8 ms·

Hotels have solved this problem. Each brand more or less offers the same quality across the US. You only need to see a few photos to know what options you have.

by eezurr 5y ago

Hotels have solved this problem. Each brand more or less offers the same quality across the US. You only need to see a few photos to know what options you have. Most of the rooms are the same design, same furniture. And its common for them to have desks and computer chairs. Consistency. Why are you still using airbnb?

lambic 5y ago
If I want a clinical office space style room I'll use a hotel. If I want something different or fun, or a place that's shared so I can talk to people, I'll use airbnb. Airbnbs also tend to be cheaper for longer stays (more than 4 nights).
mg 5y ago
Can you link to an example? The type of standardized hotel room you describe sounds like the small rooms that are made to sleep during the night and leave during the day. Not for "living" in a foreign city.
- bin_bash 5y ago
  I’ve had decent luck with Residence Inn. Full kitchen and separate bedrooms. The sofa mattresses are terrible though.
  - otterley 5y ago
    I’ve never experienced a good sofa mattress. Have you?
    - bin_bash 5y ago
      Not that would be comfortable for an adult, but the newer Courtyard King Size rooms have single-person pull-outs that I think are a lot better than what they have at Residence Inn.
- astura 5y ago
  Homewood Suites is designed to accommodate longer term guests. I spent around 2 months in one years ago - full kitchen, separate living room and bedroom. Laundry onsite. I believe Candlewood Suites is the same, but less "upscale."
- eezurr 5y ago
  If you don't need a kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton typically have desks. Some locations have full sized ones (4-5 feet).
arcbyte 5y ago
Because for the same quality, hotels are easily 3x the price. Consistently.
- bradstewart 5y ago
  This has not been consistently true for me. Maybe for long-term stays (week+), but certainly not for for a day or two after adding in all of the cleaning fees, etc.
  - bin_bash 5y ago
    It may be true if you have a large family and stay for a while. A 4-5 bedroom house would be a lot cheaper (and more convenient) than 4-5 hotel rooms. Of course, large families are the exception not the rule nowadays. Personally I don’t have a large family and the inconsistently with Airbnb means we don’t use it often at all.
- arcbyte 5y ago
  I traveled extensively in 2021 and routinely I can find weekend stays on Airbnb, for the entire place, between 250 to 350. Two star Hotels (la quinta, HIE, etc) routinely want 400-600+. It's total insanity.
  - gbear605 5y ago
    Where are you traveling that hotel rooms are that expensive!? Up and down the US east coast, there are plenty of perfectly good two-queen-bed rooms for under $100 per night. I recently stayed in downtown Boston in a boutique hotel for $130/night and the surrounding hotels were all under $175/night.
    - astura 5y ago
      What hotel is this? If you don't mind me asking.
chronofar 5y ago
They also very rarely have kitchens or washer or dryers for long term stays, or monthly discounts (advertised at least). If you’re just there for a few days stay over sure hotels are a fine choice, if you’re staying for a while they often won’t be particularly well suited, and finding one that is will take just as long as searching AirBnB. Like the person you responded to I also spend a great deal of time searching for suitable long term stays. I think there is a large gap in the market for reliable brands/services with solid customer service (which AirBnB lacks) and amenities for modern longer term tech travelers (desks (ideally standup), fast wifi, kitchens, suitable space for 2 to work separately, washer/dryer, etc). If I could just look in a city and say “oh there’s a X there around an area I want to visit, I’ll just book that” it would be oh so nice.
- splonk 5y ago
  Serviced apartments (and to a lesser extent extended stay hotels) try to cover that niche, but they're pretty thin on the ground outside of major cities. I think Sonder was also trying to do that kind of thing but I have no idea if they've expanded outside of SF and one or two other cities, or for that matter if they've shut down in the past couple years.
  - chronofar 5y ago
    Yeah I've tried that route but the lack of reviews and difficulty finding usually ends up not working out. Sonder has expanded, but has fairly mixed reviews whenever I chase them down. It does seem promising though so I do continue to include it in my searches, it just hasn't been able to provide a great solution yet for what I've been looking for.
- WorldMaker 5y ago
  Many "extended hotel stay" chains offer amenities likes kitchens and laundry. Most have "Extended Stay" somewhere in their brand name. Marriott's relatively common brand in many major cities is Residence Inn. To my experience Residence Inns are quite reliable.
  - 5y ago

by eezurr 5y ago

lambic 5y ago

If I want a clinical office space style room I'll use a hotel. If I want something different or fun, or a place that's shared so I can talk to people, I'll use airbnb. Airbnbs also tend to be cheaper for longer stays (more than 4 nights).

