I usually prefer staying in hotels and will look for Airbnb only as a second choice.
Reasons are:
- Price is usually higher on Airbnb.
- Airbnb crazy fees for multiple people, cleaning scam, outrageous service fees etc.
- Inconvenience to not have a 24H reception where I can get my keys.
The real genius of Airbnb is that they convinced a lot of people that they shouldn't look for Hotels anymore, which sadly is what a lot of my friends are doing (automatically looking for an Airbnb).
They are different experiences. AirBnB can give you an entire place to yourself, complete with a fully equipped kitchen, multiple rooms, facilities such as a pool, balcony, and so on. An AirBnB is often located where people actually live, not in the middle of a busy downtown.
With a hotel, you get... a hotel room. There are some great hotels out there that stand out in many ways, especially if you're very wealthy, but your average hotel is very average. Generic interior design, generic wall-to-wall carpeting, generic wall art, a mini fridge where a soda costs $10, and some kind of weird desk/table/cabinet setup that's mostly home to a lonely-looking Keurig machine and an ice bucket.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I genuinely don't want to visit a hotel. The only time I'd be interested is if I'm staying 1-2 nights for a business trip or something where the only purpose is to have a place to sleep and store one's property.
Good hotel still have pools, can be located outside of downtown, and sometimes even in-room kitchens (if that's what you want). They also have maid service, room service, and a front desk.
The only advantage you get from an AirBnB is a unique facade, paired with having to clean up after yourself and possible fire and health code violations.
I lived in a hotel for a month. It was hell. That was before the AirBnB era and at a time when VRBO wasn't really an option and was inconvenient.
I agree that for simple stays - check in, do stuff, stay a day or two, leave - hotels are great. But for long periods, AirBnb can be much, much better.
For me the line is: are you staying long enough to need to do laundry or where you will get to the point don't want to eat out most/every meal? Then AirBnB is a better choice.
I agree that, for periods of a week or more, AirBnB can be a better option but...the chances of encountering problems are significantly higher. My worst experiences thus far have all involved noisy, disruptive neighbours.
In a hotel, you can address this problem quite easily. With AirBnB, you have to just live with it.
There are exceptions, but most hotels are nothing like an Airbnb home. You'll find that a multi-room suite with a kitchen is very, very expensive compared to an Airbnb.
I've never encountered an Airbnb where you have to clean up after yourself, nor have I encountered an Airbnb that has fire and health code violations.
But again, different experiences. For example, a two-bedroom vacation home with a private pool, its own parking space, maybe its own beachfront, etc. is going to be nothing like a hotel.
Good hotels also overcharge for parking, have slow, sketchy WiFi, charge $10 for a bottle of water and every person you encounter requires a gratuity. I like hotels but they can be annoying and everything in the hotel is overpriced and designed to squeeze your wallet. There is no excuse for a bottle of water that costs $10 when the same bottle at the 7-11 outside sells it for $1.99. Even worse are hotels that charge a mandatory “resort fee.”
You're just going to bad hotels. Every hotel I've stayed at in the US in the past quarter (around six of them) had ~16 Mbps free Wi-Fi, complimentary water bottles in my room each day, and free parking (with the exception of hotels in Manhattan or the likes).
I'll admit that gratuity is annoying, but that's a cultural problem with the US, not something specific to hotels. We just happen to live in a country where every person who serves you is expecting a tip. And to be fair, if I was staying at an AirBnB that for whatever reason had housecleaning or other service, I'd probably have to leave a tip there too.
* Always with public transport, no parking needed
* I've never tipped anyone in a hotel
* EU roaming is free, no need for wifi
* Fill the minifridge with my own beverages
All the AirBnbs I've stayed at have been somewhat sketchy, while this rarely happens with a hotel. Furthermore, I know hotels are fully legal and won't cancel my booking.
AirBnb is a clear winner when traveling with a small group though, as a multi-bed apartment is a better holiday experience and much cheaper than multiple hotel rooms.
I think you’re just staying at boring hotels? If I’m travelling somewhere I’ll actually try and find a unique hotel/property - I consider it part of the experience itself. I never get the “we can go for cheap option because we’ll be visiting the city/area”.
After all the fees the nicer AirBnbs usually end up more expensive than nice hotel.
(Two sites I sometimes use for hotels that are still in the relatively affordable category and not just for ultra wealthy - slh.com and Relais&Chateaux)
1) I find with Airbnb I'm more likely to get lower quality from expectations to what is received.
2) Hotels are better are redressing issues whereas AirBnB doesn't seem to care, and you can't really say to Airbnb I want another room type thing on the spot either.
3) For price, I think it's cheaper for groups most of the time. When traveling alone for work I'd say I use it 30-50% for the cost benefit vs hotel.
Another issue is I feel I can't give honest reviews. As if say every 3rd or 4th place is below par I suspect people wont accept you if they see you give a bunch of brutally honest reviews, so I tend to give nice reviews so it leaves my booking options open for when I do use it.
I completely agree with you. Especially on point 1 and 2. I've had 2 negative experiences with Airbnb, and I can say that it would never have happened at a hotel.
- The first one had a host cancelling a week before my trip. It was a long expected Christmas trip, and I had booked well in advance. Airbnb offered a $30 voucher on their platform, but there was no more availability in the city, so we had to pay a hotel for three times the initial price, the voucher expired before we could use it.
