4 ms·

You are really overstating how many people like that are out there. Compare the sheer number of hotel bookings to AirBnB bookings, even factoring out business t

You are really overstating how many people like that are out there. Compare the sheer number of hotel bookings to AirBnB bookings, even factoring out business travel. I just think that those still enamoured by it haven’t been burned yet. There is very little [effective] recourse when your AirBnB takes a turn for the worse. There are enough horror stories out there. I personally think the value to risk ratio is way off for them these days. It isn’t cheap anymore and that makes it way less appealing.

noirbot 6y ago
I think a lot of it is in what your expectations are - I've had plenty of odd experiences with AirBnB, but nothing catastrophic, but I think that's because I've mostly been trying to use it for things that are not a hotel-like experience. Generally, I'm either doing something where I'm renting a whole house in a VRBO style thing where it's likely someone's full-time rental property and has been for a while or I'm essentially looking for something barely above couch surfing where I expect to show up in the evening, go to bed, then wake up and leave for the day. I've had plenty of minor sub-optimal experiences, but usually nothing that wasn't called out in the listing, and I've also had plenty of experiences with hosts that took things seriously and were amazing to work with. Most of the stories I've seen of people getting burned was though listings that at least personally, I would have found a little suspicious in terms of price-to-quality, and level of professionalism. They seem to prey on people who want the experience of a hotel, but don't want to pay for it.
api 6y ago
Being burned by an AirBnB stay generally at least leaves you with an entertaining tale of OMGWTF. A bad hotel experience usually just leaves you grossed out or with bedbug bites. I have one of each: a funny AirBNB caper and a totally disgusting hotel story I wouldn't bother telling. The latter involves stains of the uhh... lonely masculine sort... on towels. Shudder.
- usrusr 6y ago
  It's quite the opposite for me: I imagine that in a bad airbnb experience I'd feel personally cheated, get hung up in a pointless conflict or maybe suspect that I could somehow be part of the problem myself. When staying in a failing hotel on the other hand I tend to get a weird feeling of camaraderie with the staff who keep that ship going despite obvious mismanagement, underinvestment or just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. My subjectively worst hotel experiences where not that but places with owner-managers who were too full of their own perfection. Nominal staff failures on the other hand, like that one time when I ended up setting breakfast tables, they are often just fond memories, similar to those you attribute to airbnb.

noirbot 6y ago

I think a lot of it is in what your expectations are - I've had plenty of odd experiences with AirBnB, but nothing catastrophic, but I think that's because I've mostly been trying to use it for things that are not a hotel-like experience. Generally, I'm either doing something where I'm renting a whole house in a VRBO style thing where it's likely someone's full-time rental property and has been for a while or I'm essentially looking for something barely above couch surfing where I expect to show up in the evening, go to bed, then wake up and leave for the day. I've had plenty of minor sub-optimal experiences, but usually nothing that wasn't called out in the listing, and I've also had plenty of experiences with hosts that took things seriously and were amazing to work with. Most of the stories I've seen of people getting burned was though listings that at least personally, I would have found a little suspicious in terms of price-to-quality, and level of professionalism. They seem to prey on people who want the experience of a hotel, but don't want to pay for it.

api 6y ago

Being burned by an AirBnB stay generally at least leaves you with an entertaining tale of OMGWTF. A bad hotel experience usually just leaves you grossed out or with bedbug bites. I have one of each: a funny AirBNB caper and a totally disgusting hotel story I wouldn't bother telling. The latter involves stains of the uhh... lonely masculine sort... on towels. Shudder.

usrusr 6y ago
It's quite the opposite for me: I imagine that in a bad airbnb experience I'd feel personally cheated, get hung up in a pointless conflict or maybe suspect that I could somehow be part of the problem myself. When staying in a failing hotel on the other hand I tend to get a weird feeling of camaraderie with the staff who keep that ship going despite obvious mismanagement, underinvestment or just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. My subjectively worst hotel experiences where not that but places with owner-managers who were too full of their own perfection. Nominal staff failures on the other hand, like that one time when I ended up setting breakfast tables, they are often just fond memories, similar to those you attribute to airbnb.