Booking Airbnb/Vrbo - Your Tips and Strategy

Parent Cafe
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We once considered Airbnb for travel, but have moved back toward booking hotels. We rarely stay in a location more than 2-3 days on our trips, and no longer find Airbnb’s to be competitive, especially when compared to hotels that serve breakfast.

The very first time we booked an Airbnb was in the EU. We made the reservations 2-3 months in advance of our stay. About 3 weeks before our arrival, the host cancelled with the excuse he accidently overbooked. My guess was that he found a longer-term guest, and our reservation blocked their dates. By that time, however, most other reasonable accommodations in the area (or even surrounding towns) were booked. Airbnb did little to assist, although we did finally receive a refund. We could not leave a review, since we never stayed. I believe you can now see how often hosts cancel.

For my daughter’s wedding, their Airbnb host contacted them long after the reservation, saying they only accept guests for longer-term stays, and asked if they would please cancel. Again, by the time they were notified, no other options were available large enough for their desired group, dates, and location. In the end, the host “gave in”, but it was not a pleasant booking experience.

On the other hand, when visiting France in 2017, the authorities were watching for individuals who were not following Airbnb rules. On that trip, we only chose bookings where the owners were present. Those were the best stays ever. We had some incredible experiences, and met some great hosts. There are far fewer options of sharing with owners now. Most Airbnb’s are strictly business deals, as developers and entrepreneurs purchase residences for short-term rental use. They are typically much more expensive than in the past as well.

Fortunately, we have never had any cancellation experiences with hotels. If we were traveling with a family, or a group, the numbers would be different, and we would consider larger rentals through Airbnb or VBRO - with an abundance of caution, and perhaps back-up plans that could easily be cancelled if the dates or location were critical.

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We use VRBO /Arbnb on occasion for places where hotels are limited. We rented a lake house multiple times and after the first year we booked direct with the owner.
We have a family vacation rental that we have with a rental company. They advertise on both platforms as well as their own website. We sometimes need a 2nd house and find that if we aren’t staying three or four nights hotel rooms are cheaper. The cleaning fee and added fees add up.
For most travel I’ve gone back to hotels.

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With the VRBO/Airbnb fee structure, it usually only makes sense to us if we are to stay 4+ nights (a week better). Or a big group. In London I steered away based on forum feedbacks, but we’ve been happy with apartments in Barcelona and Rome.

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I peruse the area if I don’t have the exact location.

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One place I looked at it in Austin had an unusually shaped swimming pool and bright red chairs next to it. I looked at the neighborhood on Google Maps and managed to find the house. :slight_smile:

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We routinely stay in Airbnb’s when we visit my MIL. We stay 4-6 days, so the cleaning fee doesn’t have as much impact as it would with a shorter stay. We use Super Hosts and carefully read reviews. I can usually figure out where the place is based on descriptions about nearby restaurants, stores, parks, etc.

We actually became friends with our hosts at a place we stayed during our frequent visits for a couple years. When MIL moved to a different AL in that general area, the Airbnb was just too far away from the new AL. We were bummed to have to tell our hosts that we would no longer be staying at their place - they are just so nice. The new place we stay is really close to the new AL - I contacted the host to tell her where my MIL’s AL is located & asked how far they are from her place. That led her to give me cross streets very close to the Airbnb, so I was able to figure out the neighborhood.

We haven’t stayed at Airbnb’s for our vacations, but our kids do. They also look for Super Hosts and comb through the reviews. S has had one bad experience, in LA. He cut his losses on that one, checking out after the first night & finding a better place for the following night. Even with paying for two places one night, he still saved money over a hotel.

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I’ve usually been able to figure out the location of the properties I was looking at, but it usually took a little sleuthing.

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NYC prohibits home (apartment or house) rentals of less than 30 days unless the host is present in the residence because during a time of extremely low vacancy rates, corporate entities were using AirBnb/VRBO to keep apartments off the long-term market.

But there’s this, just this week:

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Price just isn’t the top factor when we are looking for an AIRBNB because prefer “homey” vacations. Love having a home base that feels like a home not a room. And it’s vacation so splurging on a spot with nice inside amenities is something we enjoy.

A hotel for ME just feels like a pit stop. I feel limited and cramped. There is a time and place for a hotel stay for me but by choice I’ll choose a home every other time.

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We like VRBO/Airbnb. They were really just perfect for what we needed in Rome (had two grown kids, and 2nd bedroom happened to have twin beds) and Barcelona (3 couples, 3BR and 2baths). Oh yea, Paris too with another couple (2 bedrooms and 1 bath… but hey - location, location, location).

We avoided them in London because forum feedback warned about it being common to have the reservation cancelled. (Also we needed cancellation ability, easier to get in a hotel). We had 10 night stay and opted to do 2 different hotels. Surprisingly we did not mind spending so much time in hotel rooms, though admittedly we were happy to have a closet at the 2nd place. However it was a splurgy vacation, with lots of nice meals (and drinks) out… which we like but could get old if you don’t enjoy that vibe.

