airbnb, C or D?

it might just have been that he had been on the bus earlier the same day

We're using Airbnb for accommodation every trip now. We've had great experiences in Barcelona, London and Co. Donegal, Ireland so far, with Fife and North Yorkshire coming up before the end of the year. Our experience thus far is that it's so much cheaper than hotels and can offer better conditions than hostels in the big cities if you take a bit of time to search and check listing/reviews/photos carefully and is much cheaper than standard b&b offerings in rural areas, which are often pretty expensive. Classic.

Use it in NYC, Madrid, Seville and next month Lisbon. Classic.

I have yet to use it. It never works out better economically than a hotel room for my family with two small kids since there's always an extra charge for more people, even a baby. Granted I'm usually comparing whole apartments to hotels so there could be a certain comfort factor. Sooner or later we will probably try one.

Also a lot of them have terrible cancellation policies, another problem when you have small kids.

I feel like it's had its day, but maybe that's premature. It used to actually be people's houses or apartments, now in big cities it just seems to be some type of scalper. It's also not as cheap as it was. For NYC it seems totally dead now, and really iffy. I've reverted to just getting a hotel - there's a privacy and formality about hotels that staying in someone's apartment doesn't have.

It can be great if you stay in the apartment while the host is there - I travelled around Europe and used it a lot, and in Marseille I stayed with a couple and we all got on great, went out late each night, met all their friends etc. Afterwards they said I could come and stay for free in future. I hadn't considered the potential benefits of sharing a place versus being on your own - I guess there are still some actual homes on it but I definitely stopped using it sometime in the last year or so because every apartment seemed like essentially a rented apartment run by a professional, which I could just book via booking.com and a much easier interface, better user reviews, etc.

Been travelling through Central and South America for a few months and airbnb has been amazing, both for meeting people and for the massive advantage of paying in full online with no crazy exchange rates or 20% taxes on top of the room rates (eg in Chile). Saved us loads of money

I feel like it's had its day, but maybe that's premature. It used to actually be people's houses or apartments, now in big cities it just seems to be some type of scalper.

This has not been my experience recently at all, though I have noticed lots more traditional BnBs and hotels are using it as a marketing tool now.

Renting your flat on airbnb while on holiday is pretty classic, I went to Ireland a couple of weeks back and it paid for the entire trip, flights included.

it's been a little while since i've used it, but i've had a number of great experiences 2011-2014 (vrbo too, though i remember vrbo having a shittier UI than airbnb) throughout the US. i rented old, beautiful houses for same cost or and often way less than a hotel. i've used it w/ and w/o my kids along.

my new place of work won't let me use it for conference travel though, which is a bummer.

the best airbnbs imo are people who are renting out their own homes or maybe a second home that they still often use themselves. i had a good experience in the really cool hyde park neighborhood in austin in 2013 renting from this cool older hippie lady who had an awesome little arts & crafts house but it took a while to find it, like 5-6 other houses in that neighborhood were all owned by the same dude who never lived in these places and just airbnb'd them out and they were all decorated in this shitty generic contemporary style with no character. probably more and mroe places are gonna be that way

I actually can't rent out my own apt because it's a co-op and against the rules, although I suspect people of doing it on account of occasionally seeing an unfamiliar looking young couple with a slightly bewildered expression and bags, never to be seen again.

xp I read that some huge percentage of airbnbs, like the vast majority of them, are rented out by professional landlords who own a bunch of properties. This is sort of the lie of the "sharing economy." It's the same with companies like Uber, at least in NYC -- they're always professional drivers and it's never some friendly guy picking up a little extra money in between his studies or whatever.

but i think there are still deals to be found, maybe not in like downtown NYC or something but in other cities and neighborhoods with less tourist traffic. even in the heart of downtown charleston SC though i found an amazing private guest room with its own dedicated entrance and second floor porch -- part of huge southern colonial house with like 15-ft ceilings on the porch -- for like $110/night. hotels a block away were all $250-$400

rented out by professional landlords who own a bunch of properties.

yea, and ime these are the people w/ the shittiest strict cancellation policies and extra fees, too. that dude in austin required this full lease agreement too. the regular people just renting out their places have been way more relaxed and flexible ime

Brooklyn seems like kind of the nexus of the branded Airbnb experience - I've looked a bit at listings when we were considering an in-city getaway from the kids and it's like there's standardized Airbnb apartment charm in the same way there are now standardized blackboard espresso shops. And pricey - getting a hotel is cheaper. However I did find a rooftop geodesic dome I am tempted to stay in at some point.

Maybe things are still a bit better here in the UK? We stayed in London last November and the choice on Airbnb was basically overwhelming. Plenty of varying degrees of bland 'professional' listings for sure, but balanced alongside what appear at least to be genuine real-life people renting out a room or flat etc.

Someone I am friends with on Facebook has bought specifically to let on airbnb.

