“I’ve not really had a “bad” experience although we love to cook and sometimes the pots and pans and knives situation is scant and/or cheap stuff and you have to really get creative.”
That was one of several problems with my most recent rental, @momofthreeboys. They didn’t have some very basic stuff that any kitchen should stock and what they had was super cheap. This wasn’t a cheap rental and they actually emphasized the kitchen in the description referring to it as a “cook’s dream”. Not.
Our current house was rented as a “luxury VRBO.” There were RATS in the attic when we inspected it. The owners hired an exterminator before listing, but the signs were there. It was soooo bad we paid $$$ to clean the attic, secure the perimeter so to speak, and replace the entire insulation. After this, I am two thumbs down on the VRBO thing. 
I can buy my own TP (although it is not what I would want to on vacay), but RATS?!!! No thanks. I know there could be vermin in hotels, but at least at the Marriotts we stay, the vermin is not walking on the drywall above your head.
Lol, we’ve done VRBO in Europe and the US and never had an issue. When we rent a home for a vacation, we get the full array of cooking materials, enough tp and paper towels to start, enough towels. I don’t recall any having luxury soaps or lotions. But we don’t expect that. Dish soap is there, yes. Flowers and a bottle of wine, yes.
We have friends who routinely rent ABB in NYC, no complaints. They did have a 4th floor walk up, but they’re the sort that didn’t mind.
What’s the real difference between VRBO and ABB? I thought ABB was quick, on the fly lodging, little expected besides comfort and cleanliness, enough to cook, if cooking is included-? And wifi, if available. D1 sayed in and ABB too remote for wifi, but knew that, going in.
The host and guest both review each other before the reviews are made public, or, if only one reviews, it goes public in 14 days and the other person has no more opportunity to review.
@lookingforward VRBO started out as actual owners renting their places, Homeaway, now owned by Expedia, has purchased many of the more popular websites for this type of rental. Two years ago, I would have described the guests from each site in certain ways, but this year I am seeing VRBO types of guests on ABB and vice versa. There are some countries from which most guests seem to choose AirBnB, but other than that, the two OTAs are pretty interchangeable.
In my home town, and several other key vacation destinations such as Paris, Palm Springs and San Francisco, the residents and City Council are waging a war against AirBnB. Very strict laws are in place restricting short term vacation rentals. So the listings available are severely reduced and restricted now.
It usually starts with the hotel lobby getting really upset that the rentals aren’t paying all the hotel taxes they have to charge and stealing their customers. Then it morphs into the fact that investors sweep in and buy up homes and condos and turn them into short term rentals, driving up home prices and taking inventory away from long term rentals available for locals. Then local residents get upset when vacationers next door are partying 24/7 (this was a key issue in Palm Springs).
I always use vacation rentals because I travel with a group of friends and we like to hang out together in private communal areas and cook some of our meals together. We don’t usually find these large places on Airbnb, so I rent more from local agencies or VRBO, although I’ve noticed, as mentioned above, that many rentals are on both websites now and Airbnb is going more upscale. They started as a “room in someone’s house” and have morphed into a behemoth. I’ve never stayed in a room in someone’s house, it’s not my style, I wouldn’t be comfortable. But my D and her generation always travel this way for budget reasons.
I find it interesting that Airbnb is the one that is targeted by these City Councils even though many rentals are advertised and managed by other agencies and websites. Why aren’t they going after VRBO who really started the whole industry?? In Paris they are suing Airbnb for listing illegal rentals. Why aren’t they suing all the other agencies?
Airbnb has become a new word in our language that covers a broad range of short term rentals, kind of like how we say Kleenex for a tissue or Xerox to make a copy (or at least us old farts use those words)
" Then local residents get upset when vacationers next door are partying 24/7 (this was a key issue in Palm Springs)."
