3 ms·

booking.com is one of the worst things currently for owners - they are ridiculously backwardish, all processes takes weeks/months instead of hours like with air

booking.com is one of the worst things currently for owners - they are ridiculously backwardish, all processes takes weeks/months instead of hours like with airbnb, super expensive and on top of that, they don't even facilitate payments - so you either ask people to bring a lot of cash, or somehow obtain credit card reader (and go through all the hassle that comes with it, which I won't). to sum it up, I do believe and hope booking.com will slowly die, since other services are just better in every single aspect.

te_chris 10y ago
See, I normally prefer booking.com to Airbnb in Europe because airbnb is full of crappy apartments whereas booking.com tends to mostly list professional Bnb's where you get breakfast etc, less hassle with keys, someone on site. YMMV. Maybe I'm just blind because I have a good income and can afford it, but I much prefer the experience of bnb's and hotels. Airbnb is fine if you're with a group and partying, but is a sub par way to stay in a city imo. Also, in Paris, e.g., the airbnbs tend to be booked out way in advance and often much more expensive than hotels.
- saiya-jin 10y ago
  OK then we have different experiences, but from different positions and places too. My comment was from the point of host (sorry if not clarified before) - dealing with booking.com is ridiculous, their charges are way above any other service, yet you have to do the payment yourself for example (major hassle). If hosts have to pay up to 30% booking fee for sub-par services (just because, you know, we are booking.com, so f__k you), guess who ends up paying for it? Not the owners, that's for sure... I agree that airbnb may end up being more pain in some places, if hosts are too restrictive (ie requiring passport scans, 24h pre-approvals etc.) - but this is optional, non-default setup that they chose for whatever reason. I don't do this for my place, instant booking without prejudice :)
bkor 10y ago
If it is on AirBnb you at least know it'll be easy. Meaning: no need to have a local number, usually have a reception to avoid needing to agree on an exact time beforehand, hosts are actually on time (I hate when I agree on a time and there's nobody around), hosts are actually reachable, etc. I don't find AirBnb cheaper or anything, you still pay a pretty big service fee. It's just less hidden.

te_chris 10y ago

See, I normally prefer booking.com to Airbnb in Europe because airbnb is full of crappy apartments whereas booking.com tends to mostly list professional Bnb's where you get breakfast etc, less hassle with keys, someone on site. YMMV. Maybe I'm just blind because I have a good income and can afford it, but I much prefer the experience of bnb's and hotels. Airbnb is fine if you're with a group and partying, but is a sub par way to stay in a city imo. Also, in Paris, e.g., the airbnbs tend to be booked out way in advance and often much more expensive than hotels.

saiya-jin 10y ago
OK then we have different experiences, but from different positions and places too. My comment was from the point of host (sorry if not clarified before) - dealing with booking.com is ridiculous, their charges are way above any other service, yet you have to do the payment yourself for example (major hassle). If hosts have to pay up to 30% booking fee for sub-par services (just because, you know, we are booking.com, so f__k you), guess who ends up paying for it? Not the owners, that's for sure... I agree that airbnb may end up being more pain in some places, if hosts are too restrictive (ie requiring passport scans, 24h pre-approvals etc.) - but this is optional, non-default setup that they chose for whatever reason. I don't do this for my place, instant booking without prejudice :)

bkor 10y ago

If it is on AirBnb you at least know it'll be easy. Meaning: no need to have a local number, usually have a reception to avoid needing to agree on an exact time beforehand, hosts are actually on time (I hate when I agree on a time and there's nobody around), hosts are actually reachable, etc. I don't find AirBnb cheaper or anything, you still pay a pretty big service fee. It's just less hidden.