Depends on the country, apparently. In the US, the horror stories/memes are supposedly true. In other countries, it's supposed to be pretty normal.

>>2791487
I'm going hiking in the states in about a month, I hope everything goes well

>>2791487
I agree with this anon. I only suggest vacation rentals if you want something specific (i.e. beach home, cabin in the woods, etc). They really only make sense if you're going to be spending a lot of your trip IN the house, which for most vacations you probably aren't. I've had great experiences renting little homes in Mexico a few times when I was looking for something more quiet than a resort. But vacation home rentals in the US fucking suck, consequence of a low-trust society, blah blah. Most of them are homes with no character in the burbs. Like what's the point? Getting a hotel is almost always cheaper, less restrictive, more amenities, and a more convenient location. Plus you won't get a $500 hold on your CC because you didn't clean towels or some dumb shit. My only suggestion is to reread over the contract and see what they expect you to clean before you leave, some of them are pretty ridiculous and they'll overcharge you worse than an apartment on move-out day.

>>2791487
fpbp

>>2791486 (OP)
>Using AirBnB for the first time what should I expect?
am using it extensively for the last decade
mostly Europe (I'm euro myself) but some in Africa and Asia

honestly can't complain
never really had a bad experience
though I'm not on any meaningful budget, so I usually take the more upscale / nicer options

in less touristy areas, airbnb is sometimes the only "trustworthy" platform outside of hotel chains to get accommodation (although I heard horror stories about the customer support if things don't work out)

general tips
>check street view of home (and general location)
>always check full price, never by night
>obviously check the Reviews
>carefully!!! read the description, often people are disappointed because they are too stupid to read
>if you need more than 1 bed, always check each bed by pictures

some red flags you should pay attention to
>most photos from outside / destination and not inside
>too many close up shots / you never see the full room(s)
>neglected plants / landscape / furniture
>really long list of house rules

also never cancel a booking, always let the host (or airbnb support) cancel

>>2791487
Nah it's usually to ward of nogs

>>2791486 (OP)
White or gray cupboards
White or gray tables
Trendy white or gray backsplash
Cheap Ikea / West Elm furniture

>>2791565
i mean the primary motivation for airbnb for most people is getting a full apartment with kitchen (and washing machine) that is larger than the typical hotel room
design is only a secondary consideration

and if that's important to you
there are plenty of really unique airbnbs in most locations
you just have to search and pay accordingly

AirBnBs make no sense now that they are more expensive than hotels.

>>2791486 (OP)
In the US, I've had good and bad experiences. You will run into some surprises occasionally. I agree that the prices have gotten ridiculous, fees and everything, and that hotels are slowly becoming the better option.

In Mexico, where I'm at now, it's a different story. Reasonable prices, generally good places to stay/lots of choices, and sometimes your only option if you have a pet.

>>2791589
It's been that way for years. Normie tards are just now catching up.

>>2791589
>AirBnBs make no sense now that they are more expensive than hotels.
yes they do
you need to compare apples with apples
so NOT the shittiest backyard hotel with the central 4bd Penthouse airbnb

if I want a kitchen & washing machine, finding a hotel will be difficult
if I want a 2bd+ accommodation, hotels will be very expensive or outright not available

there are alternative platforms to AirBnB btw
also in most parts of Europe, Airbnb (or alternatives) are absolutely not more expensive than a regular hotel

This whole Airbnb v. Hostel debate is fucking stupid.

Airbnb: if you're going somewhere rural/small or long term. They are great for extended periods in rural setting with limited hotel options. Or if you plan on actually spending time in your accommodations.

Hotel: for shorter stays with busier itineraries, good in larger cities with large hotel markets.

For example, I'm renting an Airbnb in lake Bohinj for 2 weeks. My goal is to enjoy the environment/nature and will be spending a decent amount of time in the house I'm renting. After that I'm spending 3 nights in ljubliana before going back home. I'm getting a hotel for those three nights because I'm going to be out exploring the city and doing shit. Just need a place to sleep.

