Airbnb - how does it work?

Be sure and note if the property charges a cleaning fee. When we were booking our place in Shanghai, some of the properties charged a significant cleaning fee.

Maybe because it's extra money, they can rent them for less? I don't know, that's all I have. LOL

Hope yours works out as well as ours did. We had a blast!

Marcy

For Airbnb make sure you have the whole property - unless you don't care. The super, cheapest are renting ROOMS - you're sharing kitchens and sometimes bathrooms. The rates are for a family for a whole flat are way, way better than 2 hotel rooms.

I think it varies though - on location and timing. We saw a ton of properties in Paris that were clearly someone's home. I think a fair number of Europeans rent out their homes when they go on their long summer holiday.

I am planning a trip now and am trying airbnb for the first time. I found a cute one bedroom apt in Rapid City and a room in a house north of Yellowstone. Both much cheaper than hotels and we will have/ be able to use a kitchen so we are not eating out. I read heaps of reviews before deciding on these. I learned to read between the lines and looked carefully at what they said about themselves and their lifestyles. My husband's family had used it for places in England and loved it.

one example: shared bathroom situation. Reviews were stellar but one review said something about a rule about the woman telling them to shower quickly and be out of the bathroom. I am not one to tarry or spend time in a bathroom, but that was not a listed rule. I know that if someone said that to me, It would bother me. She probably has other mannerisms that would bother me.

Another: this woman sounded amazingly perfect in her description. Traveled all over, more than happy to help. She said she would leave guests alone, but she also worked from home. She also wanted no shoes in the house. I love bare feet, but it's my choice. Really, she sounded very nice, but I just knew we would not click. I was concerned that she was overly gregarious. As introverts, I did not want that level of energy from an obvious extrovert.

Another was subtly religious in the descriptions but I could tell they would be really over the top for me.

Read very carefully and try to imagine living with this person or dealing with this person. Not everyone is a good match. These are regular people. The customer is not always right. I imagine it's a bit like a dating site.

Ok, this is an odd question, but what if I were looking for something specific in a home? Like a La-Z-Boy recliner? How easily searchable is this option?

You can contact the host directly. You may want to plan for a night or two in an established hotel when you first arrive so that you can rest. I think you also do not want shared space. Look for apartments and bed and breakfasts. I found several airbnb listings that are professional and I could google them separately.

Yikes - I didn't know some hosts would be home and sharing a bathroom with Airbnb!

I've only stayed in one - it was definitely someone's home, and she met us to do the key switch, etc. It was great because she told us about local attractions that would not be in any tour books. It was NOT great because she was late - we arrived and no one answered the bell. A neighbor was entering the building, and she let us in and invited us to sit down with her for some coffee until our host arrived (how nice is THAT?!) - then when she arrived, she said the place wasn't quite ready, and could we come back in an hour and a half. We had just arrived from another country and were exhausted. Still, we didn't have a tight agenda, so we rolled with it.

My friend rents out her huge home on Airbnb. They have a beach house just a couple of hours away, so they pack up the family and go there when they have a renter. Obviously, they can't do that during school time, but they do it quite successfully over vacations. It is their primary residence, but they have separate dishes, linens, etc. that are just for guests. They certainly would not be renting just a room out!

Did you give your arrival time? That would not be happy with being treated like that.

I was recently looking but the whole thing made me a little nervous because you just don't know what to expect. One place I found looked awesome, was at the right price and the right location and then I read they wanted a $400 cleaning deposit. No, thank you. Maybe it was just the area I looked in but the Airbnb options were not much cheaper than hotels.

We're staying in an airbnb right now. We had to do a bit of traveling for work and my husband found us a great deal. We have the entire lower level and the owner (a single woman) has the upstairs. We have a living room, 2 bdrms, a bathroom and laundry. No kitchen but there is a microwave and fridge. There's a beautiful walk-out patio on a small lake. It's perfect for us because it's $50 a night and soooo much better than a hotel.

I get the read between the lines things and do the same. I read every review before booking, message with the owner to get a feel of what to expect. One of the recent rentals we stayed in seemed really particular. Typically that concerned me but this rental had over 150 Five star reviews so I took it as a detailed person who wants to protect themselves in the process. I hoped I was right and I was. He was a business owner in the city. This particular city was giving Airbnb owners a lot of heat and working against them. As a resident of this town for many years and business owner I can see why he has things set up the way he does.

Some might find Airbnb risky. I find it worth the risk for the payoff. No issues yet. I am super detailed in my research and we have also learned along the way what works for us. Basics of what we know we need and what is nice but not a must. I find it cheaper than most other travel sites. If there is the same rental than yes it typically the same price on both sites but there are so many more with the options on Airbnb.

If you are super private than it might not be for you but most owners totally respect that and let you set the tone and frequency for connection or conversation.

On trips one of the things we like is adventure. There are many ways that happens in life and on a trip but one of the things we love in travel is the people we meet. Airbnb has only enhanced that aspect for us. One trip we went on was with our son and we had to stay at 2 different rentals due to how late we planned our trip, what was available and it was a holiday week too. One of the rentals was on a property that had grown avocado trees for a couple generations in their family. They had beautiful grounds all over the property and our son who was 6 at the time loved it all and asked the owner questions and the gentleman was so kind and gracious he took time to answer his question, let him take some with him and gave him a tour around. Their kids were grown, the home was on their property but separate and something they had poured their work and heart into building. We love seeing how other people live, connecting with them and learning from them. Even if they aren't there or are busy we still take things away from it.

That sounds like an amazing experience!