Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try • Hacker News Board

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#31

Post by mattmanser » Thu, Mar 31, 2011, 11:49 PM UTC

callmeed wrote: post #16

UPDATE: Less than 2 hours after submitting a ticket to AirBnB, one of their staff members called me on the phone. That alone is quite impressive and shows that they care about these issues. She gave me some good tips (which most of you have already mentioned): (1) use people with good review, (2) use people with high response rates, etc.

As an update that gives me even less confidence in the system.

Imagine you started using paypal when it first came out, got ripped off and then paypal messaged you saying 'hey, next time try using someone with a higher rating'.

All it shows is that they've got no handle on vetting and by the sound of it absolutely no clue how they're going to start dealing with it either.

The other messages here saying contact 5-10 people first to weed the wackos, jeezus, AirBnB is actually starting to sound dangerous.

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#32

Post by dotBen » Thu, Mar 31, 2011, 11:51 PM UTC

I've no idea why but the AirBnB model really doesn't appeal to me, for concerns that follow this issue. I fear ending up at some crazy person's home who will treat me like this home owner did - but in person when I'm kind of trapped at their house.

Having grown up in an expensive city to visit (London) I can see the attraction for AirBnB in cities like London, NYC and SF but I would still take a carefully researched price negotiated/discounted hotel room over staying on someone's couch who I didn't know.

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#33

Post by makmanalp » Thu, Mar 31, 2011, 11:54 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #17

We were/are planning on using AirBnB to book a place for us and the kids in NYC. This is exactly the kind of thing that will keep us from doing it. Note that you don't even have to be a psychopath to create a nuclear problem for our trip; all you have to do is, at the last minute, decide "your profile is too hidden!" and cancel our room, so that we show up and have no place to stay. I reallllly want this service to w…

A good tip: If you find yourself screwed at the last minute because of that (or you're just in a tight spot and really need a place for the night) try the standby list feature that they have. I've tried this twice, once in Boston and once in NY and within 15 minutes the replies come pouring in, often at a discounted rate by people who want to fill their rooms for the same night.

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#34

Post by robobenjie » Thu, Mar 31, 2011, 11:54 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #22

robobenjie wrote: post #8

That was a very unfortunate experience, but in some ways I'd count it as a win for Airbnb. You were going to stay at this person's house, but because of their messaging interface you were able to screen them and realize that they were, in fact, a crazy person. I think it is very important to look at the reviews of people you stay with. If someone has more that 7-8 reviews, and everyone has positive things to say then…

Yeah, ok, so, help a newcomer to AirBnB out: how far in advance should I book a room, and what string of slightly annoying nudges should I sent to my host so that I can verify by their handling of my annoyances that they are not going to pull the rug out from me the day I arrive in their city?

For us, book as soon as you know you want it. We've had people book several months in advance and we make sure to honor them (the "worst" that happened is that somebody got the whole house to themselves for the last few days of their stay while we were in France).

I would just ask what the check in procedure is. If they are on top if it then they will have one. Also, again, look at the reviews. If someone has had a dozen guests who liked it enough to review then you know that they are serious about it, and canceling on a guest would completely ruin the reputation of someone like that.

We would only cancel on a guest if we physically could not host them (room was on fire, etc).

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#35

Post by makmanalp » Thu, Mar 31, 2011, 11:57 PM UTC

robobenjie wrote: post #8

That was a very unfortunate experience, but in some ways I'd count it as a win for Airbnb. You were going to stay at this person's house, but because of their messaging interface you were able to screen them and realize that they were, in fact, a crazy person. I think it is very important to look at the reviews of people you stay with. If someone has more that 7-8 reviews, and everyone has positive things to say then…

I want to host at some point and would really be interested if you would write a small piece on your experiences hosting, and what the best practices are regarding leaving your stuff in the apartment / safety / dealing with issues etc etc?

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#36

Post by makmanalp » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 12:02 AM UTC

What is the real problem here? Am I missing something? It looks like the host was rude. He said he'd report the author to the police, which seems pretty dubious. Report him for what?

