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I don’t really see the value of AirBNB anyway. At least in Europe it takes hours to find a nice one, then you rate them and they rate you so hardly any rating i

I don’t really see the value of AirBNB anyway. At least in Europe it takes hours to find a nice one, then you rate them and they rate you so hardly any rating is very accurate, the places never match exactly the description, and you need to book well in advance to not need a credit card. My hotel experiences, on the other hand, are usually much nicer. On arrival I look at the maps app on my phone to find hotels near where I want to be at, I see ratings and price ranges, I walk in and can ask to see the room, talk to someone who’s always polite and often speaks good English, and pay with debit card and have 0 emails or texts or accounts from anyone about my stay. AirBNB might be nice if you want a ton of space or for long durations. This is purely as a comparison to hotels. Does anyone have different experiences?

noja 8y ago
AirBNB needs to show rating percentages, i.e. the % of people who _do_not_ leave a rating. Most people do not like to leave negative ratings. AirBNB (Amazon too) also need to enforce normalized ratings. Another five star review? Either adjust all ratings to an agreed average (e.g. 3 stars) or let users "use up" their 5-star ratings allowance.
- philsnow 8y ago
  > Either adjust all ratings to an agreed average (e.g. 3 stars) or let users "use up" their 5-star ratings allowance. This doesn't take into account people who are really picky about choosing accommodations and so only stay in listings that are worth of five stars, vs people who are very budget conscious and only stay in listings that are worth 3 stars. If you normalize these two people's ratings that will give the same 3-star average rating to both marginal and great listings.
  - noja 8y ago
    Depends how you normalize doesn't it?
- mywittyname 8y ago
  Or ditch the stars all together and grade them based on their position in the bell curve of all ratings (and maybe local ratings). So, "this place is rated higher than 83% of AirBnBs in Des Moines (and better than 65% nationally)." Absent that, my MO is use this formula f(rating) -> (rating - 4) * 10. Basically, focus on what's after the decimal; so a 4.3 translates to a 3/10. The fact that it allows for negative values is a feature.
Simon_says 8y ago
At the same price point, AirBnB's have kitchens where hotels do not. If you cook it makes a big difference.
- himlion 8y ago
  Exactly, eating in saves me a lot of money. Also you usually have more square meter at the same price point.
Kliment 8y ago
Kitchen makes an enormous difference, as mentioned in the sibling comment, and also they are often the only option in small towns. Even in medium-sized towns there might be only one hotel, next to the station, whereas you might want to be elsewhere. Sometimes you get lucky with an airbnb or similar in those cases.
michaelt 8y ago
Renting an apartment is the city equivalent of booking a chalet or villa at a different holiday location: You get multiple rooms, a kitchen and a fridge. Obviously if you're travelling alone or with someone you're happy to share a bed with, that's irrelevant. But if your group has 3 people who would prefer not to share a room, a rented apartment works out cheaper than three hotel rooms.
saiya-jin 8y ago
Yes very different experience. Hotels are usually overpriced, especially if you travel in > 2. Hotels are much more 'soulless' copy paste, apartments usually have some hint of a 'soul' and better vibe. Kitchen is a massive plus. If you do leisure travel, hotels are 'bubbles' distant from locality, something I always enjoy experiencing. List is long, and always depends on specific place. There are drawbacks to airbnb style, but positives more than counter-balance them.
shlant 8y ago
> "Does anyone have different experiences?" Having used AirBnb for 6+ years, yes. Without AirBnB, we probably would not be able to live the lifestyle we live (nomadic in SEA with 3 people, usually 2-6 months in a place) The long durations and space are definitely something we need. Some other benefits I have found: 1. Kitchens. We can't live without a kitchen of decent size. Sink, full-ish fridge, counter space. 2. Lots of choice in terms of location/look/layout/price/etc. Hotels are mainly in tourist hubs, and in SEA, usually are either decently priced and of questionable quality or much more than we want to spend (especially once you factor in AirBnB monthly discounts). 3. I trust AirBnb customer service more than hotels. Most hotels in SEA aren't chains so you are at the whim of the owners. I have had nothing but good experiences with AirBnB customer service. They can be helpful when things are getting lost in translation as well. 4. Depending on the Host, Airbnb cancellation policies tend to be more flexible, and because it's not a chain, hosts are usually more accommodating. Less "I'm sorry sir, it's company policy". 5. Airbnb's interface tends to be much easier/nicer to use. Everything is in one place, you don't have various hotel booking sites to deal with, the map works really well and you can filter by many different criteria. 6. My wife loves searching through Airbnbs for treasure :)
matwood 8y ago
I've stayed at VRBOs all over Europe, and they have mostly been good experiences. The main problem I run into is that checkin often takes longer than a hotel, but other than that they are mostly superior. As others have mentioned, they have kitchens, are in good locations, and are typically cheaper. They become much cheaper if traveling with friends where you may have needed multiple hotel rooms. So my current thinking is 1-2 night stay means hotel, but any longer and I start looking for AirBnbs. I've also noticed that a lot of boutique hotels (5-10 rooms) often list on the VRBO sites now. The last time I was in Greece, all of my island accommodations were booked on VRBO type sites but were really just small hotels.
WhompingWindows 8y ago
Hotels feel bereft of charm and comfort, I prefer the home-y, personalized vibe of the 5 or so AirBNB's I've booked over the years. It's possible there were hidden cameras, yes, but is that not also possible in hotels? Either way, I don't get excited to potentially be snooped on, but I can't throw up a tent and camp any time and any place, so it's a trade-off.
sokoloff 8y ago
I love AirBnBs for personal travel and sometimes for business travel. Renting a house for a week with colleagues all working on a project gives a very different vibe (and is much more productive) than a series of hotel rooms where the only option to hang out (whether to work or to BS) is at a bar, the lobby, or in someone's room. I'll take a living room, kitchen, and then a series of private bedrooms down the hall over that any day. For personal travel, we've stayed in awesome city loft apartments, little cottage houses, and even a (no-kidding) tree house in Costa Rica. I like living a little closer to "local normal" rather than having a sterilized, sanitized, pre-packaged hotel room experience. My good experiences outweigh bad at least 9:1 on AirBnB.
- leesalminen 8y ago
  > (no-kidding) tree house in Costa Rica. Assuming there is only 1 tree house AirBnB listed in Costa Rica, we've stayed in the same place. Super cool design!
asark 8y ago
Once you get past one kid, having a whole house when traveling is... the only thing that makes traveling seem tolerable, really. Some more touristy places have cabins and such, but in others it's AirBnB or nothing, except maybe some expensive townhouse-like hotels out near airports. We've also used them for away-from-kids weekend retreats with other couples. Hotels wouldn't work at all, the whole point is to find some place pleasant to hang out in for a couple days, that's not your own house, and that can handle 4-6 people without feeling crowded. Hanging out in a hotel's just sad, not pleasant and relaxing, at least at prices we can afford.