It's not hard. It doesn't make sense at all to get a ln Airbnb for a two night stay

Absurd fees

Have been using AirBnB in central Europe and never got disappointed. But beware, their "fees" are criminal. You will always find a better and cheaper place to stay when you take some time searching.

>>2791670
airbnb is the new "$1 for the item, $99 for shipping"

When I think of Airbnb's enshittification, I can think of three parties to blame:
>the hosts
>Airbnb (the company itself, whether that be its policies, its customer service, employees, management, etc.)
>local laws

Using percentages, exactly how much blame do you assign each party?

>>2791690
ChatGPT said:

Airbnb (50%) – Sets the platform’s rules and incentives. Responsible for excessive fees, poor customer service, lack of enforcement, and prioritizing growth over user experience. Enables host abuse and drift from its original ethos.

Hosts (30%) – Charge high cleaning fees, create long chore lists, mislead in listings, and treat Airbnb as a mini-hotel business. Still, many behaviors are incentivized by Airbnb's policies.

Local Laws (20%) – Overregulation and zoning restrictions limit availability and raise costs, but these laws are often reactions to Airbnb’s own impacts on housing and neighborhoods.

Summary: Airbnb designs the system, hosts exploit it, and local laws react to the mess—each plays a role, but Airbnb leads the decline

Here's the real deal with Airbnb

Always rent a place with a very liberal cancellation policy that goes at least until the week before you stay.

Put that shit on a credit card, not a debit card in case you need to dispute any weird charges. Disputing charges on a credit card is 100 times more likely to work in your favor than disputing debit

Read the reviews. Don't stay in a place where the room or the host has bad reviews

Staying in any city with a high percentage of black people makes it more likely that your AirBnB will have strict rules because of past problems with tenants.

>>2791790
Fortunately I a couple of good credit cards. I'll be staying in somewhere rural near one of the national parks

>>2791610
>I want a kitchen & washing machine, finding a hotel will be difficult
Easy to find in the US, at least the kitchen part. Most hotels have laundry facilities of some sort

>>2792144
>Easy to find in the US, at least the kitchen part
last time I've been to the US, outside of work, was like 10y ago
and it was almost impossible to find affordable rooms with kitchen in hotels, only the expensive Suits sometimes had them

and in Europe it really depends on the region
in the Alps it's very easy finding hotels with apartment like rooms
sometimes rural themed (like sport focused) hotels have them as well
otherwise borderline impossible to get a kitchen

>Most hotels have laundry facilities of some sort
and never been to a hotel with self service laundry
only laundry services - with varying degrees of rip off, from ~6€ for a whole sack to 25€/shirt

>>2791487
If you are in the US, just book a hotel or hostel.

Like others said it's all situational. Beach / Forest area where it's you and ten friends / family getting drunk and chilling or somewhere remote with no hotel? Air BNB.

You by yourself or with one other person? You'd have to be retarded to book one regardless of how bad you want a kitchen.

I travel all year and almost always stay in airbnbs without problems, but I don't really care about budget. As others have said it's pretty much just the US where hosts are too shitty for it to make sense.

general tips
>look at the pictures for where the AC is, europoors tend to only put one in the living room and leave the bedroom as an oven in the summer
>if you can't see the view from the windows it's probably shitty
>sort reviews by worst and newest to find the problems
>immediately scroll to house rules and skip any that say "no visitors" or similar if you need that also look for keybox self check-in if possible
>zoom in on the map location and compare to google maps, it's usually pretty accurate for where you'll be
>if you're going somewhere hosts are likely to bait and switch you with the house rules or anything else always book a place with good cancelation option
>if there's no bathroom pic it could be a shitty "wet room" where the toilet's in the shower area

>>2791500
these are good tips too, especially about the dumb artsy/outside pics

>went to des moines, iowa when I was checking out places to move
>booked an airbnb
>get in it's a weird ass backdoor apartment
>sketch but w/e
>get in airbnb
>go to bathroom
>bugs all over
>text airbnb host
>"can't you just kill them?"
>leave
>get hotel
>refund

so what's the alternative to use in the US?

