We’ve used VRBO at least a dozen times when traveling with our kids/SO. Usually if it’s just my husband and I we stay in a hotel.
Like others we only look at Premier Host properties and read all the reviews. A couple of the rentals were in other countries. We’ve never had a bad experience. Always look at the cancellation policy.
A friend recently had a host cancel on them saying there was hurricane damage. The challenge was finding a new property to accommodate their group of 11 traveling for a wedding and had only a few weeks notice. She’s a bit skeptical of the original host and plans on driving past the property.
My only bad experience with Airbnb just occurred last month. I found a wonderful house near my sister. I booked it, and then the next day the host messaged me that it wouldn’t be available because his daughter was coming home for Christmas. “I should change the availability calendar, I guess…” Yes, I told him, because it’s very disappointing to have a good place fall through.
I’ve found another place, reasonably priced but not as nice.
A good friend had a terrible experience with hotels.com in Italy last month. She and husband were hacked. All the hotels found a room for them (after the service booked them two rooms rather than one) and told them to book through the hotel itself in the future.
I booked a timeshare once and a vrbo once. The timeshare was one owned by my brother’s neighbor who offered it to us at cost. It was in Waikiki at a nice resort and for several days. It was 2 bedrooms & 2 baths and we enjoyed it.
The vrbo was a long weekend for my nephew’s wedding. It was as promised and cheaper than renting two hotel rooms. It was 2 bedrooms and 2 baths but could have slept 8 (there were 5 of us). We had no complaints. If it had been canceled we could simply have driven there and back with no lodging.
I normally just book hotels because it tends to be just me and H traveling and hotels are what we are used to.
I paid for someone’s timeshare once and don’t remember it being any different than any other rental. It was a condo at a Westin resort, so we had access to all hotel amenities.
I’m always leery about the list of rules for checking out because we’ve stayed in a couple places that were outrageous with it. I comb the post closely and will message the owner and ask. We just stayed in a house for D’s recent audition since she needed to rehearse. It was the best experience even with the furnace stopped working. Host came and fixed it 20 minutes after calling and there wasn’t a list of cleaning rules. We left it tidy but didn’t have to strip all the beds, take the trash out and bring the bin to the curb if it’s a certain day, wash the towels, set the thermostat and on and on. This house had an abundance of soft blankets which made a November booking in an old house feel very cozy so future rentals may get asked about that too.
We have rented may Airbnbs/Vrbos over the years especially when traveling with our daughters and other couples. When we were renting 10 years ago the cleaning fees were not as expensive as they are now. Many of our rentals are in the mountains if we are skiing for 4 or more days in the same area. I don’t like places that want me to strip beds and start the washer when they are charging a high cleaning fee.
H and I do many road trips and only spend a couple of nights in a place and we have found that it’s more cost effective to book a hotel.
I absolutely look for evidence that I am to do more than wash my own dishes, take all my stuff out of the fridge, put the used towels in a particular place other than the washing machine, and possibly take the trash to the trash bin. I won’t do anything beyond that, because I am not the cleaning service.
I have liked the airbnb’s that I’ve done, but that is only five in seven years so not exactly frequent. The best (only?) advantage for my family is when there is a washer/drier, or if I need a very specific location. (We’re Jewish and sometimes need walking distance from somewhere during travel, for shabbat or holidays.) Otherwise I prefer the ambience of a hotel in general.
However, we have had two bad experiences which a few others have mentioned, of booking way in advance and having the host cancel on us that week. The second time this happened, it was fairly recently (a year ago?) and I gather that airbnb had tightened the rules to prevent this practice. What that meant is that the host had to provide a “reason” for the precipitous cancellation. Well, the reason he picked was that he expected us to be receiving an illegal package at the property. I’m about the most innocent person in the world, and had to even google what that was about (a scam where they have people send cash for various cons, to a temporary “drop” address). It took a lot of back and forth but we got a full refund, and luckily there was another airbnb in the same city which was actually lovely.
I’ve used Airbnb a lot, usually because it offers much more space for the money. I read ALL the reviews carefully - when something pops up in only one or two of many reviews, you’d better believe it, because nearly every time, it’s still been the case when I’ve gotten there. People don’t like to leave a bad review, so if someone mentions something, it’s probably true. I also check on the location. You need to do a lot of research to avoid ugly surprises, but it almost always has been a better value and a better experience than a hotel.
The biggest problem I’ve had is a host who cancels last minute, in an area where there are literally no other accommodations available because of an event going on locally. Sure, you get a refund, but where you gonna stay?
Plus you need to watch out for hosts who message you telling you that there is a problem, and asking YOU to cancel, because of THEIR problem! They do this to try to avoid getting dinged by Airbnb. So you really need to know how to avoid issues while using the site.
