Hotels vs AirBnB
Eve
Where there's a hole, there's a way. [HIATUS]
The only time I've had an issue with AirBnB was when I visited Montréal last year. The (highly repped) host barely answered her texts or calls, and her automated service was anything but contributing. The condo I had booked had to get some pipework done in it, so I got moved to an alternative property at the last minute, which wasn't ready for another 2 hours after I arrived in the city. It was an exhausting experience, but domestically, the few times I have booked a rental, the experiences have been mostly positive.
I just like that you can potentially get the space of a whole apartment or house for the same cost of a moderately repped hotel room. I find it more personable, and obviously you don't have to deal with other nosey lodgers or staff (assuming you're getting the whole place and not just a single room.)
I also appreciate that you can see the ACTUAL total amount (including tax/cleaning fee/convenience/whatever else) you'll be spending for your trip in the rental results instead of JUST showing the cost of the rental and making it seem like that's all you'll spend before the checkout page comes. I hate going on travel sites like Booking, Travelocity, Hotwire, etc that advertise a very modest price just for me to accept the booking and prepare to checkout only to see that excludes another $50 - $100 in taxes/resort fee/parking fees, etc.
But I get that hotels can potentially have a lot more amenities available than vacation rentals do. These are my thoughts on it. I wouldn't mind seeing the viewpoints of you frequent travelers out there.
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I will stay in a hotel if it's a last minute deal like I need to stay somewhere tonight. But I don't use Travelocity or Booking. You actually pay more when you use those site. Book Direct. I'm a Hilton Honors member so I just go to their website. The cost is about 5-6% less if you book direct. I think Marriott is the same.
But if you have some time to plan your trip, the options that get opened up to you with AirBnB or VRBO is amazing. Instead of a small little hotel room, stay in a luxury condo with a full kitchen, washer dryer, private garage, ocean view. And if you are looking last minute on VRBO or AirBnB, the Host might be willing to negotiate.
Problems with renting someone else's house or condo: (1) There have been many cases of hosts putting hidden or nonhidden cameras in their properties. I was looking to rent a townhouse in St. Louis and the host said he had cameras in the common rooms to monitor how many guests were actually staying at his place and to discourage parties. That was a dealbreaker. (2) Many properties have nosy permanent neighbors. If you start bringing women back to the AirBNB, the neighbors may notify your host that you are using their property to bang all kinds of strange. You don't have these problems at a hotel.
For short stays and solo trips, I'd continue with hotels. For longer vacations and couples trips, I'm almost certainly going to check VRBO and AirBnB first.
I have grown to like the "plantation" style gated community (guess that naming will go away soon) where you can pick the type of lodging you prefer but, have access to the amenities of the entire property. One I have used lately is the Kingston Plantation in Myrtle Beach:
https://www.kingstonplantation.com/
You can stay in one of the condos which are in easy walking distance to the beach and restaurants that are in the hotel style buildings or just stay in one of those. Either way you have access to the great fitness center which is not easy to find if that is important to you. They have a shuttle that carts you around to local businesses too.
Also I don’t like the camera thing air bnb has going
I also have a dog, and the pet fees + base cost of rooms that accept pets tend to generally be better with Airbnb’s than hotels too, though I found it for many chains it’s not as bad as I thought.
Also, I’ve read about and have met women who have gotten hotels and dealt with certain places that will go after unaccompanied women. (Especially within the Marriott chain). I don’t want to take the risk of having to explain that, no, I don’t have any men with me and leave me alone. At every airbnb I’ve stayed at, none of my hosts had any preconceived notions. They just accepted me as the hipster who just likes road tripping. So if I were to get hotels, that seems like a lot of PITA research I will have to do ahead of time and idk how reliable it would be to even find information for something like that.
—>Sinclair said; “(2) Many properties have nosy permanent neighbors. If you start bringing women back to the AirBNB, the neighbors may notify your host that you are using their property to bang all kinds of strange.”
Most Airbnb’s have stipulations against unauthorized guests and want you to pay a few dollars extra for another person. If that’s important to you, I guess just when booking, claim to also have a “girlfriend” right from the start.
On business trips with an extended stay I might be willing to pay more for the extra space but on a 1 or 2 night stay just give me the cheapest place that looks like it will be clean and safe.
Every Airbnb I’ve been in has been rough. I must choose poorly. I used to travel for 300 nights a year tho
Thanks but no thanks. Most of my lodging budget goes to Marriott because I have status and rewards points. For longer stays I book their Residence Inns for space and cooking. I can also priceline nice deals at other solid hotels on the fly in most areas.
But that was one of the factors to me as far as deciding where to book, considering I can work from anywhere I travel. I've never dealt with neighbors any more nosy than saying "hi" to me in passing when I'm staying at a rental home. Usually they're all asleep by the time I'm inviting someone to hang out or play (past midnight or something like that.).
For me the 3 things I look for when I need somewhere to stay are price, privacy, and quietness. My SC-trips are often 3 to 5 days and the hotel is often the biggest expenditure - as others have mentioned, when I travel I usually don't spend too much time in the room; I mainly need somewhere to get a descent night sleep and be able to take a shower - I don't cook much thus having a kitchen is not a big-deal although having a fridge and microwave is helpful for me personally if I'm staying multiple-days.
Up to now I've usually stayed in 2-star hotels since I mostly use the room to just sleep and shower vs hang out at the hotel or the premises; I'm a member of LA Fitness and can use gyms all across the country and rather work-out there than a hotel "gym" - if I was traveling with someone else, particularly a female/S.O., then I'd likely get a nicer place to stay but if it's just for me I usually go with the cheapest option that will do - but, there *is* a difference b/w a 2-star and 3-star hotel, and now that I'm older I'll probably start staying in bit-better hotels vs going for the cheapest option that will do.
I like my privacy and why the AirB&B with a live-in host thing does not appeal to me - even when I was young I was never up for having roommates. I also tend to sleep-in late when on the road and I assume if there are other people staying at an AirB&B that it may not be as quiet
I prefer a good hotel with experience and excellent service over AirB&B.
I had good luck with the Hoteltonight app finding good deals for OTC the same day on short notice.
No AirB&Bs for me.
But if it's an option, the side door can definitely save me the social anxiety.
I agree no one should have to be hiding their date into a hotel room, but in this day and time perhaps it's not worth taking on the SJWs and having to explain yourself.
Either way, I just may book them more often now.
But now... times have changed.
@spice. I'll be getting lots of work done and hopefully lots of clubbing done ~