Has anyone used Airbnb before? Looking at a New Orleans trip and it looks like Airbnb rates for some of the places are comparable to hotels. Anything to look out for besides read reviews, etc? This is definitely getting outside of my Hotels.com comfort zone.
Can't help you but I was watching a news report not too long ago. They are making hotel owners in Paris cry like little girls, complaining about unfair competition. Their business appears to be booming over here.
i used in Rabat, Malta a few years back. Great price and location, but the place wasn't as clean or nice as the pictures led it to be. Ended up leaving after night one of two, but the price was so low, we didn't care. The service itself was fine. Just need to be more critical of the photos we see. Also, I believe most users are budget minded travelers that don't care as much about the condition. Just something to keep in perspective. The whole hotel market scare is silly. AirB&B is such a tiny fraction of the travel market, and it's not a hotel service any more than an apartment rental is. If they can't compete on other merits, then F'm. Same with the whole online ride share programs vs. taxis.
Great site and growing at a fast clip.... Definitely putting the squeeze on the hotel industry ... Found some great apt setups in Tokyo and on Majorca for future trips being planned..... I think it's a great business model....cities probably will hate it due to lost tax revenue....another example of how technology is changing the market place...
I only perused NOLA listings but it looks like you can get cheap shitholes or some really swag places in the heart of the action. I may a little bit more reserved about this outside of the states.
If you haven't been to Majorca, PM me for some advice. Spent 12 days there in November of 2011; no reservations, just a car, a map, and cell phone. Awesome place.
I have friends who have used it (both to stay, and even rented their own place) and have always been happy. I'm using it for the first time for a Hawaii trip with friends in a month, so I'll know more then... it's a fraction of the cost of staying in a hotel.
My wife and I used it when we went down to Cape Coral over the 4th of July. The host was very accommodating and kept trying to feed us food and alcohol. This particular host was a single woman in her late 60's and just loved being around people. The room was clean and included a mini fridge and TV with Dish. Comparing the costs of $100 plus a night for a hotel room or $37 a night for the rental room it was well worth it. The best thing about it was getting the real scoop on the best places to go eat/drink/visit. The only uncomfortable thing for me was that when I go on vacation I don't want to be bothered by anyone. The only person I care to have a conversation with is my wife, so when the host wanted to socialize I grinned and dealt with it. Other than that small complaint I would do it again but probably at a different house if we went back. Edit: Here is what Clark Howard has to say about it. http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/cla...s-money-saving-alternatives-hotel-room/nPbB6/
Used it a few times, and always loved it. Trust the reviews, and talk to the owner... these folks are just as nervous about you as you about them in most cases.
Yes. The afternoon I arrived she greeted me with a cold Schiner Bock. I left one in the fridge for her when I pulled out Monday am.
My friends and I rented a house in Ireland this summer for seven days. Total cost for each person, there were six of us, was around $130 for the week. House was nice and clean and worked out fine. However I would never rent my place out, you never know what kind of crazy is about to live in your place. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/24/airbnb-host-cant-get-rid-of-squatter/ http://nypost.com/2014/04/14/hookers-using-airbnb-to-use-apartments-for-sex-sessions/ http://7online.com/archive/9470039/
Will do...I really like the ruggedness of the island....the olive groves..rocky terrain....old stone buildings...parts of the island still somewhat remote and away from the touristy side of things....seems like a great place to go visit in the off season to decompress for a month...plus, my Spanish is manageable
VRBO brings in a more upscale client IME. We rent our 800 square foot unit near Zion NP about 300 nights per year, I use VRBO exclusively.
I used VRBO for an upscale rental house I had in Palm Springs...It was not cheap per say, and had a 5 day minimum stay requirement....end result....what I thought would be a more upscale clientele, (based on rental fees), ended up doing stupid shit and thinking the house was a friggin hostel....after 6 months of that shit I took it off the market and hooked up with a couple of movie/photo location outfits out of LA and made the same $ on rental for half of the time/wear and tear on the house. Plus, they put down hefty deposits for any damage that might have occurred while using it for fashion shoots..... So I suppose, depending on what you have to rent and where it is located, determines what the opportunity costs are to rent/manage the property....
