we always look for a studio apartment when we travel, unfortunately we found Airbnb much more expensive than apartment hotel and with less facilities. For example usually guests can’t regulate the temperature in the Airbnb apartment in many cases and the booking can be cancelled last minute
I was talking to a guest just yesterday. (Not from our rental but a neighbour’s that I look after). He said:
I just love Airbnb! I get to stay in places that I’d never be able to find on my own. This place really is a hidden secret.How else could I find somewhere like this - and with a friendly helpful host to turn to for recommendations - without Airbnb?
He is a guy in his late 50s, early 60s so not the demographic that some people think is typical of the Airbnb guest.
But I think he’s absolutely right.
It might be a long haul, but the sooner these inferior listings are purged from the system, the better. When I read this topic, it’s disheartening. If Airbnb hosts prefer hotels, why should we expect others to stay with us?
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Do you think a big factor in our different experiences as Air guests is that mine were all domestic travel? I also have only rented entire units, never shared spaces. I’ve seriously never even seen mold in an AIR bathroom, much less roaches and filth. The biggest problem I can recall at an AIR unit was a very noisy AC window unit, which was annoying (not quite a nightmare).
My worst hotel experience was at a Fairmont in Maui that was 500/night for their basic room. They gave us a room that wasn’t entirely cleaned and my husband ended up sitting on a toilet that had poop on the seat. Repulsive. (they sent a cheap bottle of wine after moving us…)
O wow, i love Fairmont. I am on their mailing list and sometimes they send me crazy offers that i grab right away. I stayed in San Francisco for 165$ a night in king suit once. They screwed up really badly with you guys!
I stayed in many AIrbnb throught the years, the worst were in US unfortunately.
I seriously doubt that will ever happen. Many here are extolling the virtues of staying in a swell hotel with loads of amenities, which is just great IF you want to spend the money.
Airbnb will always be around in one form or another because people are willing to give up that pampered feeling and save their money.
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Depends on where it is. An Airbnb in a farmhouse in the French countryside or a hotel down the road? The Airbnb for me!
Or how about the $91 a night Motel6 inches away from the busiest intersection in this town or my fabulous bed in the corner of the living room for less than half and without slamming doors and car horns and sirens?
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“If Airbnb hosts prefer hotels, why should we expect others to stay with us?”
I have been thinking this as I’ve read the posts. I have wanted a traditional B and B for over 30 years, the AirBnb platform is allowing me to host n a smaller scale. Every travel that I can book into Air I do and each has been a learning experience in what to do or what NOT to do.
That said, there are times when a hotel is more convenient - like when attending conferences.
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I think it’s partly because the posters here are Airbnb hosts that they have high expectations. We’ve recently had two guests who worked in food service. They had higher expectations of restaurant servers than the general public does. My husband teaches special education. His most demanding parents are fellow teachers. I’m sure you’ve heard the stereotype of doctors being bad patients.
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Not the case with me. I am a traveler and learned long ago not to expect to avoid disappointment. I book Airbnb only to save money so I know what I am paying and I am staying in someone’s home and not expect much . But why would I want to deal with an individual and put myself in an situation where I have to deal with finding keys , dealing with questionable cleanliness standards and personality of a host , follow rules and all the restrictions that hotels don’t have for the same or close price. And on top of that to not have amenities, breakfast and my room not cleaned for a week .
I am going to Morrocco soon and looked at hotels first and then Airbnb. All the separate units in Tangier with decent reviews are no less than 35$ anight.
I booked a 5* hotel with more than a 1000 glorious reviews and pool and hot breakfast in a garden for 46$.
Basically the difference in price is non existent considering that in Airbnb I have to go through inconvenience of waking up and look for a place to eat in unknown city and how no pool to cool down after touring all day. Worry about living a place clean, and how a host will review me.
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The question was specifically "IF cost of both was comparable ". I think many who answered misses that part.
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Yes I realized that but was thinking of the many things that hotels offer but Airbnb doesn’t, and vice versa.
This is exactly my thinking when I travel abroad. If you look long enough, you will find a great deal like this at a hotel. I also think hotels have had to up their games a bit with so many little Air listings barking at their heels.
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Yes i think so too . I noticed also that hotels in my area reduced their prices last 2 years. I wonder if it has something to do with Airbnb
In the U.S. hotel prices vs. Airbnb prices vary city by city. However, if you book an Airbnb with kitchen and laundry privileges you save quite a bit.
My little guest inn in Kyoto was $58 per night. A great deal in cherry blossom season when EVERYTHING else I looked at was over $100. My little hotel in Seoul, near my son’s university was $40. My awesome hotel in DC was $79 in winter. Great deals to be had if you only look… and no cleaning, security fee, reviews to worry about, keys to stress over, house rules to remember, obscure locations to try to find… not to mention all the pluses like front desk service, free wine hour and concierge services.
I know, I sound like an ad for the hotel industry!!! I think there is something for everyone… Airs fulfill a need, just as little hotels do.
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And I’m going to sound like an ad for Airbnb! 
- No cleaning fee, true, but there are often additional fees in hotels such as for parking. We once stayed somewhere for five days and the parking fee was $25 per day - and there was nowhere else locally to park. Or valet parkers to tip. And really, hotel etiquette ‘suggests’ that housekeepers are tipped
- Guests don’t have to worry about keys if their Airbnb has a simple keypad
- They have no need to write reviews if they don’t want to
- Our only real house rule is to be quiet and respectful of the property which most people would be in hotels anyway - I hope
- Many Airbnbs leave a bottle of wine for guests and I am the front desk and concierge
Yep, I definitely sound like an Airbnb ad!
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I’m obviously pro Airbnb since I’ve had one for the past almost 8 years. For sure there are pros and cons to each.
Indeed, There are resort hotels here that charge guests a $45 daily mandatory “resort” fee which is supposed to cover parking and wi-fi. ( If only most guests realized that the parking lots are free and there’s no enforcement of parking! Meanwhile, this is why my ABB is a good deal. FREE parking and FREE wifi! )
I wonder what percentage of places have self check in and keypads? I just have keys.
I meant reviews of US… Hosts writing something bad about guests!
I wish I could limit house rules to those things, but guests must not have additional guests over. They also must take their trash and they must not move furniture or rinse wetsuits in the house! Unfortunately as I am on a raintank, we all must conserve water and not be wasteful.
At my price point I cannot leave wine. At what point does wine become non-cheap and acceptable? For some people that’s $10. For others it’s $25 or 30.
I’m a great alternative to a hotel. Not as low end as a hostel but a great alternative to the $400 plus per night resort!
As you said before ‘there’s something for everyone’. 
There will always be people who prefer hotel and also those who have been ‘converted’ to Airbnb.
I imagine that I’m lucky because we have a higher price point because of our location and view and whether it’s the case or not, some people think that higher prices bring better guests. (I’m on the fence about that one).
I think that our rental is paradise on earth (really!) but when I take off my rose tinted glasses and see it as it is, I realise that it’s a bit scruffy around the edges so the extras we provide, such as the wine, are to distract from the peeling baseboards etc.
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LOL! It would take a lot of wine to distract guests from some of my downsides!!!
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Like many converts they can be quite enthusiastic evangelists for the brand. I’ve yet to find anyone who is enthusiastic about their hotel brands. Maybe it’s my peer groups.
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