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Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

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Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#81

Post by ed25519FUUU »

ww520 wrote: post #73
Mizza wrote: post #52

Is anybody else kind of over AirBnb? I loved it for a while, but now prices have gone way up, the "cleaning fees" are exorbitant and make navigating/browsing a minefield, and I've had a few sketchy incidents (which were, admittedly, a side effect of choosing the cheapest place I could find), including one where the apartment manager came in, went through our clothes and _stole the bed_. I've found myself just using h…

Yep. I found hotels have consistent standard with transparent pricing and quality. The prices for hotels are comparable if not better.

In many ways we can thank competition from Airbnb for making the hotel experience better. Nothing gets industries to clean up their act like an existential threat.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#82

Post by chrisseaton »

rhino369 wrote: post #60
Mizza wrote: post #52

Is anybody else kind of over AirBnb? I loved it for a while, but now prices have gone way up, the "cleaning fees" are exorbitant and make navigating/browsing a minefield, and I've had a few sketchy incidents (which were, admittedly, a side effect of choosing the cheapest place I could find), including one where the apartment manager came in, went through our clothes and _stole the bed_. I've found myself just using h…

Hotels are usually easier and cheaper EXCEPT if you actually want a whole house. Traveling with kids and a babysitter requires like 3 rooms and having a kitchen is a huge plus. So for that, its really good.

> Traveling with kids and a babysitter

I'm pretty sure you already know that travelling with personal domestic staff is a vanishingly tiny niche requirement of the super-rich.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#83

Post by theptip »

abfan1127 wrote: post #50
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that Airbnb and a ton of other modern high-scale companies is that they only work when they don't require humans on site. It's simply not economically possible to send a human being to an off-site location for 14% of $200. Similarly, if each person on your social network generates $5 in ad revenue per person per year, automatic bans and community moderators are the only way to go, because you can't aff…

low prices are a certain optimization. Others can optimize for experiences. I personally haven't used AirBNB because I don't like the risks associated with the use of their product. Some people love it.

The free market at its best. You can choose the cheap-but-cuts-corners option, or pay more to get more.

Of course, this implicitly depends on informed consumers, so it’s a bit troubling that Airbnb is leaning so heavily on NDA-based settlements. I don’t have a feel for how common that strategy is in competitors, say hotel / VRBO.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#85

Post by drdec »

Mizza wrote: post #68
bena wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't they be the owners of the bed in the first place? Or were they managing it for the owners? That's so weird.

I am baffled to this day.

Complete speculation - they operate multiple properties and were short a bed in another house. They may have had someone checking in and balking because there was no bed. Since you had already checked in, it would be much more difficult for you to claw back your money. So the incentives are to short you in favor of the new money.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#86

Post by yardie »

I've been an early user of AirBnb since they first introduced themselves on this site. And prior to that I was a couchsurfing host, and occasional guest.

I've had relatively few problems with Airbnbs. Usually the worst I'd get would be the host flaking out and cancelling the reservation days prior to my trip. CS reps were pretty good about rebooking me in similar places for the same price. If you don't know events the price goes up the closer the date arrives. A host that cancels on you can cost you hundreds of dollars in higher charges. I've never had a hotel cancel my reservation to upcharge me down the line.

A memorable one was where we booked a Airbnb for my family. The hosts lived there with her pets and I'm allergic to cats and dogs. I reached out to Airbnb and the host and we were basically sent packing. Since it was a small town there were few places to go except a small, 1-star hotel [0] under partial renovation.

One of the things I found was even with its billions in valuation they didn't have anything in place for these delivery problems. When Airbnb ran out of Airbnbs they couldn't fix that. When Hyatt runs out of rooms they send you to Hilton.

[0] they have 2-stars now! post renovation

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#87

Post by ghaff »

WhompingWindows wrote: post #66
Mizza wrote: post #52

Is anybody else kind of over AirBnb? I loved it for a while, but now prices have gone way up, the "cleaning fees" are exorbitant and make navigating/browsing a minefield, and I've had a few sketchy incidents (which were, admittedly, a side effect of choosing the cheapest place I could find), including one where the apartment manager came in, went through our clothes and _stole the bed_. I've found myself just using h…

Hotels are more reliable and organized, but I prefer AirBnB in general. I like feeling a part of the neighborhood or city, I like the home-y vibe of most AirBnBs. Hotels in contrast are a bit sterile and cookie-cutter, for obvious reasons, and some may prefer this vibe. Different strokes for different folks.

>Hotels are more reliable and organized

I'll often stay in B&Bs in less urban areas, but especially for urban business travel, the hotel is not really a big part of my experience and I just want to keep things simple, maybe have a place to leave my luggage after I check out, a usually 24 hour desk, etc.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#88

Post by aaomidi »

staticautomatic wrote: post #76
msh wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Travel with a baby sitter?!?!? How big can that market be?

Probably bigger than you’d think. My family occasionally traveled with a babysitter when I was a kid and at the time we were thoroughly middle class.

Surprise! You were not middle class.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#89

Post by bellyfullofbac »

Judgmentality wrote: post #79
staticautomatic wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably bigger than you’d think. My family occasionally traveled with a babysitter when I was a kid and at the time we were thoroughly middle class.

What is your definition of middle class?

Probably not American middle class ;-) . In Asia it is (was?) common to have a driver, servant and yes even a dedicated babysitter for the kids.

To respond to the people who are going to say that's just exploitation of the poor, well, your Uber driver and your food delivery person would like to talk you, as well as the people who were poorly paid to mine the rare minerals found on your fancy phone.

Re: Airbnb Is Spending Millions of Dollars to Make Nightmares Go Away

#90

Post by acheron »

dcolkitt wrote: post #10
miked85 wrote: post #3

I guess I am in the minority, but I have never understood this business. You would have to pay me to stay in someone else's house vs a hotel.

It’s really a nice option when traveling with a large family. If you’re spread across four or five hotel rooms, you really spend much less time together than in a large house with a big common space. Plus most AirBnBs are just dedicated rental properties. It’s pretty rare that you’re actually in anyone’s house anymore.

But that has nothing to do with Airbnb. People have been doing vacation rentals for decades.
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