3 ms·

I've been on the move (nomad) for close to 3 years now. First year full airbnb. Second year, mostly airbnb. This third-year, I have around $800 of airbnb credit

by csomar 2y ago

I've been on the move (nomad) for close to 3 years now. First year full airbnb. Second year, mostly airbnb. This third-year, I have around $800 of airbnb credit that I am yet to use. And I really want to use it. Airbnb has just became the worst of both worlds: 1. For hotels, it has an inferior booking experience and is more expensive. So I just book with booking.com and 2. for longer rentals, the experience is both unpredictable and the price are x2-3 times higher. Case in point, I am in a Vietnamese city right now. I looked airbnb and the places I see average $500-700/month. Instead, I did a short walk around the coworking space I rented at and found a comparable place for $200/month. Big Plus: I got to see the place BEFORE placing the non-refundable one month rent. The place is literally across the coworking space (just have to cross the street). As an extremely lazy person that prefer to use online methods than asking random people, I really wonder who is still using Airbnb.

murukesh_s 2y ago
> I really wonder who is still using Airbnb. I guess people who are looking for short term rentals but not yet in the country/area, especially families with kids. I booked via Airbnb because that was the only way I could book my stay at another country before traveling with kids. Of course if i am staying for several months, i would look around in local listings too..
- tossandthrow 2y ago
  > So I just book with booking.com and 2. for longer rentals, the experience is both unpredictable and the price are x2-3 times higher. Personally, I have also found that AirBNB is amongst the worst in class for booking accommodation - especially because they, as Americans love, use opaque pricing.
  - woleium 2y ago
    use the australia url, it shows total price upfront (auzzie law)
doix 2y ago
I'm in a similar situation, except it's closer for 4 years for me. My experience is completely different to yours, the options on booking.com/agoda/expedia/trip are usually garbage compared to what I can get on Airbnb. I do book for a month at a time, anything shorter I do just book a hotel though. My experience is in Africa and in Asia, no experience in the US and I only used it in Europe back in 2014 or so. > Case in point, I am in a Vietnamese city right now. I looked airbnb and the places I see average $500-700/month. I was in Da Nang for a month at the start of 2024, paid $450 for a month, it was much better than any hotel I saw for a similar price. The owner lived downstairs and invited me to drink with him a lot. > Instead, I did a short walk around the coworking space I rented at and found a comparable place for $200/month. Big Plus: I got to see the place BEFORE placing the non-refundable one month rent. The place is literally across the coworking space (just have to cross the street). Yeah, you can get cheaper places, but I always worry that if something goes wrong the owner won't care or they could try and scam me. You also need to book a short-term stay first, then go looking around, you need to move all your stuff a second time, I just can't be bothered. I don't know, for me personally, the value that Airbnb provide for the cut they take seems worth it. I've had a few problems with Airbnb, and their support has always helped me out. I think people are _really_ assholes to them or something, because every time the person on the phone thanks me for being so understanding or whatever, even though I don't think I am.
- csomar 2y ago
  Can you explain to me how the airbnb support was useful because my experience is that they are really useless and will do nothing of substance. They’ll contact the host which might scare him a bit but aside from that they almost never refund and they also do not vet their hosts. For the ratings, I’ve found that particularly for Airbnb they are meaningless. The system is heavily biased toward both parties rating each other favorably. I’ve stayed in countless 5 stars rated places that are completely disappointing. Again, I do find value in what Airbnb is supposed to offer. I’d gladly pay more if I found this same place through Airbnb. I’d also pay more if there were serious and strong refund guarantees (ie: book for one month but decide within the first day to cancel for the price of the first day)
  - 2y ago
jerpint 2y ago
Airbnb still has better selection than most platforms, especially for longer term rental. also having comments and ratings of hosts is useful when booking overseas. It is always possible to contact the host directly and bypass the platform, but only when breadcrumbs of info are left by the hosts (e.g. a logo to a website, reverse image search, etc) however making payments is much more difficult from past experience and not all hosts prefer this option Of course, if you already are in the city and not pressed for time, you can typically find much better deals in person, especially in cities that are not very tech savvy
pas 2y ago
I don't like AirBnB, but still use it. Sometimes there are no places available on booking.com. (That said I only used it in EU regions and if I recall correctly I never had any disputes with them.) So I guess casual low-needs travelers (couples) use it a lot?
telesilla 2y ago
>who is still using Airbnb. When needing an entire apartment for groups, especially work groups, we still use Airbnb because in some cities it just feels more reliable than booking.com. For hotels I try to call and ask if they can match booking.com rate. I can't do that with all countries easily so booking.com gets their cut in that case.
therealdrag0 2y ago
What a confusing comment. Obviously if you are at a destination you can see a place and if you’re not you can’t. Obviously most people traveling can’t see the place ahead of time, so have to rely on websites. And obviously places on Airbnb advertising to international travelers are going to charge a premium than a local place that is not.
AbstractH24 2y ago
Those pesky startups and their need to become profitable post 2021. Go figure

