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Well I am not aware of any forums where people don’t go off topic. But this forum is very liberal. I can understand it can be frustrating if you are specifically only wanting to hear responses regarding the original question. The original topic usually comes back full circle though.
For example: You just made a post that asked why there are so many posts that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. You didn’t create a new thread to ask that question. So it’s another post the rest of us have to wade through that has nothing to do with not providing breakfast. This is the same reason why it might be kind of awkward to start an entire thread when just asking a question that is “related.”
So now the thread has moved from “breakfast” to “off topic posters”…and it’s ALL GOOD
Yep! I’ve always thought that websites - and forums in particular - are organic, in that they grow naturally in the direction that the majority of users want. (I started my first forum in 1996 and users wanted a gardening section. What? But it proved to be incredibly popular).
Although we go off-topic, I find that it’s a great way to make friends and get to know people. That’s so cool. If I was travelling to certain areas I know exactly which Airbnbs I’d stay at because I ‘know’ the hosts from this forum. That is lovely as far as I’m concerned.
Indeed the good ones do. It’s only when you have a dictatorial rigid moderator(s) that things go wrong and it all dies an unseemly death. Somebody mentioned on here about some airbnb Facebook groups that went that way. At the risk of sounding a complete suck-up, I’d like to give a round of applause for all you mods Thanks for keeping this such a great place. (And that’s coming from someone who’s been spanked a few times lol! )
I have had different experiences in motels than you have.
We stayed at a Motel 6 in Palm Springs. There were loud drug deals going on all night in the walkway next to our room.
We stayed at a Motel 6 in the Bay Area in Northern California. The desk clerk gave us a key card and told us the room number. We walked in on a couple having sex. The desk clerk was unperturbed when we told him of his error.
I have never found tourist information in my room at a Motel. Usually there are brochures from tourist friendly restaurants in the lobby.
We stayed at a motel in Costa Rica where the ceiling was covered with cockroaches. We turned on the bedroom light and turned off the bathroom light so that the cockroaches would stay in the bathroom. We had to wear shoes to go to the bathroom.
We were on our way to check in to a motel in Italy. We saw someone shooting up in the hallway. We left.
We stayed in a motel in Paris and paid extra for a room with a shower. The shower didn’t drain for the entire nine days we were there.
We stayed at a hotel in the rain forest in Costa Rica where a guest found a scorpion in his shoe. My husband insisted on leaving. I wanted to stay. There were spiders and bats everywhere there.
Every time I’ve stayed in a motel I’ve experienced low water pressure in the shower and fluctuations in the water temperature. Every time I’ve stayed at a motel I’ve woken up with a backache from the low quality of the mattress. My guests love our shower and our mattresses.
My view is that if you pay very little you can expect a grungy experience. I know that many people here expect that their standards of cleanliness and hospitality are universal, but my experience proves otherwise. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to read the listing carefully including the reviews. My guests have told me that they like to see that guests have given a lot of detail in their reviews. In their eyes that indicates that the guest really enjoyed their stay; it’s not a gratuitous nice review.
@dcmooney@EllenN With respect and love for you guys, you really do sound like the highly critical hosts-are-the-worst-guests type Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes cleanliness. Cobwebs? Whatever. They’re just things made by spiders, they’re not going to kill you. Uncleaned microwaves and dodgy tea towels are my bugbears. Those things have truly nasty germs. And cat litter trays in the kitchen, that’s kind of off-putting. It’s not all about price either. Give me a friendly welcoming place with a thoughtful host and some cobwebs over a cold sanitised air-freshened (aka poisonous) place any day.
For starters, you have zero “respect and love” for me. I don’t expect or require respect and/or love. I appreciate honesty.
Um, when did I say that I would be put off by cobwebs? You must have misunderstood because the fact is that I forbid my husband to kill spiders in our house. I am not @dcmooney, so unless you can point to something highly critical that I said, I assume that you just want to get in a dig at me. In fact, I said the same thing you said, that cleanliness standards are subjective and cultural.
Bloody hell, ok I retract the love and respect for sure. In hindsight, you’re right that my post was primarily aimed at the very likeable dcmooney who doesn’t go into a spin when someone has an opposing opinion. I have no desire to get in a dig at you at all. I do, however, wish you could cultivate a sense of humour.
Ellen, I’m sorry that my post was taken so badly. I’m sad to see when hosts are very quick to judge their peers harshly, particularly publicly. Reading back, I see your comments are primarily about motels not other airhosts so I apologise.
I still don’t think you get it. The only one of those motels I left was the one where someone was shooting up. My point was that as a budget traveler, I expect budget surroundings. I was talking solely (not primarily) about motels. I’ve never stayed at an Airbnb.
