Hi, I am moving to Quebec next month for a conference and will be there for a month. I have talked with one of the Airbnb hosts and they sound very genuine. But my family is really concerned about me and is looking for the safest place. While going through the sites, I read an article listing the safety precautions to be taken while going for an Airbnb stay [ http://www.apialarm.com/blog/airbnb/stay-safe-staying-airbnb/ ]. As the article says, I have already reviewed their social profiles and found positive reviews. I would like to get some suggestions on choosing Airbnb.
Double-check your hostâs reviews just before you arrive to make sure they donât get a bad review between now and then.
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Unless youâre wanting to stay as cheaply as possible, your best bet would be a âwhole house/apartmentâ style rental where you donât have to be sharing a space. But in most cases, especially with reading reviews, you will be just as safe as in a hotel. Donât forget that hotel staff come in daily to clean your room and have complete access. I personally would feel safer in an AirBnB rental with good reviews than any budget hotel/motel.
And the best thing about staying in an AirBnB rental long term is it will feel homey. Another reason to find a whole place rental, full access to the kitchen and living space. Though many room rentals offer kitchen use, etc. Read the listings, read the reviews, ask questions at the places you like best. 
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AirBnb short term rentals are AT LEAST as safe as a hotel/motel! Unlike hotels/motels, AirBnb rentals operate on a system of âchecks and balancesâ called Reviews â we Hosts review you as a guest (were you neat and clean or did you trash the place; were you polite and respectful, etc.) In return, you as a Guest, review us as hosts (was the place as described, were they nice people, did I feel comfortable there, etc.) So read the other reviews written by previous guests about the place(s) youâre interested in; and if they have consistently good reviews, you can book with confidence.
We had a young woman visit us last year, this time; it was her first AirBnb experience too, and her folks were âleeryâ. After two nights here she was so effusive about our great place, that her Mom flew down to share a great time in the sun. Because of her positive experience, she has gone on to become an Air Host in her own right!
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The posted article is really a lot of nonsense. There are no particular âprecautionsâ that anyone should take when staying in an Airbnb rental! The person employed to write the blog for that security company is just leaping on the sharing economy bandwagon.
Itâs obvious that the blogger knows very little about Airbnb and, if you look at the final paragraph, the goal of the post is to promote the companyâs alarm solution to hosts.
It also mentions âa number of horror storiesâ about Airbnb which is pretty funny since there have been entire TV series based on hotel horror stories.
At first when I read the OP I thought that the concern was about the safety of Quebec - skimming the message I never imagined it would be about the safety of Airbnb.
https://www.virtualtourist.com/905108-2083831/Quebec-Tips/100-safe
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This article might be helpful.
Are you saying the OP posted her blog in the first post?
No, just that she shouldnât have paid much attention to it. 
It doesnât seem to have any useful info and ends with a sales pitch (to hosts) but I didnât think it was the OPâs article.
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Sorry Sarah, but I disagree with you. I for safety reasons would never ever stay by myself in a house where there is no one around. That would make me feel really unsafe.
@Melissa, chose a place with a decent amount of good reviews. As a girl alone, you might feel more comfortable with a female or gay host or a hosting family. I have read that some women also prefer to travel with MisterBnB, the website directed at gay men. Although more than 99% of male hosts wonât bother you either!
I agree with Ken, that hotels donât guarantee you more safety. I (male) once had the reception guy bringing me towels, just after my boyfriend had left because he had business to do in another city. I let this guy into the room to leave the fresh towels in the bathroom, but soon it became clear that he was there for other reasons 
. I was really firm in getting him out again. It was funny and shocking at the same time. It became even more funny when 15 minutes later my boyfriend was at the door again because he had missed his bus and he pretended to be room service 
! He didnât know what had happened, and I didnât know he had missed his bus. Anyway the next morning I canceled my remaining nights, I had not paid yet, and went to another place.
But donât worry, read the reviews and trust your instinct. Any host that makes advances to a guest gets his listing shut down by AirBnB. So most wonât risk it.
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I think the Op works for the alarm company.
You might be right because it seems like a pretty daft question - unless she is very young in which case she wouldnât be able to get an Airbnb account anyway.
And considering that the post was made 12 hours ago and she hasnât been backâŚ
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You bring up good points on the sharing/safety aspects. I was mostly thinking of the long-term/comfort aspects. Especially for a first time home sharer. Itâs all an illusion of safety based on preferences anyway. My thoughts with the room rental though is very few have locking doors with a key for the renter. If safety is the primary concern then a guest-house on property or an apartment adjacent to the host would be a best-case scenario.
And why anyone thinks staying in a hotel is safer than home sharing is beyond me.
Thank you SarahâŚ
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Thank you for the concern GutHend.
We give the guests a key for the guest bedroom door. We didnât when we started hosting. A few guests asked for one so we got one. What I donât understand is why guests feel safer if the door locks. Donât they know that we also have a key?
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How would any of those suggestions affect the safety of the guest? [quote=âGutHend, post:9, topic:12063â]
Any host that makes advances to a guest gets his listing shut down by AirBnB.
[/quote]
Any hotel staff who makes sexual advances toward guests will get the police called to the location.
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When a family is concerned for the safety of their young daughter, they tend to be mainly worried about men sexually harassing her. I donât know Quebec, but I imagine it to be a place where you shouldnât be too worried of getting shot in the street. And I also donât see parents worrying about 50 dollars getting robbed from her room.
As Sarah_Warren very wisely said: Itâs also a case of perception. And I know for a fact that some women have chosen to stay at our place because we are a gay couple, and a guy traveling with MisterBnB chose us for the same reason. A single gay host might be looking for a hookup, there is less chance of that with a couple.
So my conclusion was that she and her family might be more comfortable with the idea of her staying with one of these groups, because there is less chance of sexual advances.
Where is my logic going wrong? Or did I misinterpret Melissaâs problem?
Mmmmhhh, no offense but that sounds like simplistic thinking. When the towel boy made sexual advances (he did not touch me), I never even considered calling the police. The reason in short: It was a gay issue. (Please, to anyone, donât start misinterpreting. If you want the big explanation of that, I will explain.)
Do you have more than one guest room? (Sorry, donât remember.) I, as a host, always have a slight fear (mostly with one-nighters) of them stealing from other guests. (I know stories of really experienced backpackers, sleeping in dorms.) Although simply our layout wouldnât be convenient for stealing, we do have keys to the rooms and I think thatâs good that way.
I only have one guest room.
So they must think that you only have one set of keys for them to lose. 
Their logic evades me a little bit. Maybe itâs more the habit of having a key.