by csomar 2y ago

murukesh_s 2y ago

> I really wonder who is still using Airbnb. I guess people who are looking for short term rentals but not yet in the country/area, especially families with kids. I booked via Airbnb because that was the only way I could book my stay at another country before traveling with kids. Of course if i am staying for several months, i would look around in local listings too..

tossandthrow 2y ago
> So I just book with booking.com and 2. for longer rentals, the experience is both unpredictable and the price are x2-3 times higher. Personally, I have also found that AirBNB is amongst the worst in class for booking accommodation - especially because they, as Americans love, use opaque pricing.
- woleium 2y ago
  use the australia url, it shows total price upfront (auzzie law)

doix 2y ago

I'm in a similar situation, except it's closer for 4 years for me. My experience is completely different to yours, the options on booking.com/agoda/expedia/trip are usually garbage compared to what I can get on Airbnb. I do book for a month at a time, anything shorter I do just book a hotel though. My experience is in Africa and in Asia, no experience in the US and I only used it in Europe back in 2014 or so. > Case in point, I am in a Vietnamese city right now. I looked airbnb and the places I see average $500-700/month. I was in Da Nang for a month at the start of 2024, paid $450 for a month, it was much better than any hotel I saw for a similar price. The owner lived downstairs and invited me to drink with him a lot. > Instead, I did a short walk around the coworking space I rented at and found a comparable place for $200/month. Big Plus: I got to see the place BEFORE placing the non-refundable one month rent. The place is literally across the coworking space (just have to cross the street). Yeah, you can get cheaper places, but I always worry that if something goes wrong the owner won't care or they could try and scam me. You also need to book a short-term stay first, then go looking around, you need to move all your stuff a second time, I just can't be bothered. I don't know, for me personally, the value that Airbnb provide for the cut they take seems worth it. I've had a few problems with Airbnb, and their support has always helped me out. I think people are _really_ assholes to them or something, because every time the person on the phone thanks me for being so understanding or whatever, even though I don't think I am.

csomar 2y ago
Can you explain to me how the airbnb support was useful because my experience is that they are really useless and will do nothing of substance. They’ll contact the host which might scare him a bit but aside from that they almost never refund and they also do not vet their hosts. For the ratings, I’ve found that particularly for Airbnb they are meaningless. The system is heavily biased toward both parties rating each other favorably. I’ve stayed in countless 5 stars rated places that are completely disappointing. Again, I do find value in what Airbnb is supposed to offer. I’d gladly pay more if I found this same place through Airbnb. I’d also pay more if there were serious and strong refund guarantees (ie: book for one month but decide within the first day to cancel for the price of the first day)
- 2y ago

jerpint 2y ago

Airbnb still has better selection than most platforms, especially for longer term rental. also having comments and ratings of hosts is useful when booking overseas. It is always possible to contact the host directly and bypass the platform, but only when breadcrumbs of info are left by the hosts (e.g. a logo to a website, reverse image search, etc) however making payments is much more difficult from past experience and not all hosts prefer this option Of course, if you already are in the city and not pressed for time, you can typically find much better deals in person, especially in cities that are not very tech savvy

pas 2y ago

I don't like AirBnB, but still use it. Sometimes there are no places available on booking.com. (That said I only used it in EU regions and if I recall correctly I never had any disputes with them.) So I guess casual low-needs travelers (couples) use it a lot?

telesilla 2y ago

>who is still using Airbnb. When needing an entire apartment for groups, especially work groups, we still use Airbnb because in some cities it just feels more reliable than booking.com. For hotels I try to call and ask if they can match booking.com rate. I can't do that with all countries easily so booking.com gets their cut in that case.

therealdrag0 2y ago

What a confusing comment. Obviously if you are at a destination you can see a place and if you’re not you can’t. Obviously most people traveling can’t see the place ahead of time, so have to rely on websites. And obviously places on Airbnb advertising to international travelers are going to charge a premium than a local place that is not.

AbstractH24 2y ago

Those pesky startups and their need to become profitable post 2021. Go figure