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Unbundling Airbnb

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Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#91

Post by krn »

sva_ wrote: post #57
mg wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One way I witnessed is that a host deleted their premise after a bad review and then relisted it.

I sometimes wonder, who are the brave and adventurous people that choose to stay at an airbnb with 0 reviews (in a foreign country).

I have done this in Ukraine when the host had other properties with many positive reviews, and offered a 70% discount for the first stays at the new property with zero reviews. The experience was great, and I even ended up extending my stay.

Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#92

Post by otterley »

saimiam wrote: post #87
Spivak wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it's honestly really nice to see when businesses add it because I don't then have to worry about showing up and having that awkward "oh. uhh, okay. guess i'll leave" moment. The flip side is also sad but ultimately useful, I know to avoid shops that proudly display the Trump, Let's Go Brandon, Blue Lives Matter, Confederate Flag, Don't Tread on Me, the one weird flag that's like fuck Biden but written with guns…

As a legal alien who used to live in the States, I would avoid any establishment showing the American flag. It just felt like the place would be loudly and proudly nationalistic and as an alien, I would be more welcome elsewhere.

I’m sorry you felt that way. For most fellow Americans I know, displaying our flag is not intended to convey anti-immigrant or racist sentiment. It’s more often intended as an expression of support for the U.S. as our home and for freedom.

Canadians proudly do the same, FWIW.

Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#93

Post by otterley »

bin_bash wrote: post #61
mg wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you link to an example? The type of standardized hotel room you describe sounds like the small rooms that are made to sleep during the night and leave during the day. Not for "living" in a foreign city.

I’ve had decent luck with Residence Inn. Full kitchen and separate bedrooms. The sofa mattresses are terrible though.

I’ve never experienced a good sofa mattress. Have you?

Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#94

Post by duxup »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #60

Just point out one example of this that I think has been very successful, and that's MisterBnB for gay travelers. I think a lot of straight folks don't understand the mental calculus that goes through a gay person's mind when they travel. I'm at the stage of my life where when I go on vacation, I want to relax and feel at ease. Why would I spend money to go someplace where I may feel unwelcome, or worse, unsafe? For…

It wasn't until I met some openly gay folks and I hung out with them that I realized how much energy goes into "is this situation ok to be gay in?" considerations. And there's almost never a sure yes or no answer.

Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#95

Post by rmellow »

mft_ wrote: post #9
nraynaud wrote: post #2

What’s funny is that in France we had various alternatives to Airbnb for so long before Airbnb that Americans are completely baffled by the choice when they learn of them. Actual upscale bnb? Gîtes de France. I’m coming with 20-30 friends -> gîtes pour groupes, you’ll get an industrial kitchen and dormitories. Those things existed long before the internet.

(As someone whose family has often hired gites for holidays) Airbnb just offers simplicity and centralisation over the previous offerings. Less regular gite-hirers might not know of the precise businesses to go to, to hire a gite. Taxis existed before Uber; but it was the app (handling location, real-time updates, and seamless payment) that changed things.

Let's not forget the value of a reputation system. Both parties have an incentive to be reasonable & avoid getting kicked out of the platform.

Yeah, it's not perfect, and some bad actors abuse the rating system: "the driver wants me to wear a mask? I'll report him for unsafe driving" was one that I heard before.

But ultimately, knowing there's a record of whose car I went into makes me feel safer than riding with an unvetted driver that no one else knows I'm with.

Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#96

Post by silicon2401 »

Spivak wrote: post #83
lom wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that the reason for the LBTQ+ friendly tag you can add in google maps?

Yeah, it's honestly really nice to see when businesses add it because I don't then have to worry about showing up and having that awkward "oh. uhh, okay. guess i'll leave" moment. The flip side is also sad but ultimately useful, I know to avoid shops that proudly display the Trump, Let's Go Brandon, Blue Lives Matter, Confederate Flag, Don't Tread on Me, the one weird flag that's like fuck Biden but written with guns…

This whole comment is just contributing to the toxic divisiveness that's permeating our country

> or honestly the American flag

this is especially disheartening. As a child of an immigrant family, one of the first things I'm going to do when I buy a house is proudly fly an American flag. I love our country and there are many reasons to be proud of it and its flag, and they're the reasons so many people want to immigrate here in the first place

Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#97

Post by bena »

city41 wrote: post #52
dazc wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried this via Airbnb in Spain and ended up moving from place to place instead. I never actually found a location where I could work properly, to the extent that I rented a separate office some of the time. Patchy internet almost always, cheap furniture, base level electricity that would trip out if you had two appliances running at the same time, and #1 problem NOISE all of the time. I'm not sure that Airbnb is th…

I've never had a good Airbnb experience. There is simply no incentive for hosts to provide good accomodations. On the flip side, hotels that cost as much as typical Airbnbs provide a drastically better experience. After paying a fortune for yet another lousy Airbnb a couple weeks ago my wife and I agreed we'd never use Airbnb again.

