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Old 11-01-2019, 02:51 PM   #41
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I have used Air BnB and VRBO quite a lot. Overall good experiences. But lately I have had the owner cancel--usually a while before the rental but too late to find a substitute rental in a popular location. What do you do when the labored cancels last minute and you can't find a replacement rental?
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Old 11-01-2019, 03:21 PM   #42
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In general, I read the negative reviews first. I'd like to know what made customers unhappy. Many times it is trivial stuff that I don't care about. Other times not so much. OTOH the glowing reviews usually don't give me much additional information and may even be fake. So again, I would love to see a review like you just drafted.
Same here. IMO, detailed negative reviews are much more revealing than the generic glowing reviews. Moreover, how the owner responds to the negative review says a lot as well.

I rented one place because of the negative review and how the owner handled it.
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Old 11-01-2019, 03:27 PM   #43
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I still have not worked up the courage to deal with AirBnB. Just one of this type of hassle would outweigh several good experiences for me.

For now I'm sticking with blowing my dough at hotels, or suite hotels for longer stays. But I never say never...
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Old 11-01-2019, 03:38 PM   #44
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When I travelled to NZ I learned this trick. Quaint little lakeside 2 level motel, lady says if I had just rang her we would have saved 30% off the booking.com rate.



So know I do that first.


That trick for me several times, though I never had a discount that large. What I often get are a nicer room than the booking.com com folks do. Sometimes they toss in a free breakfast. After all those online booking sites suck up a lot of the profit.

I always try to book directly with small hotels owned by locals. They get the extra money and I often get a few extras also.
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Old 11-01-2019, 03:43 PM   #45
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That trick for me several times, though I never had a discount that large. What I often get are a nicer room than the booking.com com folks do. Sometimes they toss in a free breakfast. After all those online booking sites suck up a lot of the profit.

I always try to book directly with small hotels owned by locals. They get the extra money and I often get a few extras also.
You know, I've had the opposite occur. I'll check on Expedia first, then call the hotel and ask, and they've told me higher prices both times I've done this, then agreed to match Expedia prices. I declined both times out of principle. Since then (before using airbnb), I just went ahead and booked online. Maybe I just got unlucky with a couple of one-offs though...
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Old 11-01-2019, 04:05 PM   #46
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One of the attractions, (for us), with Airbnb, (and we do read the reviews and look for superhosts), is that many of the places we book are on side streets, (OK, alleyways), away (the further away the better), from the 'hotel circuit'.

We like to stay where 'the people' live, and nowhere near the the 'hotel strips'.
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Old 11-01-2019, 04:19 PM   #47
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Maybe the takeaway here is to know what you want. If you want near-perfect predictability in food, go to a chain like McDonalds or Texas Roadhouse. If you want near-perfect predictability in lodging, go with one of the cookie cutter hotel chains.

We like the variety and surprise of travel. I am happiest in a restaurant where I don't recognize a single dish on the menu. Conversely one of our recent unhappy experiences was in the Radisson Blu in Addis Abbaba, booked by a tour organizer. We might as well have been in the US; the experience was the same. A sealed, predictable, bubble protecting us from the real world.

AirBnB, for us, trades boring predictability for a very acceptable bit of risk. But YMMV.
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Old 11-01-2019, 04:34 PM   #48
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OP here. For those of you that read the linked article, how do you think the scammer host profited - did they simply not own any nice properties and used this diversion to dumps that they really did own?
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Old 11-01-2019, 06:41 PM   #49
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The article is about an outright scam bait-and-switch.

Some of the Airbnb places I have stayed in were a bit different than my expectation, but when I looked again at the photos, I had to say that I could not claim misrepresentation, and it was just my envision when booking it.

I also do not expect perfection, when I consider the price I pay vs. what it costs for a luxury suite of a hotel. Most Airbnb's I have stayed in are far preferable to me than a hotel room of the same price.
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Old 11-01-2019, 07:01 PM   #50
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I’m a big fan of AirBnB, but found this article rather unsettling. It seems that some well oiled scams have been set up to take advantage of AirBnB’s lax vetting and complaint follow up. Ironically, the fact that hosts rate guests keeps people from leaving a bad review even when they have been duped. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/4...scam-on-airbnb
Please everyone keep using airbnbs. The hotel deals I'm getting have been tremendous!
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Old 11-01-2019, 07:43 PM   #51
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One of the attractions, (for us), with Airbnb, (and we do read the reviews and look for superhosts), is that many of the places we book are on side streets, (OK, alleyways), away (the further away the better), from the 'hotel circuit'.

We like to stay where 'the people' live, and nowhere near the the 'hotel strips'.
not trying to pick on you Nemo. And this may be more of a general comment. Do you suppose all those people that live in that neighborhood really appreciate a part time hotel on their street? Extra cars, garbage, noise, etc. Isn't this exactly what "should" be in a hotel zone? For several years AirBnB was not collecting lodging tax. Isn't this exactly what should be collected on AirBnB?

I have never booked an AirBnB. However I have booked (and like) B&B's.
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Old 11-01-2019, 08:12 PM   #52
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Do you suppose all those people that live in that neighborhood really appreciate a part time hotel on their street? Extra cars, garbage, noise, etc. Isn't this exactly what "should" be in a hotel zone? For several years AirBnB was not collecting lodging tax. Isn't this exactly what should be collected on AirBnB?
A substantial number of the Airbnb lodgings we've stayed in were studios/apartments owned/rented, and often usually occupied by the individuals renting them out; the units, (perhaps just one in a building), were there and would normally have been occupied by 'someone'.

