AirBnB's Pricing Algorithm

There of course is still room for the hotel industry, and I don't really think this is making a dent in their business. It's just different, and that's ok.

Where I found airbnb more useful (and cheaper) is when my family is in town and we're traveling somewhere and we usually book a whole apartment/house with multiple bedrooms. That is usually cheaper than booking 2 or 3 hotel rooms. However, in that space there are lots of alternatives (Homeaway, VRBO, local bed & breakfasts with their owns websites).

My impression is that airbnb, in the end, is just like those other sites. More recently, I've found that more often than not, the place you book (especially in popular areas) is owned or sublet by someone who's making a business out of short term renting and with that, the whole local/experience/sharing charm is gone.

Also, for my experience, the niche if affordable mid/long-term rentals (1-2 months) appears to be underserved. Sure I can negotiate a monthly rate with a hotel, but unless they are experiencing a lack of demand, it's not worth it for them - they can make more money on short stays.

The cheapest alternative for finding a sublet appears to be local sources (websites, asking around locals), but that could be too much hassle, especially if you don't have time for it.

Airbnb listings sometimes provide a monthly rate, but again in my experience it's not very competitive. Being not very price sensitive, I'd still go with a previous option - it has it perks of local immersion.

I don't like hotels so much. It feels fake and uncomfortable to me. I don't like someone walking into "my" room and tidying it up every day. Or get some fancy magnetic key, and copy&paste furniture*

I feel much more at home at someone's, erm, home. I can cook something for myself. I am pretty much guaranteed a good internet connection. There's usually a washing machine, so I can wash my own clothes instead of paying silly prices per-item, or waiting at a laundrette. The hosts frequently leave some good tips for places nearby. It just feels so much better to me than most hotels.

I'd happily pay more for all of it, but in many cases prices are on par or even cheaper, compared to the size / value I feel I'm getting.

* sure, there are some cool hotels, and I like those too. But those are typically the exception.

Out of the more than 15, 5 star reviews, some noted there was noise, but almost every single one praised the sound insulation and said "the noise wasn't a problem for me" or words to that effect.

Well, it was a total problem for me so I contacted airbnb. It wasn't an emergency so I emailed them. Their website said I'd hear back within 2 days. That would have been fine. I just wanted to know what my options were.

After 4 days (4 sleepless nights to be precise) I emailed again asking what the hell was going on. Eventually, 5 days after emailing them the first time, I got my first response at all. They said I had to speak to the host, send them evidence, etc. I told them they could shove it and I'd be booking into a hotel because they'd taken so long.

If this had been Amazon, they'd have said "Sorry there was as problem, which of these other places would you like us to transfer you to?" I pointed out to them that a) the host wouldn't be able to make the bars downstairs any quieter, and b) they'd taken nearly half my holiday to even respond. Initially I'd only wanted advice on what my next steps could be, but after dragging their feet for so long, things moved on and I booked a hotel instead.

Their whole chain of responses to me consistently read like they were passing the buck, making excuses, and generally trying to blame me for not doing research (erm, I read those 15+ reviews), or contacting the host (despite the fact I initially asked for advice). It seemed they were just stalling. I pointed out that since I'm now in a hotel, I didn't have any inclination to go to the flat and record the noise, especially since their terms say they'll only refund you for unused nights, not for nights where they were too understaffed to reply on time (they blamed the slow response rate on "there are a lot of people travelling at this time of year". Yeah, and I'm one of them).

So all things considered, I'll be thinking twice before using them again. It's a shame because over the last 3 years I've spent over $6000 USD with them and had one particularly good experience. But their whole attitude smacks of "we're just the platform, just pay our service charge and piss off".

@nnd - I can't see how it's relevant, but since you ask, I'm told I look like a character from shrek...