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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

by 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)
- bpev 2y ago
  There was one time that I found bed bugs on arrival and took a picture (thank goodness I was able to escape without carrying any); they gave me a full refund + some extra inconvenience money (in cash, not airbnbucks). Probably would have been much more complicated if I had stayed a night or if I hadn't been able to get a picture / easy proof. But it was nice to have Airbnb as a 3rd party in that instance.
- doix 2y ago
  I booked a place that said it has a washing machine, it did not have a washing machine, Airbnb let me cancel that month and gave me some extra credit to book another place. Another host tried to get me to pay a deposit in cash, I complained to Airbnb, he eventually agreed to drop it. I got Airbnb to let me cancel anyway because he was pissed off and I just didn't want to deal with it for a month. One place had loads of mold and absolutely stank, Airbnb let me cancel. From what I remember, they refunded with credits, not real money, but for me it's basically the same thing. I do find it really annoying, because then I'm looking for a place last minute and all the cheap & good places are gone, so I end up paying more than I'd like. But it still happens infrequently enough, and I find the alternatives less appealing. > I’ve stayed in countless 5 stars rated places that are completely disappointing. As in a 5.0, all 5 stars? I don't think I've ever even seen one, let alone stayed in one. Everything is usually between 4-4.8. But yeah, I agree, the ratings are completely useless. Also the "dedicated workspace" filter option is useless as well, every host seems to put even when when the only usable surface for a laptop is 50cm near the kitchen sink. Don't get me wrong, I wish Airbnb was better, and I have read/heard some horror stories. I might be one nightmare experience away from ditching them, but for now, I just wanted to provide my experience as someone that still uses Airbnb and find it's good enough.
  - csomar 2y ago
    Thanks for this. I definitely didn’t get a similar treatment but will complain harder next time.

by doix 2y ago

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)

bpev 2y ago
There was one time that I found bed bugs on arrival and took a picture (thank goodness I was able to escape without carrying any); they gave me a full refund + some extra inconvenience money (in cash, not airbnbucks). Probably would have been much more complicated if I had stayed a night or if I hadn't been able to get a picture / easy proof. But it was nice to have Airbnb as a 3rd party in that instance.
doix 2y ago
I booked a place that said it has a washing machine, it did not have a washing machine, Airbnb let me cancel that month and gave me some extra credit to book another place. Another host tried to get me to pay a deposit in cash, I complained to Airbnb, he eventually agreed to drop it. I got Airbnb to let me cancel anyway because he was pissed off and I just didn't want to deal with it for a month. One place had loads of mold and absolutely stank, Airbnb let me cancel. From what I remember, they refunded with credits, not real money, but for me it's basically the same thing. I do find it really annoying, because then I'm looking for a place last minute and all the cheap & good places are gone, so I end up paying more than I'd like. But it still happens infrequently enough, and I find the alternatives less appealing. > I’ve stayed in countless 5 stars rated places that are completely disappointing. As in a 5.0, all 5 stars? I don't think I've ever even seen one, let alone stayed in one. Everything is usually between 4-4.8. But yeah, I agree, the ratings are completely useless. Also the "dedicated workspace" filter option is useless as well, every host seems to put even when when the only usable surface for a laptop is 50cm near the kitchen sink. Don't get me wrong, I wish Airbnb was better, and I have read/heard some horror stories. I might be one nightmare experience away from ditching them, but for now, I just wanted to provide my experience as someone that still uses Airbnb and find it's good enough.
- csomar 2y ago
  Thanks for this. I definitely didn’t get a similar treatment but will complain harder next time.