Would be great if this thread does not take a negative turn - let’s not focus on why you don’t like this lodging method and let’s keep to a minimum your previous woes with these type of rentals.
Our family (including the whole family and 3 kids/couples on their own) almost exclusively choose AIRBNB lodging for any stay more than one night outside of work trips.
Our tips/strategy for booking:
Superhosts only
Ratings that are nearly perfect - so basically 4.85 or above
Reviews - we read them all or at least MANY - reviews tell you a lot!
Examine the pictures - look closely at what is provided, room set up. One thing that is always important when booking as a family is a dining table that seats at least 8 - we won’t book anything less!
Read reviews for the time of year you want to rent. If I’m renting in March look back for other rentals in the same season.
Focus on amenities - not picture perfect pictures.
We want a place that looks like no one else lives there - so no personal belongings out besides maybe books.
Before even considering booking message the host with a question or two to get an idea how they communicate - do they answer quickly? Answer your questions completely?
Location, location. Investigate the area and area amenities before booking.
So many more things we look for but that is a start. I’ll also add that we have never had any issues with AIRBNB website or booking. We have cancelled once (that’s another thing to look for - what is the date/% cancellation fee) and the owner was so kind and refund was quick.
We love having space that an AIRBNB offers - more than a room. We like to bring food/snacks/drinks for breakfast or late evening so always look for a well equipped kitchen. We also are generally looking for outdoor living space.
D and her H just rented a cabin near Sonoma and I swear they both were so sad to leave it. It was reasonable, comfortable, CLEAN, and the outside space was amazing!
I mainly use VRBO, but I definitely check Airbnb too. We almost never stay at hotels anymore. I joke that finding good VRBOs is one of my super powers. Definitely look for high ratings and read the reviews. I almost always book ones with free cancellation.
Also develop the hobby of creating lists on the AIRBNB website - the ipad version is a delight to use! You can share lists as well so others who may be traveling with you can view/add to the list. It can be a pleasant time suck!
While I do look for perfect (or near perfect) ratings, I am a really tough sell on vacation rental homes. I need it to be at a standard that is at least what I currently live at. I don’t mean that to sound snooty, but I need it to be updated/modern and clean. Many of the perfect ratings I see are on places that I wouldn’t stay at because it looks old or in dire need of repair (or looks like it may have a smell to it), but the “perfect” rating is because of the location or the view or a pool, etc. Everyone’s idea of a perfect rating is different.
My tip is to check who the “host” is and if it’s a realty company or management company with a website, I check the website and sometimes I can rent the home directly for less and avoid the VRBO/Airbnb “fees”.
I’ve been a worldwide Airbnb renter for almost 10 years.
Definitely looking for these things
Super host -
Reviews - especially those not so favorable (one apartment was up 3 flights of stairs, which did not dissuade us, and turned into a favorite)
Kitchen stocked and ready to use - I want an apartment (or house) because I want the comforts of home. We do cook a lot when we travel - we enjoy it
Cleanliness - reviews are handy here
Contact - write the host before booking and ask where the nearest grocery store (or subway station) is - this will help pinpoint where the place is, looking at pics will sometimes do that too. Coming up I’m renting a place in Brussels and the pics showed one of a building front, and there was a shop downstairs - since I could read the signage I quickly google mapped it. I could see the building and everything around it. Decided the area was perfect.
View - depending on location
Cancellation policy - I have had to cancel before
Amenities - in the mountains I like access to a hot tub; if I’m traveling for awhile I’d like access to laundry facilities; internet is a must these days
I’m sure there’s more but these are my top ones. I’ve been very fortunate to have wonderful hosts. And I’m a good guest. I treat someone’s place like my own.
We choose AirBnb’s because we like a living space separate from the bedroom (different sleep schedules), the ability to make a decent cup of coffee while still in pj’s and before morning shower (meaning, I don’t have to go downstairs to the hotel lobby or breakfast area to get my first cup), and use of the kitchen for light meals/reheating leftovers, so that we do not have to eat every meal out (expensive and more food than I can eat/too many calories.) And outdoor space. The key to success has been exactly as outlined by @abasket and others. Be diligent in reading reviews and details, look for high ratings and Superhosts.
We have done AirBnb (or VRBO) in recent years in Florida, Maine, Hawaii, Asheville, Cape Cod (with my girlfriends) and in NC near our S,DIL and grand baby, before they bought a bigger house which is where we now stay for our extended visits. On Kauai, we rented a 2-bedroom with my brother and SIL through VRBO that had a killer view. The split cost was less than each of us having our own hotel room, and we had oceanfront dining for breakfast and sunset happy hour/dinner without other diners at much less expense than going out (did take-out and bought our own wine/beer at the store.) We did the same on Maui, but the rental was through a management company. Same benefits and another killer view from our lanai!!
