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I have no idea why anyone would stay at an Airbnb. The lack of regulation alone makes it a no-go for me. There’s so much that can go wrong, and you have literal

by op00to 2y ago

I have no idea why anyone would stay at an Airbnb. The lack of regulation alone makes it a no-go for me. There’s so much that can go wrong, and you have literally no recourse.

imp0cat 2y ago
Yeah, but it's lot cheaper. I see a pattern where some of my friends can get a lot out of the combination of cheap plane tickets and Airbnb. The only downside is that you never know where you're going in advance, because your're just sifting through the cheapest options.
- op00to 2y ago
  It's cheaper until you meet with an unscrupulous (or even just lazy) landlord and you need to scramble for last minute lodgings. Have this happen once in an expensive city, and it erases a lifetime of savings from cheaper Airbnbs. It's been my experience that Airbnbs are not really cheaper post-COVID compared to hotels.
fragmede 2y ago
It's a home with home amenities like an actual kitchen, a washer dryer, bedrooms. Getting a couple of hotel rooms for a bunch of friends or coworkers or a family is less cohesive so some actually prefer an AirBnB despite the downsides. Hotels with proper suites are competitive, but, say, for a small scrappy startup visiting town for a conference where they're sharing a car and meals and need to coordinate gear, an AirBnB is simply better.
- epiccoleman 2y ago
  I recently stayed in an AirBnB with a group of friends - we traveled to see a band we like play two consecutive nights at a venue in a city where none of us lived. We all had our own bedrooms, and having the house to ourselves meant we could do stuff we couldn't have done in a hotel. Some of us brought instruments and had some jam sessions in the basement. We stayed up late after the shows listening to music, drinking and playing cards and laughing loudly at stupid jokes. When people got tired they could just go to their room and go to bed. We all cooked breakfast together in the morning. It was a wildly fun time and it would not have been possible if we'd all just gotten hotel rooms.
  - readthenotes1 2y ago
    This is pretty much a current AirBnb ad.
insane_dreamer 2y ago
If you're a family on vacation it's much more convenient than a hotel and most importantly it allows you to stay in more remote locations where there are no hotels; it's worked very well for us over the years (though I'd feel differently if we'd ever been scammed). But it has gotten a lot more expensive than it used to be, and the charm and appeal of staying at someone's house and meeting new people is mostly (but not entirely) gone. If I'm traveling alone or on business I don't bother with AirBnb anymore.
polski-g 2y ago
Isn't the recourse a charge back on your credit card?
- op00to 2y ago
  Credit card companies are not as customer-friendly with chargebacks as they used to be. I've experienced Amex automatically siding with a vendor in a case where the vendor was at fault and there was a clear refund policy that the vendor didn't adhere to. I'd be surprised if credit cards are allowing chargebacks on Airbnbs.

by op00to 2y ago

I have no idea why anyone would stay at an Airbnb. The lack of regulation alone makes it a no-go for me. There’s so much that can go wrong, and you have literally no recourse.

imp0cat 2y ago

Yeah, but it's lot cheaper. I see a pattern where some of my friends can get a lot out of the combination of cheap plane tickets and Airbnb. The only downside is that you never know where you're going in advance, because your're just sifting through the cheapest options.

op00to 2y ago
It's cheaper until you meet with an unscrupulous (or even just lazy) landlord and you need to scramble for last minute lodgings. Have this happen once in an expensive city, and it erases a lifetime of savings from cheaper Airbnbs. It's been my experience that Airbnbs are not really cheaper post-COVID compared to hotels.

fragmede 2y ago

It's a home with home amenities like an actual kitchen, a washer dryer, bedrooms. Getting a couple of hotel rooms for a bunch of friends or coworkers or a family is less cohesive so some actually prefer an AirBnB despite the downsides. Hotels with proper suites are competitive, but, say, for a small scrappy startup visiting town for a conference where they're sharing a car and meals and need to coordinate gear, an AirBnB is simply better.

epiccoleman 2y ago
I recently stayed in an AirBnB with a group of friends - we traveled to see a band we like play two consecutive nights at a venue in a city where none of us lived. We all had our own bedrooms, and having the house to ourselves meant we could do stuff we couldn't have done in a hotel. Some of us brought instruments and had some jam sessions in the basement. We stayed up late after the shows listening to music, drinking and playing cards and laughing loudly at stupid jokes. When people got tired they could just go to their room and go to bed. We all cooked breakfast together in the morning. It was a wildly fun time and it would not have been possible if we'd all just gotten hotel rooms.
- readthenotes1 2y ago
  This is pretty much a current AirBnb ad.

insane_dreamer 2y ago

If you're a family on vacation it's much more convenient than a hotel and most importantly it allows you to stay in more remote locations where there are no hotels; it's worked very well for us over the years (though I'd feel differently if we'd ever been scammed). But it has gotten a lot more expensive than it used to be, and the charm and appeal of staying at someone's house and meeting new people is mostly (but not entirely) gone. If I'm traveling alone or on business I don't bother with AirBnb anymore.

polski-g 2y ago

Isn't the recourse a charge back on your credit card?

op00to 2y ago
Credit card companies are not as customer-friendly with chargebacks as they used to be. I've experienced Amex automatically siding with a vendor in a case where the vendor was at fault and there was a clear refund policy that the vendor didn't adhere to. I'd be surprised if credit cards are allowing chargebacks on Airbnbs.