noja 8y ago

AirBNB needs to show rating percentages, i.e. the % of people who _do_not_ leave a rating. Most people do not like to leave negative ratings. AirBNB (Amazon too) also need to enforce normalized ratings. Another five star review? Either adjust all ratings to an agreed average (e.g. 3 stars) or let users "use up" their 5-star ratings allowance.

philsnow 8y ago
> Either adjust all ratings to an agreed average (e.g. 3 stars) or let users "use up" their 5-star ratings allowance. This doesn't take into account people who are really picky about choosing accommodations and so only stay in listings that are worth of five stars, vs people who are very budget conscious and only stay in listings that are worth 3 stars. If you normalize these two people's ratings that will give the same 3-star average rating to both marginal and great listings.
- noja 8y ago
  Depends how you normalize doesn't it?
mywittyname 8y ago
Or ditch the stars all together and grade them based on their position in the bell curve of all ratings (and maybe local ratings). So, "this place is rated higher than 83% of AirBnBs in Des Moines (and better than 65% nationally)." Absent that, my MO is use this formula f(rating) -> (rating - 4) * 10. Basically, focus on what's after the decimal; so a 4.3 translates to a 3/10. The fact that it allows for negative values is a feature.

Simon_says 8y ago

At the same price point, AirBnB's have kitchens where hotels do not. If you cook it makes a big difference.

himlion 8y ago
Exactly, eating in saves me a lot of money. Also you usually have more square meter at the same price point.