No where near Palm Springs, our suburban town residents got really fed up with short term rentals. Narrow streets blocked by cars of multiple folks descending on a rental, epic noise, garbage left on the street, and so on. They don’t target any specific company or individual… the law addresses any short term rental. Register with the city as a business, get a license, and have a property manager living within 15 miles of the place whose contact information can be readily available. Seems fair.
Even if all renters are well behaved, a plethora of short term rentals drastically changes the nature of a neighborhood. Less so when the owner actually lives there. I live in an area where ppl can make more money renting short term vs. renting a home in the old fashioned sense, so I well understand the concerns of the regulators.
Re: rats, subpar accommodations etc., no method is 100% perfect but whether you’re buying off eBay or renting on airBnB, there’s skill involved in reading between the lines and doing due diligence. I can give horror stories of staying at a mid range chain motel (well “horror” might be exaggerating), but stories that might turn a person away from hotels forever if compared with similar stories above about airBnB et al.
I can also tell you that I helped a friend set up his lakeside cabin on vrbo and manage it. It was a tiny rustic gorgeous cabin just feet away from the water. He was always on site in a separate home maybe 100 feet away and any problems were rectified promptly. One or the other of us was always there to personally greet guests & help them get settled in. We did the cleaning and prep ourselves so knew if anything was missing or broken. Lots of repeat customers and good reviews. The cabin was also listed on the state accommodations website - this can be a way to get another take on a place.
I would leave in a private review. We have an Airbnb and our remote went missing w/o my knowledge! Luckily I happened to visit shortly thereafter. Also, the last few places we stayed at had limited supplies, towels and soap. We chalked it up to an affordable option but left comments in the private section. My gut would be that if you think it’s a deliberate/careless lack of supplies, then I would mention it in the public review
In working with folks who’ve listed on both, one is that with VRBO the owner pays a fee to be there, on ABB the renter pays that fee.
Originally I believe ABB literally referred to an air mattress in someone’s home, where VRBO was “vacation rental by owner” - just using the internet to bypass companies that handled vacation rentals in the past. I think VRBO and HomeAway are owned by Expedia and Flipkey by TripAdvisor now. But they seem to be consolidating.
Or is the air mattress couchsurfing?
For ABB @lookingforward it was indeed an air mattress. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb#History
Couchsurfing is not one I have tried, pretty sure I wouldn’t, actually.
I have a very fun English friend who is perfectly comfy couchsurfing and for a while traveled solely to places she found on a site called something like Global Freeloaders. She always had great experiences and is still (surprisingly to me) still alive. I don’t know whether to be envious of her carefree spirit or worry about her, but I know I wouldn’t be comfy traveling like that.
I gave 3 to one of the ABB I stayed. Reading the thread makes me think it was a bit harsh if it made them lose ABB listing. There was a dog poop right outside on the path to the entry on the first day. It was still there three days later when I left.
Reminds me of the time my D reported dog poop in the closet at a regular B&B. I couldn’t believe it but there it was. It was old & dry, similar to our host, who I didn’t have the heart to tell. We got in late & left early and I just didn’t feel like dealing with it. I realize now, I should have told the host so they could clean it up. This was a very low key old-timey B&B and I felt sure it was from one of the host’s own little dogs.
I am in an Airbnb RIGHT NOW that has bush babies (lemurs) in the ceiling …
I’m trying to decide if I think lemurs would be a good thing or a bad thing…
I’m thinking H will be happier if we just stick with hotels so we know what to expect and won’t be surprised by the differences between different rentals or having to fight over cleaning fees/deposits. I guess it depends on how many people we are expecting for any particular visit and what the options are.
“In working with folks who’ve listed on both, one is that with VRBO the owner pays a fee to be there, on ABB the renter pays that fee.”
That used to be the case but VRBO/Homeaway charge a service fee to renters as well now.
I love staying in funky Air B&Bs and VRBO’s, We stayed in a light house in Nova Scotia and old church coverted into a house in LA. I’ve never had a problem.