Glad I didn't do AirBnb

sengsational

sengsational

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I got the only room in Copenhagen (city, for walk access to stuff) that was in the $120 range that I could find. I saw several VRBO / Airbnb that looked good, but I just couldn't convince myself to book them. The city is full, with several conventions, and there were so few listings to choose from...looked like a sellers market. Then, sitting in the hotel lobby I hear this lady saying her Airbnb was filthy to the point of being dangerous. So, if your listing doesn't have plenty of good reviews, I'd say "presume the worst"
 
We always read the reviews...the more the better. Never had a bad one yet.

How goes the trip?
 
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Sorry you had a bad experience. I got lucky last month, which was my first Airbnb rental. I don't think I even read the reviews. It was a wonderful apartment in Reykjavik and I'd definitely use it again. Friends reported a similarly happy experience with one in California. I've since read horror stories about owners charging for every sheet you use, charging huge cleaning fees when you arrive, etc. Will definitely read the reviews from now on.
 
We have used Airbnb 6 times: Seattle, NYC, Edinburgh, Beaune (France), a small town in Ireland whose name I forget, and Akureyri (Iceland). In three cases we had a genuine "someone's spare room" experience. Two were semi-pro B&Bs, but small and the owners lived in the property or next door. NYC was a couple's apartment, which we rented while they were in London. All were excellent experiences in their own way and I would use Airbnb again. The OP seems rather pessimistic: One person had a bad experience with Airbnb does not mean that the millions of people who use it every year are all having a bad time.

Where there are problems is when people use Airbnb (or other listing services) to basically run an unregulated hotel, bypassing local laws and regulations. Some European cities (Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and I think maybe also Amsterdam) are experiencing genuine problems with finding apartments for their citizens because Airbnb has made short-term rentals so easy to arrange (and lucrative).

Our main source of cheap (free!) vacation accommodation remains home exchanging. This year we completed our 25th (Iceland) and 26th (Spain) exchanges. When you have rent-free use of an apartment and someone else's car that you only have to put gas in, Iceland is merely "expensive" instead of "crazy expensive". :)
 
Tried it once. Actually I should say that I checked into one once but did not stay. At least it was fairly cheap so I didn't mind paying for that plus an actual hotel room. They told me I needed to put my own sheets on the bed even though there were sheets on the bed. But those sheets were filled with something I did not even want to touch it. So I checked out and checked into Hilton. From bottom-of-the-barrel to fairly close to the top. Never again
 
Nemo2 said:
We always read the reviews...the more the better. Never had a bad one yet.

How goes the trip?
Click to expand...
Yeah, the few that were showing available had no reviews. That's why I shied away.

We had good weather for two days and walked around in the rain the last two. But the rain forced us into sitting tightly under a tent in Christiania, chatting away with the most interesting people for hours and hours. Never a dull moment, and people from all over the world, plus a bunch of locals. But like my FIL says when something is expensive..."they're real proud of that". It goes for everything here...hotels, food, beer, everything except public transit.
 
sengsational said:
I got the only room in Copenhagen (city, for walk access to stuff) that was in the $120 range that I could find. I saw several VRBO / Airbnb that looked good, but I just couldn't convince myself to book them. The city is full, with several conventions, and there were so few listings to choose from...looked like a sellers market. Then, sitting in the hotel lobby I hear this lady saying her Airbnb was filthy to the point of being dangerous. So, if your listing doesn't have plenty of good reviews, I'd say "presume the worst"
Click to expand...

Where did you end up staying? I couldn't find any Copenhagen hotels less than $160/night in August. We stayed at the WakeUp Copenhagen near the train station, and felt it was a bit too far out -- long walk home after tiring days of exploring. Also, we didn't get the rate that includes breakfast, and it turns out that a lot of places, even some coffee shops, don't open until mid to late morning. So, we have some lessons learned for our next trip to Europe.

I don't mind AirBnB, but I didn't find any good deals in decent locations in Scandinavian cities. Everyone was charging hotel prices, and if they cost the same, I prefer the hotel.
 
I started using Airbnb just earlier this year, and have stayed in 11 locations in Europe.

We always get an entire home, apartment, or a floor. This can be specified in your search on the Airbnb Web site, along with other amenities such as WiFi, parking space, etc... No regret, and no big disappointment, and there were some nice surprises.

Usually, during a search for a place in a city, I could get a feel for the rental market there, based on the price range and the competitiveness of the listings. Some of the apartments are older, but what can I expect in a city like Paris, for that kind of money? Out in the countryside of Tuscany or Umbria, or in Provence, it is easy to get an nice entire house for US$100 or a little more depending on the season.

PS. I only booked the listings with many reviews. Some places do look nice in the photos, but I was reluctant to take the risk even though the listings were new and might not have had much traffic.
 
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I have used Airbnb twice in the US. The first one I had the top floor of a house, the hosts provided meals (unexpected!), only issue was they were a little too friendly. Always wanting to chat, visit, watch a movie.

The second one ended up being a bedroom in an apartment. Section 8 housing, did not feel safe at all. The apartment itself was nice, but I read after I stayed there that drugs and car break ins and crime was a problem. All kinds of people outside, lots of noise from uncontrolled kids. At least it quieted down after 11:00. The hostess was never even there-sent me a text message the day arrived saying she would be gone and gave me combination to lock box with key. Late at night some guy came into the apartment, stayed for a bit, made dinner and left. Did not feel secure at all. And this place was highly rated!

I guess that's what I get for getting the cheapest places I could find!
 
sengsational said:
I got the only room in Copenhagen (city, for walk access to stuff) that was in the $120 range that I could find. I saw several VRBO / Airbnb that looked good, but I just couldn't convince myself to book them. The city is full, with several conventions, and there were so few listings to choose from...looked like a sellers market. Then, sitting in the hotel lobby I hear this lady saying her Airbnb was filthy to the point of being dangerous. So, if your listing doesn't have plenty of good reviews, I'd say "presume the worst"
Click to expand...