Kliment 8y ago

Kitchen makes an enormous difference, as mentioned in the sibling comment, and also they are often the only option in small towns. Even in medium-sized towns there might be only one hotel, next to the station, whereas you might want to be elsewhere. Sometimes you get lucky with an airbnb or similar in those cases.

michaelt 8y ago

Renting an apartment is the city equivalent of booking a chalet or villa at a different holiday location: You get multiple rooms, a kitchen and a fridge. Obviously if you're travelling alone or with someone you're happy to share a bed with, that's irrelevant. But if your group has 3 people who would prefer not to share a room, a rented apartment works out cheaper than three hotel rooms.

saiya-jin 8y ago

Yes very different experience. Hotels are usually overpriced, especially if you travel in > 2. Hotels are much more 'soulless' copy paste, apartments usually have some hint of a 'soul' and better vibe. Kitchen is a massive plus. If you do leisure travel, hotels are 'bubbles' distant from locality, something I always enjoy experiencing. List is long, and always depends on specific place. There are drawbacks to airbnb style, but positives more than counter-balance them.

shlant 8y ago

> "Does anyone have different experiences?" Having used AirBnb for 6+ years, yes. Without AirBnB, we probably would not be able to live the lifestyle we live (nomadic in SEA with 3 people, usually 2-6 months in a place) The long durations and space are definitely something we need. Some other benefits I have found: 1. Kitchens. We can't live without a kitchen of decent size. Sink, full-ish fridge, counter space. 2. Lots of choice in terms of location/look/layout/price/etc. Hotels are mainly in tourist hubs, and in SEA, usually are either decently priced and of questionable quality or much more than we want to spend (especially once you factor in AirBnB monthly discounts). 3. I trust AirBnb customer service more than hotels. Most hotels in SEA aren't chains so you are at the whim of the owners. I have had nothing but good experiences with AirBnB customer service. They can be helpful when things are getting lost in translation as well. 4. Depending on the Host, Airbnb cancellation policies tend to be more flexible, and because it's not a chain, hosts are usually more accommodating. Less "I'm sorry sir, it's company policy". 5. Airbnb's interface tends to be much easier/nicer to use. Everything is in one place, you don't have various hotel booking sites to deal with, the map works really well and you can filter by many different criteria. 6. My wife loves searching through Airbnbs for treasure :)

matwood 8y ago

I've stayed at VRBOs all over Europe, and they have mostly been good experiences. The main problem I run into is that checkin often takes longer than a hotel, but other than that they are mostly superior. As others have mentioned, they have kitchens, are in good locations, and are typically cheaper. They become much cheaper if traveling with friends where you may have needed multiple hotel rooms. So my current thinking is 1-2 night stay means hotel, but any longer and I start looking for AirBnbs. I've also noticed that a lot of boutique hotels (5-10 rooms) often list on the VRBO sites now. The last time I was in Greece, all of my island accommodations were booked on VRBO type sites but were really just small hotels.

WhompingWindows 8y ago

Hotels feel bereft of charm and comfort, I prefer the home-y, personalized vibe of the 5 or so AirBNB's I've booked over the years. It's possible there were hidden cameras, yes, but is that not also possible in hotels? Either way, I don't get excited to potentially be snooped on, but I can't throw up a tent and camp any time and any place, so it's a trade-off.

sokoloff 8y ago

I love AirBnBs for personal travel and sometimes for business travel. Renting a house for a week with colleagues all working on a project gives a very different vibe (and is much more productive) than a series of hotel rooms where the only option to hang out (whether to work or to BS) is at a bar, the lobby, or in someone's room. I'll take a living room, kitchen, and then a series of private bedrooms down the hall over that any day. For personal travel, we've stayed in awesome city loft apartments, little cottage houses, and even a (no-kidding) tree house in Costa Rica. I like living a little closer to "local normal" rather than having a sterilized, sanitized, pre-packaged hotel room experience. My good experiences outweigh bad at least 9:1 on AirBnB.

leesalminen 8y ago
> (no-kidding) tree house in Costa Rica. Assuming there is only 1 tree house AirBnB listed in Costa Rica, we've stayed in the same place. Super cool design!

asark 8y ago

Once you get past one kid, having a whole house when traveling is... the only thing that makes traveling seem tolerable, really. Some more touristy places have cabins and such, but in others it's AirBnB or nothing, except maybe some expensive townhouse-like hotels out near airports. We've also used them for away-from-kids weekend retreats with other couples. Hotels wouldn't work at all, the whole point is to find some place pleasant to hang out in for a couple days, that's not your own house, and that can handle 4-6 people without feeling crowded. Hanging out in a hotel's just sad, not pleasant and relaxing, at least at prices we can afford.