>>2792791
Hilton app.

>>2791487
I stayed at one in Colombia. It was its own building. When the water went out and I asked to cancel, the owner called me repeatedly via WhatsApp (my first mistake, I know) and then left me a review saying “We are not a hotel.”

I stayed at another one for a few months that was normal except that the shower didn’t drain properly so I was limited to 2 minute showers. The washing machine also flooded the one time I left it unattended, and it didn’t have a dryer which made the washing machine useless because the humidity was so high. I managed to negotiate off the app with this place and had an alright experience.

The third one I stayed at on the same trip in a different city had a pizza-box sized slab of mold growing out of the kitchen ceiling. The host toured the place with me before I went in which I thought was weird. I realized after he was trying to keep me from seeing it since it was sort of off in a corner. When I asked him to refund the cleaning fee over it he wrote a review accusing me of bringing drugs and prostitutes into the room (which I did not). I reported him to AirBnB and they refunded my cleaning fee, but his listings were still up when I checked them a few months after the fact.

I stayed at another one in Toronto which was ok for what it was, but they did expect us to strip the sheets, empty the garbage, and put the dishwasher on.

They’re really not worth it. It’s an inferior product to a hotel, the only benefit they really have is in being more widely distributed so that you can stay closer to your point of interest.

>>2792150
In the USA there are a class of cheap hotels with kitchens, like Candlewood Suites. They also have laundry facilities. Staybridge Suites is another one, plus they have free breakfast and a cocktail hour during the week.

>>2792807

AirBNB is now for slumlords. Fits a niche spot for contract-less monthly rentals but there is *ALWAYS * a catch, the pictures are *ALWAYS * a lie, and the owners are generally not the people pictured but rather the cleaners or literal slumlords contracted by whatever investment firm owns the title.

After 30-35 stays and getting banned over 2 broken wine glasses, I can say I only stayed in maybe 2 or 3 that lived up to expectations. I'm thankful too wife it forced me to use FB Marketplace and start getting aggressive in finding monthly rentals on the cheap. I save more now and make good 'friends' to contact later for rentals. People are happy to look around for you if you're polite even if they don't have something.

>>2791486 (OP)
I've used airbnb a lot in europe and japan: only decent-to-good experiences so far. I'm easy going, so keep that in mind.

>>2791690
Almost entirely the hosts. I hate them so much it's unreal. That being said, good hosts are an absolute treasure from heaven.

>>2791486 (OP)
use the filters

>entire house
>instant book
>self check in
>guest favorite
>only book something that has 4.9 star average or higher

>>2791589
you can pay for airbnb with paypal/debit card, no deposits needed. Hotels only take (((credit cards))) and can take large deposits

>>2791589
Maybe if you're booking <1 week sure, pretty much all my bookings with Airbnb are 3-6 weeks. Though often I just do 30 days so that the best discounts kick in, not sure why going more than 30 days fucks pricing so much but w/e.

Not sure where people get this idea on or if people are retards
>set pricing to include taxes and fees
>move slider
>check what's required to pay or possible deposits
>check against hotels in the area
>choose the better of the two

Every single time I have gotten an AirBnb I always said to myself that I should have gotten a hotel room
The only good reason to get an AirBnb is in a resort town, if you are planning on throwing a party with lots of folks, or need to have a real full size kitchen.

>>2791486 (OP)
The only good thing about Airbnbs are kitchens, which are essential if you're in SA or SEA and are tired of eating rice. You have to pretend that you will rent the place again for a long period, then they won't piss you off about leaving the dishes unclean.

>>2795128

Good for making friends with slumlords is a definare plus but Airbnb and Booking let you message the hosts before renting so you can cheat the system that way anyway and everyone is happy since we all avoid fees.

Fuck airbnb