mg 5y ago

Can you link to an example? The type of standardized hotel room you describe sounds like the small rooms that are made to sleep during the night and leave during the day. Not for "living" in a foreign city.

bin_bash 5y ago
I’ve had decent luck with Residence Inn. Full kitchen and separate bedrooms. The sofa mattresses are terrible though.
- otterley 5y ago
  I’ve never experienced a good sofa mattress. Have you?
  - bin_bash 5y ago
    Not that would be comfortable for an adult, but the newer Courtyard King Size rooms have single-person pull-outs that I think are a lot better than what they have at Residence Inn.
astura 5y ago
Homewood Suites is designed to accommodate longer term guests. I spent around 2 months in one years ago - full kitchen, separate living room and bedroom. Laundry onsite. I believe Candlewood Suites is the same, but less "upscale."
eezurr 5y ago
If you don't need a kitchen, DoubleTree by Hilton typically have desks. Some locations have full sized ones (4-5 feet).

arcbyte 5y ago

Because for the same quality, hotels are easily 3x the price. Consistently.

bradstewart 5y ago
This has not been consistently true for me. Maybe for long-term stays (week+), but certainly not for for a day or two after adding in all of the cleaning fees, etc.
- bin_bash 5y ago
  It may be true if you have a large family and stay for a while. A 4-5 bedroom house would be a lot cheaper (and more convenient) than 4-5 hotel rooms. Of course, large families are the exception not the rule nowadays. Personally I don’t have a large family and the inconsistently with Airbnb means we don’t use it often at all.
arcbyte 5y ago
I traveled extensively in 2021 and routinely I can find weekend stays on Airbnb, for the entire place, between 250 to 350. Two star Hotels (la quinta, HIE, etc) routinely want 400-600+. It's total insanity.
- gbear605 5y ago
  Where are you traveling that hotel rooms are that expensive!? Up and down the US east coast, there are plenty of perfectly good two-queen-bed rooms for under $100 per night. I recently stayed in downtown Boston in a boutique hotel for $130/night and the surrounding hotels were all under $175/night.
  - astura 5y ago
    What hotel is this? If you don't mind me asking.

chronofar 5y ago

They also very rarely have kitchens or washer or dryers for long term stays, or monthly discounts (advertised at least). If you’re just there for a few days stay over sure hotels are a fine choice, if you’re staying for a while they often won’t be particularly well suited, and finding one that is will take just as long as searching AirBnB. Like the person you responded to I also spend a great deal of time searching for suitable long term stays. I think there is a large gap in the market for reliable brands/services with solid customer service (which AirBnB lacks) and amenities for modern longer term tech travelers (desks (ideally standup), fast wifi, kitchens, suitable space for 2 to work separately, washer/dryer, etc). If I could just look in a city and say “oh there’s a X there around an area I want to visit, I’ll just book that” it would be oh so nice.

splonk 5y ago
Serviced apartments (and to a lesser extent extended stay hotels) try to cover that niche, but they're pretty thin on the ground outside of major cities. I think Sonder was also trying to do that kind of thing but I have no idea if they've expanded outside of SF and one or two other cities, or for that matter if they've shut down in the past couple years.
- chronofar 5y ago
  Yeah I've tried that route but the lack of reviews and difficulty finding usually ends up not working out. Sonder has expanded, but has fairly mixed reviews whenever I chase them down. It does seem promising though so I do continue to include it in my searches, it just hasn't been able to provide a great solution yet for what I've been looking for.
WorldMaker 5y ago
Many "extended hotel stay" chains offer amenities likes kitchens and laundry. Most have "Extended Stay" somewhere in their brand name. Marriott's relatively common brand in many major cities is Residence Inn. To my experience Residence Inns are quite reliable.
- 5y ago