service or the concierge so the extra space offered by an Airbnb rental is often a great benefit.

Not sure about the location argument but in somewhere like nyc it's possible to get a rental in almost any neighbourhood you'd like.

I've used them four or five times and never been disappointed - when travelling as a group or family the extra communal space you get from an apartment rental is something which would often cost 5-10 times more if it was in a hotel.

Thank you all for your thoughts, some interesting points.

I have been spending much of the weekend searching on the internet and have chatted to friends who have used airbnb (mostly in the USA), all of whom rave about it. The legality issues in NYC seem ongoing and unresolved but do not appear to affecting either hosts or travellers from what I have read.

gfonk highlights the advatages for many of a hotel but I must say, housekeeping have very little to do for us as I am a tidy freak. I don't think I have ever used a concierge in a hotel either- I prefer to organise myself (maybe I am a control freak too?).

Hotels are great for short trips and road trips (which we often do) but longer stays in hotels, no matter how nice they may be, tend to irk me. Eating out every night gets quite mundane and I long to have a night in occassionally and eat a more simple meal in front of a TV or reading a book. We are staying in Washington for 6 nights and NYC 8 and have decided an apartment is going to suit us better for this trip, so have decided we will give airbnb a go.

I have found two great apartments, one in Georgetown and one in Chelsea, NYC. The hosts have already contacted me after initial enquiries, which is promising. The locations are great as well and both have extensive and consitent good reviews.

So I shall report back later in the year and let you know how it went. Like everything it has risks, but I think they are minimal.

I guess it comes down to personal needs/wants for the stay. Even in luxury hotels I tend to make little or no use of room service or the concierge so the extra space offered by an Airbnb rental is often a great benefit.

Not sure about the location argument but in somewhere like nyc it's possible to get a rental in almost any neighbourhood you'd like.

I've used them four or five times and never been disappointed - when travelling as a group or family the extra communal space you get from an apartment rental is something which would often cost 5-10 times more if it was in a hotel.

That is reassuring to read etk. Have you rented in NYC through airbnb? Most of my friends who have rented in Brooklyn- they found the space and location suited them better but I would prefer Mannhatan. The apartment I have in mind in near Chelsea Market, a perfect location IMO. I do not want to stay in Midtown, my other possibility is Upper East or Upper West Side.

Airbnb is great when travelling as a family. We had short term rentals in Copenhagen and Stockholm this summer for much less than 2 or 3 hotel rooms. I think it gives a better local experience.
We enjoyed so much we now Airbnb an apartment we own just outside Belfast and have welcomed people from France, Australia, several parts of the USA and even had a short film shot there by the NI film council. Made a few quid too! I'm a fan.

[Pete]

I used AirBnB once for a trip to Spain. The property was nice and the price was great, but it was a 2-bedroom apartment and I was only renting one of the rooms. The other room was not occupied by the host, but a nice Dutch chap called Martin. Martin was pleasant enough, but very much a clothing optional kind of guy who hadn't quite got down the concept of a closed door. I'd often get back to the apartment to find him asleep stark bollock naked on the sofa, or once shaving his pubes in the bathroom. Life's a lottery.

My daughter had an apt sorted through Air Bnb for Miami Beach and 4 weeks before travelling the host cancelled on her. so she had to go through all the research again. Air BnB hold onto deposits so she had to request a refund via them.

we have rented over 45 houses/apts through VRBO over the years and had some amazing places to stay. I will be sticking with VRBO.

I've used Airbnb many times and have always been very pleased. I like the fact that Airbnb don't give the money to the renter until after you check in, thus minimising the chance of booking an apartment/house that doesn't exist.
My mum once turned up at an Airbnb house that was absolutely filthy however. She took photos and immediately emailed Airbnb who agreed to refund the full rental cost, she promptly left and booked into a hotel. Not ideal obviously but if the house had been booked through some other rental by owner sites I'm sure she would have been on her own.

Thanks polb74

I have booked two fantastic apartments now for our trip and am really excited. The owners seem lovely in communications and they have good reviews. It is clear the properties are for commercial renting and they are already well booked up for the year.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained . I shall report back later in the year.

I do have emergency standby hotels booked in case it goes pear shaped, and can cancel these later if not required.

Very interested to read everyone's thoughts about Airbnb. Are you essentially hiring just part of someone's home then, some have mentioned an owner being there?

For what it's worth, we have used homeaway for years and years - long before it was being advertised - and have always been happy with the results. True, sometimes owners don't respond to queries quickly, but that always becomes clear at the beginning of the process, in which case we just drop those owners from our shortlist. Lots of owners in homeaway also advertise on VRBO too.

Very interested to read everyone's thoughts about Airbnb. Are you essentially hiring just part of someone's home then, some have mentioned an owner being there?

There are all sorts of accommodation avaialble via Airbnb.

Some hosts literally rent a room in their own home and you share their kitchen and bathroom (I would hate that!), some have self-contained apartments, perhaps basement apartments, with your own entrance etc. and they live elsewhere on the property. Others, such as the properties I have reserved, are apartments/ houses which the host rents out in their entirity and the host lives elsewhere- sometimes in another city or even another country and they use agents to clean the property and hold the keys. For instance the host of the Washington DC property I have reserved is a professional lawyer who now works in another state but wants to keep her property and hosts through Airbnb to ensure it makes her income.