I'm sure there are bad apples, but on the whole, I bet the vast majority of experiences are positive. I only have limited experience (a couple of stays in Europe - both VERY nice), but both of my kids do Airbnb whenever they travel anywhere and have not had a single bad experience yet.
I have stayed at some truly dumpy/noisy hotels in my time and they weren't always the cheapo ones either....
 
sengsational said:
But the rain forced us into sitting tightly under a tent in Christiania, chatting away with the most interesting people for hours and hours.
Click to expand...

As Ann Landers, (or was it Dear Abby?), used to say, "If life hands you lemons....." etc, etc.

Did you walk to the top of The Church of Our Saviour yet? (Not much of a view in the rain perhaps.)
 
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Uh, as mentioned earlier I have always specified an entire apartment or home, and with a separate entry. We do not feel comfortable staying in a room inside somebody's home.

The reason we prefer an Airbnb over a hotel room is to have more room, and to have a kitchen for light cooking if so desired, and a fridge to store some cold drinks. Without privacy, I would to go a hotel room.
 
We just did it twice this past August and certainly the second one was better than the first, as we learned how to pick better.
The first was a bedroom in a 3 bedroom townhouse, the lady also rented out the 2nd bedroom, so the bathroom was shared by the renters.
She made her 3 kids sleep on the livingroom couch the 3 nights we were there.
It was $90 for 3 nights

The second one also was a bedroom in a townhouse, but it had a simple lock on the door, an ensuite bathroom (private).
It was $80 for 3 nights

I had looked at hotels and since Canada is celebrating it's 150th the hotel rates are jacked up, so I estimate we saved $500.
 
SheitlQueen said:
The second one ended up being a bedroom in an apartment. Section 8 housing, did not feel safe at all. The apartment itself was nice, but I read after I stayed there that drugs and car break ins and crime was a problem. All kinds of people outside, lots of noise from uncontrolled kids. At least it quieted down after 11:00. The hostess was never even there-sent me a text message the day arrived saying she would be gone and gave me combination to lock box with key. Late at night some guy came into the apartment, stayed for a bit, made dinner and left. Did not feel secure at all. And this place was highly rated!

I guess that's what I get for getting the cheapest places I could find!
Click to expand...
So section 8 tenants are now renting out their places on AirBnb? LOL! Did they give you complimentary food stamps too?
 
NW-Bound said:
Uh, as mentioned earlier I have always specified an entire apartment or home, and with a separate entry. We do not feel comfortable staying in a room inside somebody's home.

.
Click to expand...

About 20 years ago the bride and I go looking for an apt. The real estate agent takes us to a nice house. So far, so good. The agent rings the door bell and a lady opened the front door, said hello, and then this woman who was the owner of the home leads us thru her living room and shows us a door that leads to the upstairs apt. Im like, what just happened? We have to walk thru the ladies house to get to our apt? This wasnt my idea of a rental either. This might have worked for family members but strangers , no way. It was the oddest thing I ever saw.
 
cathy63 said:
Where did you end up staying? I couldn't find any Copenhagen hotels less than $160/night in August. We stayed at the WakeUp Copenhagen near the train station, and felt it was a bit too far out -- long walk home after tiring days of exploring. Also, we didn't get the rate that includes breakfast, and it turns out that a lot of places, even some coffee shops, don't open until mid to late morning. So, we have some lessons learned for our next trip to Europe.

I don't mind AirBnB, but I didn't find any good deals in decent locations in Scandinavian cities. Everyone was charging hotel prices, and if they cost the same, I prefer the hotel.
Click to expand...
Saga Hotel. It's just a one minute walk from the train station. Very clean, friendly staff, a few rowdy soccer teens, but a complaint (not from us) got them tamed. Got the breakfast included (by accident), but glad we did.

Nemo2 said:
As Ann Landers, (or was it Dear Abby?), used to say, "If life hands you lemons....." etc, etc.

Did you walk to the top of The Church of Our Saviour yet? (Not much of a view in the rain perhaps.)
Click to expand...
Tried, but closed due to the rain. It's amazing how the locals act like nothing could be better, even though they are getting drenched while pedaling. We really have been enjoying sitting in a warm corner of a cafe after a soggy trudge somewhere. Today we are going on the one thing that I didn't arrange (DW did participate in planning a tiny bit): Beer and food tasting tour. Yeah, two things that might not interest everyone, but I didn't want to discourage her!
 
We have only used it twice, both in Norway when there was nothing else. The first one was great, the second was too cramped with just a mattress on the floor.
 
I have been EXTREMELY happy with AirBnB. All I can say is reviews, reviews, reviews.

When traveling internationally one has to remember that different countries have different standards. I know it sounds obvious, but remember that. Clean, quiet and nice here in the US, might mean something completely different in other parts of the world.
 
sengsational said:
Today we are going on the one thing that I didn't arrange (DW did participate in planning a tiny bit): Beer and food tasting tour. Yeah, two things that might not interest everyone, but I didn't want to discourage her!
Click to expand...

Well, it was that or cycling in the rain! :LOL:
 
SAtoUS said:
I have been EXTREMELY happy with AirBnB. All I can say is reviews, reviews, reviews.

When traveling internationally one has to remember that different countries have different standards. I know it sounds obvious, but remember that. Clean, quiet and nice here in the US, might mean something completely different in other parts of the world.
Click to expand...

+1
By diligent reading of reviews and use of Google Maps, I derive very good info about what we're renting (always whole house) and where where it's at.
So far, a very satisfied AIRBNB user.
 
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