There's something kind of inherently gross and ultimately self-defeating about the commodification of the couchsurfing experience.

should be an "also" in there, obviously talking about the situations that are not just "key's under the mat, apartment is yours for the week"

I live next door to one, it's definitely owned by property-investing landlords and not normal people temporarily opening up their flat, and being in the centre of Brighton it is fucking stag & hen dos screaming and yelping every single weekend. I honestly don't give a shit about my neighbours being noisy, I am usually the noisy neighbour in fact, but *we live here*, so these stupid happy yelling tourists can FUCK RIGHT OFF.

stayed in bay area recently and did not use airbnb because SF is insane, we stayed at a motor lodge in one of the little surrounding towns for much cheaper

have had a fantastic experience using airbnb in china fwiw

ya I stayed in a very cheap and very stinky hostel in sf cause airbnb was off the charts

I had a great airbnb in London in June this year which was clearly someone's home which they were letting out from time to time (the general stuff lying about was definitely that of an inhabited home), and it worked out perfectly for us, but it was hard going to find it amongst all the professional buy-to-let properties. We're back down again in a few weeks, and it's proving harder now to find something which would work out cheaper than a hotel and isn't just part of a scalper's portfolio (the last one was four of us sharing, this time it's just for two).

I'm also in the process of trying to rent a flat in a touristy bit of Spain for a long weekend and it's clearly taken over from the regular holiday letting sites for people with holidays homes in the area.

Ffs

There's nothing 'gross' (stop using this word) about airbnb not being puppy money for some moon-eyed fartknockers

There's nothing wrong with it being 'just' an alternative to hotels

There's nothing wrong with them being airbnb-styled airbnbs

Maaaannnn I remember it used to really mean something mannnnnnnnnnnn ye tarts

That's kinda just yknow aimed everywhere. Must dash! X

airbnb is probably the best thing ever. have had great experiences in SF, SD, taipei in the past year

puppy money for some moon-eyed fartknockers

ilx posts with striking imagery

ya I stayed in a very cheap and very stinky hostel in sf cause airbnb was off the charts

― flopson, Monday, September 12, 2016 12:06 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark

if u have a car i recommend staying in the marin headlands hostel, amazzziing

Ffs

There's nothing 'gross' (stop using this word) about airbnb not being puppy money for some moon-eyed fartknockers

There's nothing wrong with it being 'just' an alternative to hotels

There's nothing wrong with them being airbnb-styled airbnbs

Maaaannnn I remember it used to really mean something mannnnnnnnnnnn ye tarts

― poor fiddy-less albion (darraghmac), Monday, September 12, 2016 10:02 AM (twenty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

living in a city with a housing crisis and really low vacancy rate and observing the very real effect of air bnb raising property and rental prices while taking large numbers of homes off of the rental market makes me think it's perhaps not exclusively classic

a pox on airbnb-dedicated apartments in residential blocks or houses on residential streets and on anyone who rents them

my airbnb experience in SF wasn't bad at all, we stayed in pac heights which is a pretty nice neighborhood and it was only $150 a night -- with fees came to about $800 for 4 nights but i doubt you can approach that value with hotels, especially for the middle of the summer

xp to dayo/floppy

it's been the talk here in Toronto, about what it may or may not be doing to the rental market here. tho I've not seen anything concrete about the effects. but apparently the city isn't planning on doing anything about it right now.
which is a relief, because we're planning on putting up our basement apartment on ABnB. our last full time tenant fucked us over pretty badly, and it's amazing how easy the landlord tenant act mades it for nightmare tenants here in Ontario. from my perspective, Air BnB makes our lives so much easier (or we're hoping it will – we'll see how it goes).

xpost to jim

airbnb has been both great and horrible, I'm running about a 50% success rate with them.

Our latest experience was our host canceling our reservation THE NIGHT BEFORE (<14 hours) we were scheduled to arrive. airbnb immediately offered us +15% credit to find another listing but as you can imagine there was nothing available within reason near the city center, only the remote suburbs. We ended up getting a deal booking a hotel downtown at the last minute that ended up being about the same price as the airbnb, luckily enough. Upon check-in the desk clerk at our hotel asked us how we found them I briefly told him the airbnb experience and he upgraded us to a suite. So in some ways, airbnb can be a blessing.

I ended up giving airbnb some feedback and they gave me another $100 credit (my 2nd this year due to problems like these), but $100 credits can only buy you so much goodwill.

xp. i have neighbours who airbnb their apartments when theyre cat-sitting for other friends, or who go and stay with their parents for a few weeks in the summer and airbnb their place, basically to make ends meet, i know it's not all bad.

i don't think any tenancy act can make it hard for nightmare tenants really (and airbnb nightmare guests are not unheard of), in B.C. i feel completely unprotected as a renter and have had horrendous landlords, nevertheless if i decided to fuck my apartment up and stop paying rent it would probably take my landlord months to get rid of me.

i've used airbnb with a lot of success

the situation in vancouver is that you're turning a residential/condo building into a hotel, and there are strata regulations against that. homeowners are also being taxed differently due to not reporting that they will be using their property for short-term rentals. there's also the tearing of a community by installing what is essentially a hotel in a residential zone

having said all that, the problem, specifically in vancouver, lies in the fact that airbnb rentals are a lot cheaper than hotels or other short-term rental solutions