And I think the reason is that AirBnB hosts have no incentive to improve anything. Because there's always another sucker. Who cares if city41 never stays again or if city41 tells everyone never to stay at Bob's AirBnB in Paradise, Nevada. Bob doesn't give a shit.

Bob only needs to convince one person to stay at a time. That's it. And then it's relatively easy money. Especially considering that while the lodger is staying, you don't have to do hardly anything. You spend a couple of hours cleaning up after they leave, and that's it.

Hotels need to convince everyone to stay. True, while they can eat the cost of one or two lodgers, they can't become known as a place with bad lodging. Hotels have operating costs in the millions. They have staff, they're turning over rooms daily, cleaning every room daily, industrial HVAC, a bar, a restaurant (or two), sometimes a tiny convenience store, concierge services.

Hotels are invested in you having an acceptable stay.

Not going to lie, when travelling, I tend to gravitate towards national chains for lodging. While I'll never find the true wonders of the whatever of living like a local or what people claim AirBnB provides, I'll never have a truly shitty lodging experience either. It's one of the areas where I'm not looking to have an adventure.

Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#98

Post by 88913527 »

lom wrote: post #71
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #60

Just point out one example of this that I think has been very successful, and that's MisterBnB for gay travelers. I think a lot of straight folks don't understand the mental calculus that goes through a gay person's mind when they travel. I'm at the stage of my life where when I go on vacation, I want to relax and feel at ease. Why would I spend money to go someplace where I may feel unwelcome, or worse, unsafe? For…

Is that the reason for the LBTQ+ friendly tag you can add in google maps?

Not all have the option, but many move to LGBT friendly areas. I can walk around in my neighborhood and walk into any establishment and I know it won't be an issue. Like others have said, the ease of mind in not having to check is nice. It's a temporary reprieve from the otherwise default state of having to be mindful. For people who don't have that option, it's good to have tags, for example if you're traveling somewhere rural or an unfamiliar area.

Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#99

Post by scarecrowbob »

otterley wrote: post #92
saimiam wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a legal alien who used to live in the States, I would avoid any establishment showing the American flag. It just felt like the place would be loudly and proudly nationalistic and as an alien, I would be more welcome elsewhere.

I’m sorry you felt that way. For most fellow Americans I know, displaying our flag is not intended to convey anti-immigrant or racist sentiment. It’s more often intended as an expression of support for the U.S. as our home and for freedom. Canadians proudly do the same, FWIW.

Most of the folks I know flying confederate flags think the same thing about that flag.

Personally, I care less about what I mean when I write and more about how people might read my writing.

Re: Unbundling Airbnb

#100

Post by lotsofpulp »

silicon2401 wrote: post #96
Spivak wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, it's honestly really nice to see when businesses add it because I don't then have to worry about showing up and having that awkward "oh. uhh, okay. guess i'll leave" moment. The flip side is also sad but ultimately useful, I know to avoid shops that proudly display the Trump, Let's Go Brandon, Blue Lives Matter, Confederate Flag, Don't Tread on Me, the one weird flag that's like fuck Biden but written with guns…

This whole comment is just contributing to the toxic divisiveness that's permeating our country > or honestly the American flag this is especially disheartening. As a child of an immigrant family, one of the first things I'm going to do when I buy a house is proudly fly an American flag. I love our country and there are many reasons to be proud of it and its flag, and they're the reasons so many people want to immigr…

I am also a child of an immigrant family, but my prior probabilities put me on high alert around people who egregiously use the US flag (or flag of any nation at this point).

Maybe putting one on your house is OK, but the more fanatic you seem, the more on alert I am. Most normal people I meet just use it on 4th of July or something, but if you are draping yourself, your business, your car in it, then I assume you have a higher likelihood of being tribal for a tribe I am not part of.

And my experience is the people who fly the flag the most are the first to cheat on taxes and try to take advantage of others in society (especially not in their tribe), and then use that “patriotism” as a veil to hide behind.

Same thing with all the other signals Spivak mentioned.

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