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One important reason we prefer a home/apartment to a hotel room is H’s sleep issues. He typically wakes during the night & needs to move to another area for a while. Having a separate room for him to sit in helps both of us.

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I have rented through Arbnb, VRBO and independent vacation rental companies. My preference is to go through the professional leasing company. I feel like they know their properties and can direct me to another if there are issues with my chosen property.

As for the process I will usually start with a Google search of vacation rentals in the location I want to visit. This usually turns up several companies with homes in the area I’m looking. I read reviews and the fine print. One area we were looking many of the homes were with a company that didn’t provide linens. That was a hard no for me. I also look on Arbnb and Vrbo. If it’s out of US I’ve found house and apartments listed on bookings.com.
We have also found apartment style hotels in Europe to be an option for a family without having to run the risk of booking an illegal rental.

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Has anyone ever rented someone’s timeshare (who does not own a timeshare)? Am curious as to what that is like.

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I’ve heard similar stories, also owners deciding to sell their property, and am nervous about the Airbnb we have booked for my D’s graduation in May (so much so, that I have a back up hotel booked).

I mostly do hotels for stays under a week because like I said above, I want a pristine living space and my go-to hotels and hotel brands check that box. I do envy travelers who 100% don’t care about the accommodation because they are “just sleeping there” but that’s not me.

My older D had a (now funny) experience with an Airbnb in Barcelona on her study abroad. Their group arrived late and when they got to the property, the family who owned it was at the table, eating dinner. They got up without finishing eating or clearing dishes or packing any clothes and left. No clean towels, no clean sheets, no made-up beds. No English spoken, so impossible to communicate. They had to stay the night because it was so late but the next day the filed a complaint with Airbnb and found hotels. They did get their money reimbursed from Airbnb (this was back in 2016, but I’ve heard it’s now harder to get reimbursed from Airbnb claims).

Younger D studied abroad last semester and had no issues with the Airbnb’s they booked except the one in Paris was literally a room with a pull-out sofa and tiny bathroom (they were on a strict travel budget). When I visited her for a week, I booked hotels because I was unsure about neighborhoods (and wanted to make sure I had a/c, which is a luxury in Europe).

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I also have a funny story at our Barcelona Airbnb. Our hostess kindly provided a small snack the afternoon we got there. Wine, cheese, and crackers. We had a nice talk with her while eating, then got up and left to explore the area.

When we returned, she was just livid and yelled at us, " You are GUESTS in my home, and you will clean up after yourselves!" She was mad we hadn’t washed out our small plates and glasses. Oops. We felt so bad. I never even thought about doing that! We apologized profusely and got back in her good graces.

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I have rented in places that have both timeshare and hotel (was in Sedona, AZ, many years ago), and units were the same. Timeshare price per night was cheaper, but may have only been able to choose set amount of nights (5 or 7, for example).
I just stayed at another timeshare/hotel in San Francisco, but we did the timeshare part through a friend. I think we got more “benefits” than hotel people.

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I’ll also mention that we only AIRBNB “entire house” situations. So no sharing a space or walls. We have done a couple of rentals where there was a main house and then a separate casita with it’s own outdoor space, parking, etc. We also rented a great brownstone space in Brooklyn that was the entire main floor with separate entry while the owners - a family with young children - lived above.

Everyplace we have rented has been pristine in cleanliness and as I mentioned above void of owner personal belongings. More of a clean modern look with decor that is practical, pleasant and nothing looks “lived in”.

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And a hard NO to split bookings where they want you to move to a different property in the middle of your stay.

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I have booked 9 times with AirBNB since January 2023 - California, Cape Town, Brussels, NJ and one excursion event (kayaking with penguins in Cape Town). I agree with the above suggestions to communicate with the host before booking. Their responsiveness is often the deciding factor between listings. I have not been disappointed.

I typically only use SuperHosts, but most recently I tried a place that wasn’t. It was recently renovated and after several favorable communications with the host, I felt comfortable (new hosts can’t become SuperHosts without those first guests).
The space was ideal for the event I wanted to host, convenient to my Dad’s CCRC, and the host was a terrific communicator.

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I’m finding this thread very helpful. Thanks for starting it @abasket!

To date, we’ve only stayed in two Airbnb properties but that was only because they were cross listed on a boutique hotel site. Both stays were wonderful but both had full hotel amenities, like room service, which is one of my requirements on vacation (no cooking or cleaning for me!).

We also co-rented a house with family a number of years ago but that was a one and done and was a miserable experience for me. Not because of the house, but because three young families were coordinating schedules, food, and very different parenting styles.

But, I can very much see the value of renting a house when traveling with multiple generations or a big a family. Or in retirement if we can spend a full month somewhere so I really appreciate reading all the tips!

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