Annoying / rude / dumb / shady people exist all over the internet, but we learn to notice and deal with them, and we don't let this ruin the internet for us. So why not do the same on AirBNB? Common sense practices prevail here, similar to ebay: Check other users' previous feedback on the host, tell another person where you're going before you go there etc.

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#37

Post by makmanalp » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 12:08 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #21

limedaring wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can see reviews of the hosts, pictures of the rooms, and compare with other places. That certainly weeds out the psychos and serial killers way more than a random posting Craigslist.

How well have pictures and reviews worked for eBay? And how do the standards for eBay compare to those for AirBnB?

I don't know about the pictures thing, but the reputation system works pretty damn well. I buy stuff off of ebay regularly and find that especially high profile sellers do everything they can to keep their reputation up, because otherwise they lose potential clients.

You just really do need to ingrain into the community that a good reputation is essential, damnit, and don't buy from someone that doesn't have one. Then the sellers conform to that.

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#38

Post by ximeng » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 12:19 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #17

We were/are planning on using AirBnB to book a place for us and the kids in NYC. This is exactly the kind of thing that will keep us from doing it. Note that you don't even have to be a psychopath to create a nuclear problem for our trip; all you have to do is, at the last minute, decide "your profile is too hidden!" and cancel our room, so that we show up and have no place to stay. I reallllly want this service to w…

You might want to try on a trip where it's just you and in a place where you know you can get a hotel if things don't work out. It becomes higher risk when you're bring kids / partner too and have to keep everyone happy.

AirBnB / couch surfing style sites are likely to work better for people with somewhat flexible schedules that can accommodate potentially being stranded and having to find a hotel at the last minute. In exchange for a small risk you meet local people in an informal way that you just can't get if you stay in a hotel.

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#39

Post by kchap » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 12:22 AM UTC

I am a 24 year old female and in the last three years I have couchsurfered in Europe (alone, with another female, and with a male), found a ride on craigslist from a male (in the US), hitchhiked across France (with a male), and volunteered and lived on farms in Europe (alone and with a male). I had no problems and loved the experiences I had with all of them. The only issue I know of was someone who was a bit rude to one of her hosts because she was prejudiced against staying with someone older than 20. I think that is indicative of the inherent issues with AirBnB-you must have the right mindset to welcome new experiences, be a bit flexible, and make good decisions when choosing a place. It won't be for everyone, or at least the shared spaces may not be for everyone. I have been a huge fan of AirBnB since I learned of them because I think they provide a great (superior to couchsurfing) platform for finding and evaluating hosts and they take away the many of the weird rules that many couchsurfing hosts developed to allow someone to stay with them. They made it financially beneficial to hosts who are providing a great service and seem to have a great support system in place in addition to their information on using the site successfully. I'm excited to try AirBnB in SF when I visit in May, even if my friends stay separately in a hotel, and I hope to hear back from my application to work with them.

Re: Just When I Was Ready to Give AirBnB a Try

#40

Post by tptacek » Fri, Apr 01, 2011, 12:30 AM UTC

ximeng wrote: post #38

tptacek wrote: post #17

We were/are planning on using AirBnB to book a place for us and the kids in NYC. This is exactly the kind of thing that will keep us from doing it. Note that you don't even have to be a psychopath to create a nuclear problem for our trip; all you have to do is, at the last minute, decide "your profile is too hidden!" and cancel our room, so that we show up and have no place to stay. I reallllly want this service to w…

You might want to try on a trip where it's just you and in a place where you know you can get a hotel if things don't work out. It becomes higher risk when you're bring kids / partner too and have to keep everyone happy. AirBnB / couch surfing style sites are likely to work better for people with somewhat flexible schedules that can accommodate potentially being stranded and having to find a hotel at the last minute.…

AirBnB isn't a couch surfing site. It competes directly with sites like VRBO.

I'm not even remotely interested in meeting the typical person who wants to let out a room, but I'm happy to pay a decent premium over a midrange hotel to get an apartment instead of a hotel room, and have been happy every time I've done that.