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6 Reasons Why I Am Done with AirBnB as a Renter

donewithairbnb.wordpress.com

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Re: 6 Reasons Why I Am Done with AirBnB as a Renter

#11

Post by throwawaybbq1 »

ndh2 wrote: post #9
ng12 wrote: post #6

Ok, hotels are still a thing. If you want the luxury of a concierge go ahead and pay for it. You're not "uncool" for doing so and after a year of using the service you should know what you're in for.

It's not about luxury or having a concierge. It's a basic trust issue. You can't trust AirBnB reviews. We had an issue with a place where we wanted to stay for a week in Italy. There was a very noticeable smell of paint/dust, and we couldn't sleep. What do you do then? The host offered to "fix the problem", but how would you fix that? There's also the issue of proof: You can't take a photo of smell. Anyways, we got a…

I had a huge hurdle using Uber - after trying it once with someone else, I am now am a power user. I just cannot make the jump to AirBnB. I have friends who use it a lot. I found the rates paid by myself and friends are very similar .. when asked why not just use a hotel, my friends point at quaint/unique experiences, etc. I realized that this is not my thing (I don't "get" blue apron either FWIW).

Re: 6 Reasons Why I Am Done with AirBnB as a Renter

#13

Post by parent5446 »

VeejayRampay wrote: post #12

So basically you're done with AirBnB for a reason that has nothing to do with AirBnB (the fact that some people are awful).

These have everything to do with AirBnB. The problems he lists are inherent to the platform, i.e., a website where random people rent out their property to other random people. The competition (the hotel "platform") does not have this problem. AirBnB could attempt to fix things by being stricter with hosts, providing better guarantees to renters, etc. But they don't.

Re: 6 Reasons Why I Am Done with AirBnB as a Renter

#14

Post by sunir »

VeejayRampay wrote: post #12

So basically you're done with AirBnB for a reason that has nothing to do with AirBnB (the fact that some people are awful).

This response is too clever by half. Any traveller knows the difference between a Best Western and an AirBnB in terms of staff service quality.

Re: 6 Reasons Why I Am Done with AirBnB as a Renter

#15

Post by sunir »

VeejayRampay wrote: post #12

So basically you're done with AirBnB for a reason that has nothing to do with AirBnB (the fact that some people are awful).

This response is too clever by half. Any traveller knows the difference between a Best Western and an AirBnB in terms of staff service quality.

Re: 6 Reasons Why I Am Done with AirBnB as a Renter

#17

Post by moftz »

throwawaybbq1 wrote: post #11
ndh2 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about luxury or having a concierge. It's a basic trust issue. You can't trust AirBnB reviews. We had an issue with a place where we wanted to stay for a week in Italy. There was a very noticeable smell of paint/dust, and we couldn't sleep. What do you do then? The host offered to "fix the problem", but how would you fix that? There's also the issue of proof: You can't take a photo of smell. Anyways, we got a…

I had a huge hurdle using Uber - after trying it once with someone else, I am now am a power user. I just cannot make the jump to AirBnB. I have friends who use it a lot. I found the rates paid by myself and friends are very similar .. when asked why not just use a hotel, my friends point at quaint/unique experiences, etc. I realized that this is not my thing (I don't "get" blue apron either FWIW).

The girlfriend and I wanted a cheap experience in South Beach, Miami. We found a reasonably priced one bedroom (queen bed and a pullout couch) apartment a block from the beach with tons of restaurants and bars nearby. If we got a room in any of the hotels down the street, it would have cost double to triple the rate. We used some of the money we saved from not getting a hotel for a rental car and were able to get groceries and tour the rest of Miami on our own. We were pretty lucky to find the apartment that we did, it was recently renovated, was spotless, and the owner was the nicest person ever. The major selling point was just the price and the ability to have our own kitchen, something you usually don't get unless you upgrade to a huge room. We could have easily split the cost with another couple and saved even more but the place was just right for us. I would get the same place again if we ever go back. My parents are a fan of the hotel experience, they have the money to afford it. We could have too but we valued the "living" experience more than the "visiting" experience.

Re: 6 Reasons Why I Am Done with AirBnB as a Renter

#19

Post by JadeNB »

nailer wrote: post #5
londons_explore wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Called that and was left waiting in the queue for 3 hours (about a house I had booked which didn't exist) before I gave up and had to sleep in the car.

Seems similar to my experiences - AirBnB neighbors throwing a rooftop party and their 'emergency' support won't help unless I can provide them with the airbnb listing of the owner (which I don't obviously have), rather than just the address. In situations like mine it's easier to call the police - AirBnb aren't interested in helping and having a record of consistent antisocial behaviour (and illegal letting) will hel…

> Seems similar to my experiences - AirBnB neighbors throwing a rooftop party and their 'emergency' support won't help unless I can provide them with the airbnb listing of the owner (which I don't obviously have), rather than just the address.

> In situations like mine it's easier to call the police - AirBnb aren't interested in helping and having a record of consistent antisocial behaviour (and illegal letting) will help you take action against the owner.

It seems that the situation that your parent describes:

> > Called that and was left waiting in the queue for 3 hours (about a house I had booked which didn't exist) before I gave up and had to sleep in the car.

is different. That is a situation where a product that AirBnb had sold did not exist, and for which they should be held accountable. Any guarantees AirBnb makes about guests' behaviour (I don't remember if there are any) are to hosts, not neighbours; it seems to me that, if the hosts are not properly monitoring their guests' behaviour, then that should be a matter for the police. (What would you want AirBnb to do in that situation? It seems that at best they could address the issue of future parties, but not do anything about the one currently going on, which was, presumably, the problem.)

Re: 6 Reasons Why I Am Done with AirBnB as a Renter

#20

Post by londons_explore »

scandox wrote: post #4
londons_explore wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Called that and was left waiting in the queue for 3 hours (about a house I had booked which didn't exist) before I gave up and had to sleep in the car.

How did the money side of that work out? (I'm quite ignorant of the AirBnB payment process).

I never managed to contact a human about it.

The airbnb dispute process allows you to request money from the host, but doesn't let you get a full refund - only ~80%. In my view, the house not existing warrants at a minimum a full refund.

Instead I took it to my credit card company and got a full refund from them.

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