>if i decided to fuck my apartment up and stop paying rent it would probably take my landlord months to get rid of me.

yes. this. took half a year and even then she only left because we weren't letting her walk all over us, we never actually succeeded with an actual eviction after two tries. she also (in addition to not-paying rent) had pets she was just letting destroy the place and a bf that moved in (couldn't legally say anything about that!) who'd she get into constant screaming matches with followed by door slamming/frame destroying tantrums that would terrify our child. and again, the LTB could not give a fuck about her terrifying our kid and inviting her deadbeat boyfriend into our house without our consent. we cannot charge deposit here either so we will likely have to eat the cost of the damage her and her fucking cats (can't say no to pets) and boyfriend caused as well. plus all the fees it costs at the board and now (ongoing) small claims.
so now it's either Air BnB or nothing. we'd rather have trouble making ends meet than ever be at the mercy of the LTA again.

lol at my reddit formatting. whoops!

I'm bumping this so I can find it on zing! - the bookmark didn't seem to work - But I desperately need advice to plead bear with me.

I'm staying for 21 night in Ibiza and have been here 9 days so far. The hostess is a highly strung (to put it mildly) French woman who had told me of quite fiercely for - amongst other things - closing doors too loudly and leaving the bathroom light on. Fair to correct someone but this is quite unpleasant. Today I got told off for flushing the toilet too much today 😳 ok? 4 times in one morning she had told me. She also told me she was about to put on a washing and "hoped it could be a half load" because I was using so much water. And her tone is getting increasingly unreasonable.

I need to go back to pre-arrival though:- here's how I fucked up in the beginning. I asked by Airbnb message for her address and postal code or equivelant one week before arrival three days later she replied by email (not on the air bnb message system - she had asked for my email address) saying that the address listed on the air bnb website was not correct and that the actual address was this - and gave me another address quite near actually one street away. Now I think she waited until 4 days prior to my arrival because she had a moderate cancellation policy and that if I wanted to cancel I had to do it 5 days before to get a refund. I should have taken it through Airbnb right then but I'm a first time user and didn't want to have nowhere at all to stay although i was worried. She told me to go to the new address and the person who was checking me in would meet me outside the building which she did ( a friend of hers). Now, The new address 44 via romana was not the correct address either. There is a 44 but her flat is at 46! She wouldn't give me the buzzer number and I had to meet her friend outs this doubly incorrect address.

She told me she had the wrong address listed because it is illegal to let an air bnb on Ibiza (this is not correct as I'd researched it) I suspect it's because she's illegally subletting.

Should I take it directly through air bnb or try to reaolve? I already feel like I'm treading on eggshells here. also there's another person staying here (also French) and this French woman said the host told her her name is Ciara not Clodia ( as I call her) she has the different rooms of the flat listed under different names with different accounts.

I've no idea what to do and would prefer to move or come home. But I can't afford to move as everywhere else is fully booked other than significantly more expensive places or hotels and flights back are LOADS right now.

Thanks for reading this. I could say much more but I'm posting from my phone so ask me anything you need clarification on.

I have no advice but I hope you're alright. I would spitefully take a massive shit in her toilet and not flush it "to save water" before leaving if it was me.

And ps I don't have enough money in my bank accounts to pay for new accommodation or a return flight. I have euros to spend here and cash in the bank enough to cover my uk bills and a bit extra.

I have actually been using the loo a lot because this is giving me a bit of a nervous/anxious tummy.

sounds like a really shitty situation, that sucks dude. honestly though i would just tough it out and spend as little time as possible at the place, avoid her as much as you can, and try to have fun in ibiza. in less then two weeks this will all be over

Document everything sketchy and then file a complaint with airbnb right now at an elevated/emergency status.
The giving of the wrong address and the emailing outside of their system are huge red flags for them and they should respond accordingly. Make sure to let them know the sensitivity of the situation.

They may be able to partially refund your payment and (help you) find alternative housing in the area.

Worst case is you have to stay put but you're in Ibiza... Plenty of things to do away from the crash pad.

ya, i would think they'd make some effort to get you somewhere else. did this woman have a decent rating? this can't be the first time she's pulled all this.

Thanks for all the feedback. She has decent ratings but very few over a long period (like 5 or so since the beginning of 2015) and one very negative concerning the hygeine of the flat, which I have no issue with.

The thing is I think she is using multiple profiles in the same flat and I can't seem to find her other listings (although I had seem them previously) so her negative ratings, if she has them, must be spread across them.

Thanks for all the advice. It is Ibiza but it's rainy af right now so I think I'll write down everything that has happened on pagesso that I can fire off an email to support very quickly if the situ worsens.

Will try not to use loaded language about her been French or highly-strung haha.

i didn't even think about Airbnb for my London trip, bcz being surprised with stuff like this would be bad enough domestically.

"on pagesso that" should read "on pages, so that"

True, morbs.

Although you could maybe look for someone with EXTREMELY positive ratings.