4 ms·

AirBnB is a now usually a terrible deal for guests and increases resident rental shortages/costs by illegally converting residential units into commercial renta

AirBnB is a now usually a terrible deal for guests and increases resident rental shortages/costs by illegally converting residential units into commercial rentals. When they started, they were great for guests. Now there's an abundance of guests and a shortage of hosts, so the system is strongly tilted in favor of hosts. - Hosts always get rebuttals on reviews - Guests cannot comment when their stay is cancelled before arrival - Guest reviews are public which discourages honest feedback - Dealing with a problem is nearly impossible (how do I take a picture of the fact that my 'apartment' is a hotel room? And why can't I talk to anyone?) - AirBnB's compensation for a failed stay is a 10% re-booking bonus which doesn't begin to cover the additional cost, time, and stress of having to find a new place at the last minute at 10pm because your flight was 6 hours delayed and the one you booked with great reviews was misrepresented In some markets AirBnB can be the last/best option, but I do my best to avoid financially supporting them if there is a reasonable alternative. https://www.google.ca/search?q=airbnb+isn't+worth+it+anymore https://www.google.ca/search?q=airbnb+isn't+worth+it+anymore

FanaHOVA 10y ago
> Guests cannot comment when their stay is cancelled before arrival It's automatically posted as a review on your behalf. > Dealing with a problem is nearly impossible (how do I take a picture of the fact that my 'apartment' is a hotel room? And why can't I talk to anyone?) By taking a picture with your phone and contacting support? There's reasons to dislike Airbnb, but these surely aren't some of them. I've had ~20 stays at Airbnb and never had any of these issues.
- knieveltech 10y ago
  ah yes, the time-honored "My experiences don't match yours so clearly yours are invalid" argument.
  - FanaHOVA 10y ago
    Your "no message when host cancels" clearly shows that you have no experience at all, so why talk about it?
    - knieveltech 10y ago
      My what? I think you think I'm someone else.
otheotheothe 10y ago
Another issue is, the guest cant cancel without horrible fees...ohh but the landlord can, 2 years ago i arrived in nyc homeless, because the landlord cancled my stay during my flight to the US. Nice experience...not.
Shinkei 10y ago
This is a great comment and I have to add a shady tactic that I have noticed hosts doing in competitive cities during peak times... I travel to a particular city yearly for a large conference and every time I've tried to use AirBnB for a stay, it always ends with me sticking to a hotel. The host posts a bunch of very desirable locations and then when you try to book it, they message you with 'this one is unavailable, but how about these other entirely different units I have?' which is clearly a 'bait and switch' tactic. I even booked one successfully and I know they had accidentally underpriced that week--similar to their other week costs, not raised for this conference like a lot of other hosts--and instead of just honoring my reservation, they cancelled it saying, 'oh, it turns out the prior guest will be leaving late on your first day.' Of course, this was a total lie because I offered to come even later, give up the first day, etc to no further response. Well, guess what... they re-posted the same dates at a much higher rate. I honestly think a host should not be able to turn down a verified guest reservation under any circumstance or perhaps be unable to relist for those dates if they deny a person's request. I emailed their customer service about these clear 'scams' and heard no significant reply.... they offered me a coupon.
saiya-jin 10y ago
when you are traveling alone, it can happen that you pay more than hotel, this is normal. without airbnb, there wouldn't be that option on the market anyway. in my situation - renting flat in alps during tourist seasons, my flat is roughly 50% cheaper than cheapest hotel in the valley - if compared for 4 people. Apartment can have (and has right now) 6 persons easily. It's completely renovated, having full kitchen (dishwasher, oven, wash machine, big fridge) - you don't get most of this even in expensive hotels. like it or not, these kind of services are here to stay, in one way or another. many, many people use them on vacations, me including. plus, there are proper horror stories from renters perspective too. had one last week - lying, manipulative guest who trashed the place and tried to blame all on previous guests. it took some time for him to admit his precious little kids did all the damage and pay very small fee for it (< 20% of cost of new items, and most of apartment equipment&furniture is 2-3 month old).

FanaHOVA 10y ago

> Guests cannot comment when their stay is cancelled before arrival It's automatically posted as a review on your behalf. > Dealing with a problem is nearly impossible (how do I take a picture of the fact that my 'apartment' is a hotel room? And why can't I talk to anyone?) By taking a picture with your phone and contacting support? There's reasons to dislike Airbnb, but these surely aren't some of them. I've had ~20 stays at Airbnb and never had any of these issues.

knieveltech 10y ago
ah yes, the time-honored "My experiences don't match yours so clearly yours are invalid" argument.
- FanaHOVA 10y ago
  Your "no message when host cancels" clearly shows that you have no experience at all, so why talk about it?
  - knieveltech 10y ago
    My what? I think you think I'm someone else.

otheotheothe 10y ago

Another issue is, the guest cant cancel without horrible fees...ohh but the landlord can, 2 years ago i arrived in nyc homeless, because the landlord cancled my stay during my flight to the US. Nice experience...not.

Shinkei 10y ago

This is a great comment and I have to add a shady tactic that I have noticed hosts doing in competitive cities during peak times... I travel to a particular city yearly for a large conference and every time I've tried to use AirBnB for a stay, it always ends with me sticking to a hotel. The host posts a bunch of very desirable locations and then when you try to book it, they message you with 'this one is unavailable, but how about these other entirely different units I have?' which is clearly a 'bait and switch' tactic. I even booked one successfully and I know they had accidentally underpriced that week--similar to their other week costs, not raised for this conference like a lot of other hosts--and instead of just honoring my reservation, they cancelled it saying, 'oh, it turns out the prior guest will be leaving late on your first day.' Of course, this was a total lie because I offered to come even later, give up the first day, etc to no further response. Well, guess what... they re-posted the same dates at a much higher rate. I honestly think a host should not be able to turn down a verified guest reservation under any circumstance or perhaps be unable to relist for those dates if they deny a person's request. I emailed their customer service about these clear 'scams' and heard no significant reply.... they offered me a coupon.

saiya-jin 10y ago

when you are traveling alone, it can happen that you pay more than hotel, this is normal. without airbnb, there wouldn't be that option on the market anyway. in my situation - renting flat in alps during tourist seasons, my flat is roughly 50% cheaper than cheapest hotel in the valley - if compared for 4 people. Apartment can have (and has right now) 6 persons easily. It's completely renovated, having full kitchen (dishwasher, oven, wash machine, big fridge) - you don't get most of this even in expensive hotels. like it or not, these kind of services are here to stay, in one way or another. many, many people use them on vacations, me including. plus, there are proper horror stories from renters perspective too. had one last week - lying, manipulative guest who trashed the place and tried to blame all on previous guests. it took some time for him to admit his precious little kids did all the damage and pay very small fee for it (< 20% of cost of new items, and most of apartment equipment&furniture is 2-3 month old).