Airbnb - Page 3

Deanie · ‎03-09-2010

There is a very popular beach town down the road a piece (colloquial expression) that is currently embroiled in an ugly fight with developers. It appears that groups of people are consolidating their money, either through crowd funding or something similar, and building huge and monstrous homes in this quaint beach town. They are then renting rooms using vehicles such as AIRBNB. They are not paying taxes that a hotel would pay, since they are designated a private residence. In addition, they do not have to comply with any of the government regulations that apply to facilities that rent to the public. Think safety. No fire escapes, no water sprinklers, no exit lights and so on.

It is a very clever way to rent directly to the public without having to jump through all the regulatory hoops that are required to keep the public safe. The hotels do not like it because they have to comply with the rules and therefore charge higher costs while competing against facilities that do not. Townships do not like it because they do not get the revenue from taxes. It appears that it fills a niche for those that want to pay lower costs.

As far as issues with these units in regards to personal safety, the stories that are now emerging are exceptionally troubling. Are they any different than those that occur in a hotel? Well, a victim may have legal rights against a hotel, what recourse does one have against a person who lets out rooms?

By the way, this is not a new concept, boarding houses have been around for a very long time.

VaBelle35 · ‎03-10-2010

People have the same concerns about Uber. But if you research, you will see that there are safety issues with regular regulated taxi cabs, airport bus services and other types of local ground transportation.

Airbnb, Uber, onling dating, all of these things make the news when something bad happens.

===================================
QVC Shopper - 1993

# IAMTEAMWEN

croemer · ‎03-10-2010

We have a trip planned over Thanksgiving and I considered AirBNB. We chose a hotel but I kept some of the listings and may try one out. I will not stay where the the host's are sharing the home and they are there at the time. We prefer privacy.

I had not consider or even thought about them all having camera's is this true...would never consider one that camera's are watching us...NO WAY!?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Careful... I have caps lock and I am not afraid to use it.**

JasoninBoston · ‎02-18-2012

@beach-mom

I have to preface my response by saying, my mom is much more adventurous than I am and if it were up to me we would stay 5 star locations all the time we travel together! While we have stayed at our fair share of super luxury 4 and 5 star hotels--we have also stayed at several Airbnb location.

The two most recent Airbnb locations were in Mexico and Kiawah Island South Carolina! And despite many of the concerns of people raised here--both couldn't have been nicer!!

The place in Mexico was a 3 bedroom condo over looking the ocean. The complex had a lovely and virtually unused pool and even had weekly cleaning. The floors of the condo were marble and the kitchen and baths were actually beautiful. The only thing I noticed when we arrived was a slight musty smell but that quickly cleared out after we were there and kept the doors to the large balconies open that day and into the evening. The total cost of the place worked out to be about 300 per night! Which compared to the really nice hotel nearby was a steal (The hotel would have been $400 per room)

The place on Kiawah was equally nice and that even had it's own pool! I know the price for that was closer to $800 per night-- but it had 4 bedrooms so it could have easily accommodate many more guests than just the two of us. The super nice hotel on Kiawah as a comparison is about $500 per room.

Given how expensive hotels are, and how I really can't share a room with her--due to her loud snoring-- Airbnb has become a nice option when we travel together. I still have my favorite hotels--in Zurich and London, for example-- and wouldn't consider using Airbnb there, however, some of the Airbnb places we've stayed that she has chosen have been much nicer than hotels, very comfortable and are certainly always a much better value than the nearby hotels!

Pqfan · ‎03-09-2010

I want to rename it "Scare BNB" that tells you how I feel about things.

No way I am going to a strangers house to stay.

I am sure people have had some great experiences but nope.

Unless it came highly recommended from someone I trust then maybe?

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

Go stay with some scammers, thieves, crooks, drug addicts, and twisted people I have NEVER met and have no back ground on?

Oh sure what a great idea in today's world. I guarantee there will be SOME people involved in this who fit the above description and I for one will not be rolling the dice on where I stay.

Even if they aren't there, they have a key!

There are far too many good hotels and a few B and B's (FEW) where I will be spending any time away from home.

tansy · ‎01-02-2011

I'm surprised by some of the info here. I was under the impression that Airbnb's were just a spare bedroom in someone's home. I wouldn't chance it.

Burnsite · ‎03-10-2010

I like to stay in hotels.

At the last conference I attended, a colleague had booked an AirB&B, and the lady who leased the space forgot he was coming.

He went to a birthday party, showed up at 12 midnight (he had checked in at 3PM) and was locked out. No response to his knocking. His cell phone was discharged. It took him hours to get into the room he had paid for.

That why I stay at hotels. They are open 24/7 and if there are problems, at least they can be discussed as they occur.

Edited to add: I do know someone else who always books Air BnB and has not had any problem.

I would prefer not to deal with individuals, though, and to go with professional businesses--i.e., hotels, however humble. They are used to a variety of guests and arrival times.

JasoninBoston · ‎02-18-2012

@tansy wrote:
I'm surprised by some of the info here. I was under the impression that Airbnb's were just a spare bedroom in someone's home. I wouldn't chance it.

There are a whole range of options available! Both places we rented were in a luxury category. But there were even more luxurious options available!! I remember reading that Justin Timberlake rented an Airbnb place that was like $20,000 per night!! That was someone's quite large home and he was renting the entire home for himself.

And the places we got were also a single family home (Kiawah Island) and a very nice condo (Mexico).

In both places we rented--we actually dealt with Real Estate companies--not the owners of the places directly. So these Real Estate companies were hired by the owners to act as agents and coordinate details (or problems if they came up).