- The second one had a room in very bad conditions. We decided to get a hotel and quickly found something much nicer for half the price. We notified the host that we would not stay, but since we were backpacking abroad it was very hard to contest anything with Airbnb. Ultimately we still payed the full price of our Airbnb booking.
My (newly substantiated) reason for choosing a hotel room:
- Security
Just stayed in an AirBnb that was broken-into during our stay. Window smashed, laptops stolen when we were gone for a couple hours.
It feels like we were watched when we arrived, were observed to leave, and then robbed.
We were shaken and ran-off to a hotel.
Really appreciated the hotel staff, secured elevator, anonymity of it all (lots of undifferentiated rooms in a long hallway), deadbolt, additional locks.
At this moment, feeling like I'll never stay at an airbnb again.
> I would guess that you’re much likelier to be a victim of theft at a hotel than at a residential [AirBnB] home
This seems like a made up guess, hotels have security and 24x7 surveillance and staffing. Further, at a hotel, there are folks you can turn to. AirBnB's service department is invisible. AirBnB's online complaint process feels more like a trial which places the burden of proof on the customer, rather than a hotel, whose employee's often go out of their way to make things right.
For example, if you're harmed at a decent hotel, the staff will call the cops on your behalf and do their own investigation. AirBnB will more likely require you to submit a completed police report to their online portal before they start to look into it.
I rented a place with AirBnB in NY once. I knocked on the door and the guy answered with a lit joint in his hand. Another was passed out on the couch. Gross, unclean bathroom.
But whatever shit happens. It was cheap so maybe buywer beware.
What was surprising was the flacid and uncaring support from AirBnB. They insisted on charging for time stayed (the evening of check-in) and refused to refund their fees and the cleaning fees. Why? Made no sense to me given Amazon's eagerness to make refunds for goods with actual COGS.
Haven't done it again since and I travel > 100 days a year.
It is absolutely a guess. I can’t find any statistics. Hotels feel less safe to me because by definition there are many parties who have access to your room.
Hotels feel more safe to me because there is a clear chain of responsibility and accountability. AirBnB is a thousand miles away and can only guess what actually happens at their properties.
To break into an apartment, walk up to the street door, ring any neighbour's doorbell and say the name of any company that delivers parcels, newspapers or advertising in that area.
There's something really nice about being able to cook in an AirBnB, after the kids have taken their showers and are in their PJs, and all sit around the table as a family, and then have them do the bed routine shortly after, perhaps after watching a bit of TV.
At a hotel, you generally have to at least exit your room to go to the restaurant in the hotel... which breaks the whole "family groove" and makes it harder to keep the kids "in the zone" (everybody has to change clothes, etc . I find it much more difficult to manage because the hotel is essentially a bedroom/bathroom, nothing more.
After having a couple of neighbors straight across the hall that illegally (meaning without knowledge of them being there by the landlord or the authorities) sub leased the place for 4 month thought it's a good idea to turn their sublease into an illegal hotel I will never, ever again stay in an AirBnb.
Unless you have experienced this personally you can't imagine the impact on your quality of life of such action in a multi party dwelling.
The original "idea" of AirBnB was to offer travelers a much more unique and personal travel experience, staying in someone's home, rather than a generic and bland hotel. That still exists on AirBnb, but it doesn't scale to the level AirBnB needs to become a publicly traded accommodation accompany.
To scale up, the focus changed to inexpensive low-service accommodations with little character, or regard for the surrounding community. AirBnB is eating itself in the name of growth. In theory, it was a great idea, and I have no doubt it'll continue to make money in its current incarnation, but it's not building what it set out to create.
In Australia my anecdotal experience is that hotels are ALWAYS more expensive than Airbnbs, usually at minimum $150 a night and going straight up from there. Also the benefit of having a whole house with all the facilities using Airbnb is usually far better than any hotel, though I do enjoy staying in nice hotels now and then.
This is purely anecdotical. Short-term rentals exist mostly because of high hotel prices (well, and poor hotel service - but that is already covered by the high price, as 'high price' is a term relative to the quality of goods).
I always check prices on hotels and airbnb, and I mostly book airbnb. Because it is cheaper (even with fees and everything).
Only in Asia. In Western countries Airbnb is almost always cheaper than hotels. I still use Airbnb in Asia because you get nicer places with more space.
>In Western countries Airbnb is almost always cheaper than hotels.
In my experience traveling across Europe it depends - for example just last month I was in Vienna and Marriott was cheapest on the days we were looking (apples to apples comparison). But then in Budapest AirBnB was cheaper. Got the best deal on booking for Amsterdam and London. You still need to go trough multiple sites if you're looking for the best deal.
The pricing depends on demand and supply, Airbnb doesn't set the prices, it can recommend prices, however the final decision is with the hosts.
So in a place with a lot of demand and little supply, the prices tend to be high and vice versa. Airbnb pricing is really a small projection of your local housing and rental market. I've managed to find cheaper places to stay on Airbnb than hotels and vice versa.
I usually prefer staying in hotels and will look for Airbnb only as a second choice.
Reasons are:
- Price is usually higher on Airbnb.
- Airbnb crazy fees for multiple people, cleaning scam, outrageous service fees etc.
- Inconvenience to not have a 24H reception where I can get my keys.
The real genius of Airbnb is that they convinced a lot of people that they shouldn't look for Hotels anymore, which sadly is what a lot of my friends are doing (automatically looking for an Airbnb).