AirBnB is a now usually a terrible deal for guests and increases resident rental shortages/costs by illegally converting residential units into commercial rentals.
When they started, they were great for guests. Now there's an abundance of guests and a shortage of hosts, so the system is strongly tilted in favor of hosts.
- Hosts always get rebuttals on reviews
- Guests cannot comment when their stay is cancelled before arrival
- Guest reviews are public which discourages honest feedback
- Dealing with a problem is nearly impossible (how do I take a picture of the fact that my 'apartment' is a hotel room? And why can't I talk to anyone?)
- AirBnB's compensation for a failed stay is a 10% re-booking bonus which doesn't begin to cover the additional cost, time, and stress of having to find a new place at the last minute at 10pm because your flight was 6 hours delayed and the one you booked with great reviews was misrepresented
In some markets AirBnB can be the last/best option, but I do my best to avoid financially supporting them if there is a reasonable alternative.
This is a great comment and I have to add a shady tactic that I have noticed hosts doing in competitive cities during peak times... I travel to a particular city yearly for a large conference and every time I've tried to use AirBnB for a stay, it always ends with me sticking to a hotel.
The host posts a bunch of very desirable locations and then when you try to book it, they message you with 'this one is unavailable, but how about these other entirely different units I have?' which is clearly a 'bait and switch' tactic.
I even booked one successfully and I know they had accidentally underpriced that week--similar to their other week costs, not raised for this conference like a lot of other hosts--and instead of just honoring my reservation, they cancelled it saying, 'oh, it turns out the prior guest will be leaving late on your first day.' Of course, this was a total lie because I offered to come even later, give up the first day, etc to no further response. Well, guess what... they re-posted the same dates at a much higher rate.
I honestly think a host should not be able to turn down a verified guest reservation under any circumstance or perhaps be unable to relist for those dates if they deny a person's request.
I emailed their customer service about these clear 'scams' and heard no significant reply.... they offered me a coupon.
Another issue is, the guest cant cancel without horrible fees...ohh but the landlord can, 2 years ago i arrived in nyc homeless, because the landlord cancled my stay during my flight to the US.
> Guests cannot comment when their stay is cancelled before arrival
It's automatically posted as a review on your behalf.
> Dealing with a problem is nearly impossible (how do I take a picture of the fact that my 'apartment' is a hotel room? And why can't I talk to anyone?)
By taking a picture with your phone and contacting support?
There's reasons to dislike Airbnb, but these surely aren't some of them. I've had ~20 stays at Airbnb and never had any of these issues.
When they started, they were great for guests. Now there's an abundance of guests and a shortage of hosts, so the system is strongly tilted in favor of hosts.
- Hosts always get rebuttals on reviews
- Guests cannot comment when their stay is cancelled before arrival
- Guest reviews are public which discourages honest feedback
- Dealing with a problem is nearly impossible (how do I take a picture of the fact that my 'apartment' is a hotel room? And why can't I talk to anyone?)
- AirBnB's compensation for a failed stay is a 10% re-booking bonus which doesn't begin to cover the additional cost, time, and stress of having to find a new place at the last minute at 10pm because your flight was 6 hours delayed and the one you booked with great reviews was misrepresented
In some markets AirBnB can be the last/best option, but I do my best to avoid financially supporting them if there is a reasonable alternative.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=airbnb+isn't+worth+it+anymore