I’m a big fan of this option, especially when traveling with other family members, but if you want simple trip-planning, daily housekeeping and to eat all your meals out, then it may not be for you.
I always wondered why we didn’t have "recommend me an AIRBNB in “this city” requests on CC!!
I know several people who travel for work and also choose if possible to do AIRBNB over a hotel room especially if the trip is more than a day or two. And depending on the town it can actually be less expensive than a hotel - so win-win for the employee and employer.
My daughter and her husband like to travel with their dog so they always look for a pet friendly place. They use Airbnb.
I think I’ve talked about this in the past, we are not good travelers and like to be home. So we either take trips overseas, visit family or enjoy our home. We used to have a family member with a vacation home so that took up some of limited free time.
The last trip we took was not an Airbnb but a small resort that were apartments. So bedroom, living room and kitchen. No cooking, I would have liked laundry facilities because it was a beach resort, everything gets sandy and damp. It was very nice and for a week, I enjoyed the room to spread out.
We like being able to relax outdoors in the morning and evening, and the airbnbs we have used have nice patio/yard arrangements. They usually cost less than a hotel near where we stay per night.
I need lodging for four of us in Austin at Christmas. I found an Airbnb near my sister’s house for a good bit less than two hotel rooms in an economy hotel nearby.
We’ve had great success with Airbnb over the years. My favorite was in Normandy. It was a house built in the 1800s that somehow survived D Day. It was across the street from a gorgeous 12th-century church. It was also within walking distance of Normandy Beach. There were no hotels nearby.
We also had a great Airbnbs in Paris (near the Champs-Élysées). It was tiny, but very reasonable and even had an AC unit in it. The place we had in Barcelona was in a square with palm trees, right on Las Ramblas.
We do stay in some hotels. Next month, my sister and I are taking our daughters to San Antonio and we found a great hotel right on the River Walk. An Airbnb nearby looked good, but it got snatched up before we could reserve it.
As a Superhost on AirBnB (4.99 150+ reviews) and Premier Host on VRBO (10), there are a handful of things that people routinely mention in their reviews.
Price being OK is assumed, as they wouldn’t have booked had they felt otherwise.
The factors most often mentioned are location, style, comfort of the bed, communication, and very important, we allow pets.
When I look, I tend to search both AirBnB and VRBO. I narrow to Superhost/Premier and then read reviews, always bad first. There are very specific things that turn me off, rude host, lack of cleanliness, noisy, hot in the summer, even heard gunshots.
From there I go to Google street view. Listings can be made to look pretty good. The context of the neighborhood is very revealing though.
Lastly, if I’m going to an urban area known for crime, I look up the crime maps.
We personally almost always stay in hotels, unless we have a big group that wants to be together. I’ve yet to find a short term rental that leaves an impression like the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston or Hotel Vancouver.
This. This is what I posted on the other thread. Much prefer to deal with the local companies and also avoid the extra layer of fees.
(reposting here:)
“We have used lots of AirBNB’s and VRBO’s. Many properties are listed on both but the fees/cancellation policies etc may differ (VRBO is now owned by Expedia). I have frequently found, especially in tourist/vacation areas, that you can find the same properties managed by local/regional lodging companies, and typically will get better prices and better service.”
We’ve had a wide range of experiences but overall, mostly positive. I think it’s VERY location-specific- we’ve stayed in incredible places in Amsterdam, for example, where the hosts in the middle of the city know they are competing against very luxe hotels. So even if the apartments aren’t always deluxe (and some of them are not) the hosts make up for it with the amenities and nice things like being able to check in at 7 am when flying in from overseas, a fridge stocked with fresh fruit and milk and the coffee maker ready to go, etc.
We’ve also stayed in some dumpy places (LA, looking at you) during peak times when it was hard to find a reasonably priced hotel and so staying in a cheap dumpy AirBNB was better than staying in a VERY overpriced dumpy hotel.
Most of the time, I care more about location than I do fancy anything-- and so for that, it can be a little hit or miss. But to stay in a terrific location where a hotel would cost multiples more-- I’m OK with basic furniture and bathroom fixtures!
When I replied in the hotel thread, I was thinking “we mostly stay in VRBO type of accommodations these days, if we are going someplace for more than an overnight.
We do the local management thing, and have communicated directly with owners and taken the risk outside of VRBO for VRBO listed places.
Our requirements depend on what type of trip it is, but agree with most of what’s been said by others.
We definitely want clean and well kept, with comfortable beds, but in some cases we are fine with a little wear or not “the best of everything.”
Location is usually important for us - we want oceanfront if going to an ocean place, or easy walk to things to do if in a city, and safety is a high priority too.
Lots of good advice so far. We did condo/houses frequently when we were visiting our kids and needed room to spread out, let a grandkid sleep over, cook a meal or two and host them all. So we needed a full, functional kitchen (not a kitchenette), location and a washer/dryer
