Still haven’t officially stayed as an Airbnb guest. I have stayed at a couple of listings that were offered on Airbnb as well as other platforms, but booked through one of the other platforms because it was less expensive by a significant margin.
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I have not stayed through Air, but I have stayed in short term rentals and always enjoyed it. It depends where I’m going and who I’m going with. I love STR’s for travel with a group because it allows more room to spread out than a hotel, and feels homey. Sometimes I prefer hotels though. Sometimes I just love room service 
At the end of the day it is about location and price for me.
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In 2000 I had a 3 month old, 3 year old and a 10 year old our travel agent recommended VRBO as she knew of a home in the area that accommodate infants with a crib. I have avoid hotels from then on. My 3 AirBnB’s are all the things I wanted to have and didn’t when I rented out a house, which I did often. You will be hard pressed to find my houses lacking in any amenities, which is why they are higher priced and usually the last to be booked. It works out well though.
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I use it often when I’m in another city for work (one night). I rent a room in a house, as that’s the cheapest and it’s on my dime. The quality has varied widely, from a “flophouse” (guy had an air mattress in every room and several in the living room) which was at least clean to a shared house that was NOT clean. Now I’ve found a few hosts I regularly stay with. To be honest, I prefer a hotel because I love nothing more than an evening on my own where I don’t have to talk to anyone.
On our recent road trip out West I tried to AirBNB, but there weren’t many places available and lots of interesting hotels, so we did that. But whenever I travel with a group of girlfriends, we AirBNB. I’ll just say that the high standards on this forum are definitely not universal!
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We only used it in New Orleans when we went to go purchase the Spartan (which became our glamping listing) . A shotgun house in Algiers point! And the owner had a direct connection to the small town where I grew up:)
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What? And you didn’t come to see us??? They even serve Estrella in The Chance Inn next door!
We use BDC more than Air on the whole.
I love having an apartment instead of a hotel room. My daughter loves it as well since we get an apartment with two bedrooms. With one hotel room for both of us, she doesn’t get any sleep because according to her, I snore like a buffalo. LOL
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We always stayed in self catering accommodation until I started hosting, including owning a holiday home in S of France for ten years. Second year into hosting, I couldn’t wait to stay in a good hotel. I really don’t want to be cooking/cleaning etc when I’m on holiday anymore. France was a great adventure but I got fed up with a) feeling guilty if we went elsewhere b) getting pissed off with friends treating us like hotel staff c) cleaning/cooking/laundry. I rarely had a decent break.
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Only used it twice, but have checked Air for every trip I’ve taken since 2011. I stayed in Paris with a charming woman whose best friend was German and Mikhail Barishnikov’s housekeeper. She said he was just a lovely person. The host was a former theater producer and had been married to a French actor. It was exactly what I wanted from a stay in Paris.
I did it in NYC and it was a rent controlled place with the caveats of “tell the neighbors you’re my relatives” but it was fine.
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I find this too. I don’t want a huge place, I just want a nice place. I have usually found that an expensive airbnb is expensive because it’s big and not because the amenities or location are better. In a lot of markets, a really nice hotel room has better amenities and a better location for the price (since I don’t need the extra room).
The exception to this was a guy I used to stay with in L.A. for years (I go a few times a year). He had an awesome Spanish style home in Beverly Hills full of antiques and that great art deco tile, free driveway parking, my own bathroom and a backyard with an orange trees and avocado trees. He was also a great cook that liked to share and would stash my snacks and liquor for me in a high cabinet for my next visit. Some would claim it a bit dusty but the linens and everything else were top notch. It was like a mini-Chateau Marmont for half the price, though expensive for a room in a house.
I was a bit devastated when he moved!
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We have used Air almost exclusively for the past five years, all around the world.
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I went on trip with a friend to Albuquerque. We stayed here:
It’s nice, has a bar and valet parking. Room with two beds, mini fridge, no lounge space and a small bathroom is $200 a night. We could walk to our event downtown. It was quiet and we enjoyed everything about our stay.
The next year we stayed here:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1110343?source_impression_id=p3_1567540595_IuaeGcAC5DiYPZ7j
$200 a night with all taxes and fees. We each get our own bedroom and bathroom. There’s several nice spots to sit and visit and have coffee in the morning or wine before our evening out. It’s well located but too far a walk for us to the venue. It’s just as nice as the hotel in every way. We both agreed we far prefer the Airbnb. The main issue is we can get the hotel for one night, Doug is currently requiring 3 nights for the bungalow. Unless he will rent to me for just two nights, this place is out for my next trip.
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It’s strange but hotels lately direct me back to booking.com. They keep telling me that there is a special offering on booking.com but at the front desk it’s different price . 80$ of the time I book with booking.com. standing in front of hotel receptionist .
Also how do you book directly with Airbnb hosts ? Are they asking for some kind of deposit or they just hold place for you ?
I once tried but as guy wanted the whole amount in cashier check …that sounded kind of scammy
I think that Airbnb is much nicer than that hotel.
I stayed at a Hilton Curio once a couple of years ago because we got an Airbnb room in a house and the host was, well, just flat out weird and made us uncomfortable, so we bailed after the 1st night and got a hotel room downtown. It was okay but I really liked the Airbnb we had chosen better (except for the host).
This was before I was hosting. I didn’t ask for any refund for the unstayed nights, complain to Airbnb or leave a (bad) review. Lol. I realize now that surely she must have been grateful, now that I know the ins and outs.
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I was a regular AirBnB and VRBO guest long before ever trying to host. I think I’m a better guest now that I’m a host (I never leave hair in the drain, and I always clean and straighten before I leave!) and I’m a much better host as I continue to travel as a guest and learn what perks matter to me and what is unimportant. Good bed and pillows …so important. Water pressure and a good shower head. No soap scum or lime-scale … gross! And it’s SO so important that when I travel and am staying for a bit, I can have access to a vacuum cleaner and/or mop and cleaning supplies because I like to KEEP a place clean … this predates me being a host. OH and outlets next to the bed/nightstands on both sides is also more important than you realize, when you stay somewhere and have to put your stuff on the floor next to the bed.
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I have stayed in actual Airbnb’s only twice, but I usually check all options, including hotels before booking. I love the variety and extras with an Airbnb, but I also love hotels!!! IDK, I just like to travel. Just wish I could do more of it.
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I know this question was answered already but as a survey manager in a previous life, these vague categories are bad!!
But yeah, it’s not exactly a scientific survey so… I chose “sometimes” because I’m not a frequent traveller these days. I’ve stayed in approx one airbnb a year over the past 10 years. I only have 4 reviews as a guest, though, because all the others were booked by someone else. They were all fine. I mean, some of them weren’t great but nothing to complain about.
Except for a yearly conference I go to, we always stay in Airbnbs. We have been going to Cape Town for the last four years and stayed in several really lovely, not too expensive, places - would have stayed every time in our first place but it was so popular we could never book it again. Now, of course, we stay in our own Airbnb!
There are some gorgeous hotels, particularly in the UK that I’d like to stay at, usually not chain ones (except for the fabulous Soho House collection!) but you know the problem … champagne tastes but a beer budget! In Spain I’m not keen on hotels as they tend to be all glitz and not much soul …
Like you said, it’s not a scientific survey. Worse than the vague questions is the awful sample.
It could have had no categories and simply been a question: Do you use Airbnb as a guest?
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We’ve been Airbnb guests 4 times. Every place we’ve stayed has been completely different from the last, but they were all exactly as listed and served us well. Now days we spend most of our time living out of our van (it has a shower and a toilet), because we’re touring musicians, but I wouldn’t hesitate to book another Airbnb for a vacation.
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