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In a hotel room with an attached suite, this isn’t very hard. Most in the group can stay in small economy rooms, then use the suite for group things or big meal

by mlthoughts2018 8y ago

In a hotel room with an attached suite, this isn’t very hard. Most in the group can stay in small economy rooms, then use the suite for group things or big meals. My extended family (usually groups of 20+, with various budgets) does this also for beach vacations to book oceanside hotels pretty cheaply, and we also make use of shared spaces, like picnic areas or large table spaces you can use for free at some lodges. I’ve found that groceries in and around big ski centers are often much more expensive than low-end takeout or a pizza.. plus you have to have someone in the group spend time cooking and cleaning instead of just enjoying the trip. Personally, if my budget was too limited to avoid that, or I couldn’t afford one suite at the hotel, it would be a sign that it’s not a financially good idea to plan the trip so soon and I should save money longer before going. The trade-offs are different for everybody, which makes me feel like these just-so anecdotes simply should just be omitted from any discussion about the overall scumminess of Airbnb business practices & lobbying vs hotels.

nate_meurer 8y ago
Hey, if you're ok with fast food and take-out, that's great. Nothing wrong with that, and it gives you flexibility. But if you have to do it in a hotel up here in the mountains, you'll still spend multiples more money than you will at a place like mine -- a place that also gives you a full kitchen. > you have to have someone in the group spend time cooking and cleaning instead of just enjoying the trip. That person is me. I love to cook, and I assure you it's quite possible to enjoy a vacation while making crepes for your friends. :) > it would be a sign that it’s not a financially good idea to plan the trip so soon and I should save money longer before going. Or, if you were able to stay in a home instead of a hotel, you could save enough money to make the trip affordable now, instead of waiting until later in life to enjoy it. It seems like you might just really like hotels. I think that's fine, and I think a lot of people agree with you. Vacations are what you make of them, and it sounds like you've really got your act together. I admire that. But it also seems like you're trying to apply your own standards and experience generally to everyone else. I'm pretty sure if you asked the folks who rented my place for a week over Christmas what they think, they'll say they'd rather not pay twice as much money for a couple of small hotel rooms in Dillon with no kitchen. Because like it or not, that's my competition.
- mlthoughts2018 8y ago
  > “Or, if you were able to stay in a home instead of a hotel, you could save enough money to make the trip affordable now, instead of waiting until later in life to enjoy it.” I’m saying if I need to book a house rental because saving on the margins with home cooking might make or break my ability to afford the vacation, then I clearly don’t have enough money for the trip to be a responsible purchase until saving more. So almost by definition, considerations that happen at exactly that margin decision boundary aren’t very applicable for reasoning between the two options. > “That person is me. I love to cook, and I assure you it's quite possible to enjoy a vacation while making crepes for your friends. :)” I love cooking too, but it ruins a vacation if I have to cook, as opposed to getting to cook, particularly meaning I would spend much more on high-end ingredients to make special meals that are much more expensive than eating at even medium-quality restaurants.. plus you still end up wasting vacation time on clean up and prep like chopping, or if things need to bake a while then someone’s stuck in the kitchen potentially long before the meal. Any way you look at it, unless you’re doing something like a cabin vacation where all the recreation is right in and around your lodging all day, then needing to devote money and time to grocery shopping, prep, cooking and clean up is a pretty expensive chore in terms of time & money to commit to during a vacation. Clearly even if some people like it, you can imagine a lot of other people don’t see that as an effective trade-off.
  - nate_meurer 8y ago
    But marginal cost differences aren't what's driving demand for vacation rentals. The difference in cost is huge, and there's no way around that in a lot of tourist destinations. A nice vacation rental in my town that can sleep a dozen people can be had for under $300 in the high season. Three hotel rooms, with less space, smaller beds, and no kitchen, will cost you two to three times that. Don't take my word for it; look at rates right now in and around Dillon/Silverthorn. Connected suites and a kitchenette might be the exclusive realm of luxury resort hotels, maybe a casino hotel if you're willing to drive another hour or so, and the price will be higher yet. We're pretty far in weeds here with talk of ingredients and prep and whatnot. Like I said, for family accommodation, with the flexibility of a kitchen and laundry, there is no competition of any kind from hotels in my neck of the woods, and there probably never will be. It's not even close. My only competition is from other vacation rentals, and all us little guys currently contribute a big chunk of our town's tourism revenue.
kalleboo 8y ago
I utterly despise hotels for vacations. They always make me feel stressed out and claustrophobic. Waking up ungodly early to make the breakfast buffet (and no kitchen for a leisurely breakfast), dodging housekeeping (and worrying about something getting stolen), universally shitty wifi, sometimes no fridge to keep your own drinks in, expensive laundry. Whole-home-style rentals are always more relaxing, and the only reason I've used AirBnB. I have friends who feel the same way, so I'm not alone. Are we a minority? Possibly. But we exist.
- mlthoughts2018 8y ago
  I’ve stayed in several whole-home rentals that were far more stressful than hotels. Broken fixtures, water outages, disgusting roaches seen in living spaces and bedrooms, lack of amenities that were promised in the rental description, bad neighborhoods where my car was broken into, and hosts who try to charge me by claiming I didn’t properly take away trash or recycling even when I followed instructions perfectly. Meanwhile, hotels have a great track record of safety, cleanliness and consistency of service from one place to the next. They’re not perfect, but I’m a big fan of saving just a small additional amount of money to stay in a hotel. To boot, hotels actually pay their taxes and I don’t have to feel bad about the booking portal company for hotels hustling municipalities and finding ways to lie/cheat/steal to avoid fair burdens to demonstrate compliance with tax laws, like with Airbnb.