Ah ok, sorry about that. I vaguely remembered from other posts that you were a seasoned traveller and assumed that you used Airbnb. Is there any particular reason that you don’t use Air when you travel, if you don’t mind me asking? Is it because you’re not guaranteed breakfast? (Just joking! Trying to keep on topic, ha ha)
When I heard that air travel is catastrophic for one’s carbon footprint, I decided to give it up. This was prior to Airbnb. As I travel by car now, I can bring my dogs with me. All Motel 6s permit dogs. They say one small dog, but very few enforce those rules. It would be more difficult to find an Airbnb that would welcome as opposed to tolerate my dogs.
That’s really interesting. I too am very concerned about global environmental issues, particularly relevant now in the current political climate. Cars are not great either, mind! And I’m not a big dog fan (cat person) but at least they don’t fart as much as cows! So it’s primarily the lack of Air rentals allowing dogs that stops you using it? It does seem, from reading posts on here and other places, that few hosts allow pets. I haven’t had the opportunity to travel for a while now but honestly I think I’ll probably book a hotel next time. I want a complete break from all things hosting related!!
Yes, few hosts allow pets. Add to that one of my dogs is a pit bull mix. Many people are prejudiced against pit bulls, so I assume that even some hosts who allow pets would not allow pit bulls.
Wow, @EllenN, OK, I stand corrected! Those are some crazy experiences!
And now that I rethink it, I’ve never stayed in a Motel 6. There was a time in my life that Econolodges were my budget, but that was long ago. So I really didn’t know what I was talking about.
My point was just that I find hotels, in general, more reliable, in many ways, than airbnbs. Actually I just have had some old friends over for the evening, and they used airbnbs for their trip through Europe, and had similar experiences, and have said that they are now leaning towards using hotels again because of it. They like the concept of airbnb but not the poor quality they often found in many places. (These are young people, just for the sake of the discussion)
@Magwitch, I didn’t complain to the host about the cobwebs - but when I say cobwebs, I don’t mean a little thing you spy in the corner, I mean a huge black gob that connects all the way down to a big huge gob on the floor, which rolls all along the baseboards. Yeah, that would be my idea of ‘dirty’. But it was the mildew and hair in the shower that I found particularly sad. And the sink that was slimy and grimy. And the wood work and doors were filthy, like, chunky stuff dirty, like, boogers and more. No sheets to be found for the sofa bed. No curtains on the windows. But I do say cobwebs, to that degree, is dirty. No it won’t kill me, but while I have a few in my own home that I don’t catch, when they are 8" wide and solid black - yuck. I still gave her high marks where deserved and only said it could 'use a deep cleaning". Does that really make me picky? Maybe - I hadn’t thought so but perhaps I am. Maybe, in part, because I work so hard to keep my own listing clean.
I completely agree that hotels/motels are more reliable/predictable. That’s what makes them better choices for many travelers. Those travelers who want a unique experience are the ones who will be happier using Airbnb. For me, the key is to know yourself as a traveler (or really in any area of life) and act accordingly. I get many (usually young) guests who tell me that they like Airbnb much better than hotels/motels. Our current guest has been going to UCLA for six months and has been living on microwaved frozen food. She is ecstatic to be eating homemade muffins and granola. She also loves our dogs. These are things hotels/motels don’t offer. On the other hand, we’ve had guests who clearly would rather be in a hotel/motel. We’re always glad to see the back of them.
I have not stayed in a hotel in forever. I have done home swaps, apartment rentals through VRBO and Someway, private rentals through agencies [online], and booking.com but never AirBNB. Every experience has been a bit of a crap shoot. To date, I have done great 95% of the time. That 5% was a HomeAway and it was a nightmare. What I now know is that with AirBNB I would be able to solve the nightmare in a way that HomeAway wouldn’t. I am considering a trip in Feb-March to Mexico and have added AirBNB to the search mix.
Oh I remember you posting a photo of that. Yes, yeuch! That was more than just a few cobwebs. It looked really neglected and dirty and would make you wonder what else had been neglected. Actually, this discussion made me check my own place for cobwebs today and I found a few lurking in the ceiling corners. They’re easily missed because my ceilings are pretty high. Sorry if I came across critical
Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes cleanliness. Cobwebs? Whatever. They’re just things made by spiders, they’re not going to kill you. Uncleaned microwaves and dodgy tea towels are my bugbears. Those things have truly nasty germs. And cat litter trays in the kitchen, that’s kind of off-putting. It’s not all about price either. Give me a friendly welcoming place with a thoughtful host and some cobwebs over a cold sanitised air-freshened (aka poisonous) place any day.
because yo also wandered off topic. And me also now… good grace heeeeellllpppp uuuuussss.