None of them had anywhere near the extra traffic that even a small hotel would generate......generally a zero sum game.

We likely made less noise than a regular owner/tenant.......in Barcelona, for example, a lady across the alley would play piano every night for an hour or so.....lovely...and heard for quite a distance......she was a local resident.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, the studio was the regular abode of an architect - her sister and a couple other relatives lived in the same small building....she moved out, we moved in.

And so on and so on.....

We've been dinged with taxes.
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Old 11-01-2019, 10:18 PM   #53
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There are several areas in Bend that are popular with tourists. Air BnBs have sprouted up like wild flowers. The city in 2015 limited the number on a street. The problem was/is 3 or 4 people staying in the same house. 3 (or so) additional cars on the street. Plus parties. The area that i am thinking of has developed over 15 years we have been in Bend to a zone for Brew pubs, food trucks & restaraunts. ie: party central. I understand completely the long time residents complaints. To be fair that's not on AirBnB. The area has changed. And i think the new ordinances helped as i don't hear as many complaints. I am glad we do not live nearby

I guess my observation is if professional AirBnB investors are running a short term rental business it should be in a commercial zone, not a Residential zone. All taxes paid, all inspections for fire & life safety applied. And System Development charges applied for traffic impacts & parks. The Mom & Pop room rental falls for me in a gray area. It sounds as if you are a considerate short term renter

I am not anti AirBnB, although i have not stayed in any. I have stayed in B&Bs a few times & enjoy the homes & hosts. I think the B&Bs are a bit more regulated & respectful of the neighborhood
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Old 11-02-2019, 05:52 AM   #54
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OP here. For those of you that read the linked article, how do you think the scammer host profited - did they simply not own any nice properties and used this diversion to dumps that they really did own?
I was thinking about that when reading it. And I think you are basically right. Didn't own the original.

The new property they "own" may also be a bit shady. It could be in the process of foreclosure. Or it may be waiting for a renovation. Whatever, although they own it, it may be "sort of own it."

Then they rely on "packing" people in, i.e., nobody wants to stay there, so the 3 nights become 1. So not only are they redirecting to crappy properties, they are packing in days on the crappy property.
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Old 11-02-2019, 06:06 AM   #55
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Do you suppose all those people that live in that neighborhood really appreciate a part time hotel on their street?
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A substantial number of the Airbnb lodgings we've stayed in were studios/apartments owned/rented, and often usually occupied by the individuals renting them out; the units, (perhaps just one in a building), were there and would normally have been occupied by 'someone'.
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The problem was/is 3 or 4 people staying in the same house. 3 (or so) additional cars on the street. Plus parties.
Our neighbor is doing the AirBnB thing on weekends. She leaves and stays with her daughter. It is all to make money. I don't like the extra cars at night. I'm not a fan of the extra traffic and confused people driving around. The usual pattern seems to be out of town people, probably coming for a family or friend wedding. Luckily, no parties. But one time there were 4 cars. Looked like a family of cousins met up and stayed there.

She's technically doing it illegally since Raleigh and NC require more of the "rent out the studio room" approach. The laws are in flux and controversial, but basically they are trying to avoid commercial operators coming in and creating whole house rental businesses. This is TBD as the city council has firmly become "millennial friendly" and like will invite more AirBnB type businesses. We'll see.
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Old 11-02-2019, 06:50 AM   #56
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Here's a shot of one of our Airbnb alleys, (Barcelona), the people pictured are residents...not too many cars:


Likewise Genoa:

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Old 11-02-2019, 07:41 AM   #57
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not trying to pick on you Nemo. And this may be more of a general comment. Do you suppose all those people that live in that neighborhood really appreciate a part time hotel on their street? Extra cars, garbage, noise, etc. Isn't this exactly what "should" be in a hotel zone? For several years AirBnB was not collecting lodging tax. Isn't this exactly what should be collected on AirBnB?

I have never booked an AirBnB. However I have booked (and like) B&B's.
And your point is? None of that is my problem.
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Old 11-02-2019, 08:00 AM   #58
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Also, (IMHO), we're likely looking at totally disparate demographics, when comparing the overall Airbnb impact on communities in (say) Europe and the U.S., (Bend, Raleigh, et al).

I'd imagine that, in the latter area, it's more of a "Hey, let's all pile in the car and go to...", whereas, in Europe, very few of the people we encounter are in groups or traveling in (private) vehicles, and they are generally from other countries/continents than the one where the Airbnb is located.
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Old 11-02-2019, 08:54 AM   #59
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Also, (IMHO), we're likely looking at totally disparate demographics, when comparing the overall Airbnb impact on communities in (say) Europe and the U.S., (Bend, Raleigh, et al).

I'd imagine that, in the latter area, it's more of a "Hey, let's all pile in the car and go to...", whereas, in Europe, very few of the people we encounter are in groups or traveling in (private) vehicles, and they are generally from other countries/continents than the one where the Airbnb is located.
Agree.
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Old 11-02-2019, 09:08 AM   #60
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We have rented either separate apartments attached to a house or a cottage in the backyard. I wouldn’t rent a bedroom in someone’s house.
Maybe it would be weird as a couple. I did it twice while checking out various areas in central FL. In both places the hosts were at work during the day. I think the hosts take on more of the risk in that situation. For me it worked out great b/c I got local opinion on areas I was considering.
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