This, my friends, is why regulation does make sense. Unregulated markets end up fucking people over.
Why Airbnb is dead to me
111–120 of 236 posts
Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you ever travelled to a foreign country where you don't speak the language? You really need to put yourself in the tourist's shoes. If I booked a tour and the host drove me to a different place to stay, that's all I can do. You rely on their ability to communicate, and if they're being kind and doing their best to make your stay comfortable, then that's fantastic. What you're suggesting is that you're going to s…
I've traveled quite a bit, including to Barcelona. If you speak English (and this person clearly does) then "don't speak the language" is not an issue there, or indeed almost anywhere. If I book a place for a certain period, then I'm staying for that whole period. If the host suddenly changes their mind and tells me I have to move, no way. I'm contacting the booking agency and having them tell the host to get lost. I…
> "I've traveled quite a bit, including to Barcelona. If you speak English (and this person clearly does) then "don't speak the language" is not an issue there."
I don't know which part of Barcelona have you been but that's just limited (just to do not say untrue). My brother-in-law lives there, and even he (who is native spanish speaker and also speaks English and Catalan) recognize that most locals don't speak English.
> "or indeed almost anywhere"
I know so many places where that is untrue, I would be more cautious if I were you.
> "Open up a maps app and find out where you are. Can't talk to people? Google Translate to the rescue."
You are assuming too many things. Like you have a roaming data plan or even that your carrier have a way to provide you roaming in the place.
> Can't talk to people? Google Translate to the rescue.
Then you are trusting in the interlocutor. You won't be able to tell if they are lying or not.
Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me
#113Several months ago, members of my team at work booked various Airbnbs for a large conference in San Francisco. We booked early to get a better deal, and I'm pretty sure a lot of Airbnb hosts didn't know the conference was coming up (or was that big). As we got closer to the conference time, pretty much all of us had our stays canceled on us by the hosts. We were then forced to rebook at significantly higher rates. In…
That really sucks...
Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me
#114Not sure a bad Yelp review is really HN worthy...
Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me
#115Its equally bad as a host. I have a place that rents very well in the summer (its near the Ocean) and a group of people showed up, didn't like it for whatever reason, and AirBNB canceled the reservation with no penalty despite there being a super clear cancelation policy in place. No recourse (customer service blew me off: "sorry, renter didn't like the bed."), no way to rent it for a week on that short of notice, I…
But what should Airbnb (or any company managing rentals) do under that circumstance? The renter is doing the equivalent of a return for "item not as described." I'm perfectly willing to believe that this renter had some expectation or requirement that to your mind or mine was totally unreasonable. Or maybe they found a better deal nearby at the last moment. But there's no real way an Airbnb can start investigating the firmness of beds or other property details. The only alternative is to tilt the other way and basically make it impossible for renters to get a refund barring all but the most obviously mis-advertised rentals.
Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
And the risk is overrated - if the host seems dishonest or the place isn't as described/shown, you can still check-in to an hotel. I find it depressing how this will probably go away, and people like me who can't afford to pay for a stay at an hotel will just lose the option of taking the risk. Hurray for the infantilization of society! /s
> if the host seems dishonest or the place isn't as described/shown, you can still check-in to an hotel. When I am traveling - for business or pleasure - the last thing I want to do is scramble to figure out where I will sleep that night. I value my time too much, especially for a pleasure trip, to go through that kind of ordeal. Also, you can save money if you pay in advance for your hotel. You won't have time to ev…
Prices for last minute bookings can also be discounted. Check out the mobile app Hotel Tonight.
Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've traveled quite a bit, including to Barcelona. If you speak English (and this person clearly does) then "don't speak the language" is not an issue there, or indeed almost anywhere. If I book a place for a certain period, then I'm staying for that whole period. If the host suddenly changes their mind and tells me I have to move, no way. I'm contacting the booking agency and having them tell the host to get lost. I…
> "I've traveled quite a bit, including to Barcelona. If you speak English (and this person clearly does) then "don't speak the language" is not an issue there." I don't know which part of Barcelona have you been but that's just limited (just to do not say untrue). My brother-in-law lives there, and even he (who is native spanish speaker and also speaks English and Catalan) recognize that most locals don't speak Engl…
You don't need most locals to speak English, just a few will do. For tourism-oriented sectors like hotels, English proficiency is not typically hard to find.
I'm not assuming you have a data plan so much as I am saying that you should have one, so that you can handle eventualities such as this. Failing to plan is planning to fail, as they say. Never assume all of your arrangements will work out exactly as they're supposed to. Always have a backup plan, even if it's nothing more specific than "use my smartphone to figure it out."
If you show up in a foreign country with no way to communicate with anybody and no way to make contingency plans then you're making it likely you'll have a bad experience. Don't do that.
Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me
#118I continue to use AirBnb but have been pretty disappointed in their customer service. I rent out a family cabin occasionally and someone who stayed there scratched the floor accidentally wearing winter boots with spikes on them. They admitted this, apologized and were generally totally awesome about it. It took me months to get Airbnb to figure out how to deduct money from their damage deposit. They first said I had…
A bit off-topic but curious if you usee AirBnB only or if you tried HomeAway/VRBO as well?
It's a fair point. I've tried them, but the AirBnb product is just so superior. Easier to use with better options. Also I hate that I have to pre-pay on VRBO
Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Airbnb is essentially enabling any joe idiot to run a shit hotel anywhere in the world with zero accountability. You don't say? I don't know what do airbnb users expect, honestly.
I imagine they expect Airbnb to know who their customer is and who their supplier is. Judging by the stories here, they don't.
I think his point was that you should expect less than stellar service from a less than stellar company. AirBnB isn't exactly known for their product. They're just really good at marketing.
Re: Why Airbnb is dead to me
#120I continue to use AirBnb but have been pretty disappointed in their customer service. I rent out a family cabin occasionally and someone who stayed there scratched the floor accidentally wearing winter boots with spikes on them. They admitted this, apologized and were generally totally awesome about it. It took me months to get Airbnb to figure out how to deduct money from their damage deposit. They first said I had…
"Ultimately I ended up emailing the CEO after I found some blog post where he said he wanted to personally hear from everyone and anyone. He never replied but the problem magically got fixed soon thereafter."
This is more damning than the parent article.