I think the biggest thing I have done, as others have mentioned, is to read all the reviews and look for potentially shady/scammy things going on there. I’ve heard it’s a red flag if people mention a bunch of different host names or if the reviews always refer to one host name, and then it suddenly switches to another name (both signs of possibly scam or hacked listings). So I’ve avoided those when I’ve seen that in the reviews.
I’ve occasionally done some sleuthing on google maps when I wasn’t sure about something. We took a trip to Paris this summer and were looking for a place for 7 people within walking distance of tourist sites. One place I liked everything about but just wasn’t 100% sure on until I did the google streetview and I could see what was going on with the weird looking entrance in the photos on airbnb. It turned out to be great (expensive, but we expected it!).
We have really only had great experiences with AirBnb, but I feel like I have always been very careful to select places with good reviews and that would meet our needs. We travel quite a bit and stay in hotels quite often, but with 5-7 of us traveling together, sometimes hotel rooms just aren’t big enough without getting two rooms or a suite, and that ups the price to AirBnB territory anyway. On longer trips we definitely save money by eating in our rental as opposed to eating out for every meal.
This. We like rooms that have a separate sitting area if possible. I am always the first one up, but I don’t mind throwing on some leggings/joggers, a top and taking my phone and a book to the lobby or breakfast area for my coffee. In fact, I enjoy it.
Also look carefully at the pictures and read the description. We have gone yearly to a property owned by family that is a short term rental. The views are out of this world but the home is older. The owners are older and like it how it is. The reviews at times have complaints about things that are clearly spelled out about the condition in the description. Some homes are family owned and used and rented out, others have been bought and decorated to be a short term rental and the decor more like a hotel. Know what you want before you book.
Agree 100%. And know the local market/climate. You will not likely find an AirBnb in central London which is entirely air conditioned even though London has had heat waves for the past several summers. Ditto Rome. And you will likely not find a fourth floor apartment in a Victorian era row house (exceptionally charming and gorgeous though it may be) which is handicapped accessible in Edinburgh. Elevator? no. Steep steps out front? yes. I’ve read some negative reviews on the sites which really bring to life the concept of the “ugly American”. People in Paris shop for produce and perishables every day on their way home from work, so no, you will not find a gargantuan American sized refrigerator even in a very expensive, beautifully outfitted AirBNB on the Left Bank. So complaining after the fact is a little nuts…
Have you been renting my mom’s cabin lol? When my mom went in the nursing home, I started renting out her cabin to help offset that cost and the ridiculously high property taxes. I rent it through a management company that lists on VRBO and on their own website that is basically an aggregator for people in my same situation: trying to hold on to the cabin for our kids without going bankrupt ourselves. What you say about complaining about things that are clearly spelled out is so true! “Quaint” and “rustic” mean just that! Mine is listed as “very remote,” “secluded,” and “tucked away” yet people give fewer stars because the nearest grocery is 15 minutes away. The square footage is clearly listed yet invariably people complain that it is small; the listing states it is at the end of a dirt road yet at least once a year someone complains that their Corvette bottomed out getting there. I had a complaint (and fewer stars) that there was no mixer for cake-making when at the time there were available in the cabinets a stand mixer, a hand held electric mixer, 2 rotary beaters and 3 whisks. The absolute winner though was a 3 star review given because my coffee cups were too small. Anyway, thank you for letting me vent!
In the last 6 years I have rented Airbnb 11 times. Our youngest D moved 4.5 hours from us and we have visited 6 times and rented the same house. One block from her apartment, 2 bed, 1 bath, well -equipped kitchen, washer/dryer. 9 of us are going at Thanksgiving since she has to work, so I have that house, an upstairs apartment next door, and a hotel for S, DiL, 2 grand girls to have a pool. The super host loves me.
The other rentals have been larger homes or 2 condos so we can all be together. GGs love a pool and DiL loves the beach so those are must-haves for the summer week.
I’ve never had problems with cancels or with the homes.
We have rented via AirBnB / VRBO six times in the past 5 years. We recently stayed at a lovely place in Athens that was just amazing. And have had good experiences in all the other ones too by using super hosts and reading the reviews really closely.
We also prefer having the larger living area to hang out in, but more importantly, having a kitchen. It makes it easier to not have to eat out every meal (nice to be able to eat breakfast in) and is especially helpful because one kid has severe food allergies.
I do agree that the extra cleaning fees can really make the per night cost less attractive if you aren’t staying at least 3 or 4 nights so it’s really something you have to take into account. If we are just staying a few days, we prefer a hotel.
For the same reasons (wanting a larger living space and a full kitchen), we also own timeshares in Maui and in Newport Beach, CA which we have rented out on occasion. If you can rent it from an owner, we’ve found that they are good options. You can have the security of knowing what you are getting (as you would with a hotel) but also getting a 1 or 2 bdrm place with a living/dining room and a full kitchen.