nate_meurer 8y ago

Hey, if you're ok with fast food and take-out, that's great. Nothing wrong with that, and it gives you flexibility. But if you have to do it in a hotel up here in the mountains, you'll still spend multiples more money than you will at a place like mine -- a place that also gives you a full kitchen. > you have to have someone in the group spend time cooking and cleaning instead of just enjoying the trip. That person is me. I love to cook, and I assure you it's quite possible to enjoy a vacation while making crepes for your friends. :) > it would be a sign that it’s not a financially good idea to plan the trip so soon and I should save money longer before going. Or, if you were able to stay in a home instead of a hotel, you could save enough money to make the trip affordable now, instead of waiting until later in life to enjoy it. It seems like you might just really like hotels. I think that's fine, and I think a lot of people agree with you. Vacations are what you make of them, and it sounds like you've really got your act together. I admire that. But it also seems like you're trying to apply your own standards and experience generally to everyone else. I'm pretty sure if you asked the folks who rented my place for a week over Christmas what they think, they'll say they'd rather not pay twice as much money for a couple of small hotel rooms in Dillon with no kitchen. Because like it or not, that's my competition.

mlthoughts2018 8y ago
> “Or, if you were able to stay in a home instead of a hotel, you could save enough money to make the trip affordable now, instead of waiting until later in life to enjoy it.” I’m saying if I need to book a house rental because saving on the margins with home cooking might make or break my ability to afford the vacation, then I clearly don’t have enough money for the trip to be a responsible purchase until saving more. So almost by definition, considerations that happen at exactly that margin decision boundary aren’t very applicable for reasoning between the two options. > “That person is me. I love to cook, and I assure you it's quite possible to enjoy a vacation while making crepes for your friends. :)” I love cooking too, but it ruins a vacation if I have to cook, as opposed to getting to cook, particularly meaning I would spend much more on high-end ingredients to make special meals that are much more expensive than eating at even medium-quality restaurants.. plus you still end up wasting vacation time on clean up and prep like chopping, or if things need to bake a while then someone’s stuck in the kitchen potentially long before the meal. Any way you look at it, unless you’re doing something like a cabin vacation where all the recreation is right in and around your lodging all day, then needing to devote money and time to grocery shopping, prep, cooking and clean up is a pretty expensive chore in terms of time & money to commit to during a vacation. Clearly even if some people like it, you can imagine a lot of other people don’t see that as an effective trade-off.
- nate_meurer 8y ago
  But marginal cost differences aren't what's driving demand for vacation rentals. The difference in cost is huge, and there's no way around that in a lot of tourist destinations. A nice vacation rental in my town that can sleep a dozen people can be had for under $300 in the high season. Three hotel rooms, with less space, smaller beds, and no kitchen, will cost you two to three times that. Don't take my word for it; look at rates right now in and around Dillon/Silverthorn. Connected suites and a kitchenette might be the exclusive realm of luxury resort hotels, maybe a casino hotel if you're willing to drive another hour or so, and the price will be higher yet. We're pretty far in weeds here with talk of ingredients and prep and whatnot. Like I said, for family accommodation, with the flexibility of a kitchen and laundry, there is no competition of any kind from hotels in my neck of the woods, and there probably never will be. It's not even close. My only competition is from other vacation rentals, and all us little guys currently contribute a big chunk of our town's tourism revenue.

kalleboo 8y ago

I utterly despise hotels for vacations. They always make me feel stressed out and claustrophobic. Waking up ungodly early to make the breakfast buffet (and no kitchen for a leisurely breakfast), dodging housekeeping (and worrying about something getting stolen), universally shitty wifi, sometimes no fridge to keep your own drinks in, expensive laundry. Whole-home-style rentals are always more relaxing, and the only reason I've used AirBnB. I have friends who feel the same way, so I'm not alone. Are we a minority? Possibly. But we exist.

mlthoughts2018 8y ago
I’ve stayed in several whole-home rentals that were far more stressful than hotels. Broken fixtures, water outages, disgusting roaches seen in living spaces and bedrooms, lack of amenities that were promised in the rental description, bad neighborhoods where my car was broken into, and hosts who try to charge me by claiming I didn’t properly take away trash or recycling even when I followed instructions perfectly. Meanwhile, hotels have a great track record of safety, cleanliness and consistency of service from one place to the next. They’re not perfect, but I’m a big fan of saving just a small additional amount of money to stay in a hotel. To boot, hotels actually pay their taxes and I don’t have to feel bad about the booking portal company for hotels hustling municipalities and finding ways to lie/cheat/steal to avoid fair burdens to demonstrate compliance with tax laws, like with Airbnb.