nightwolf Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Have you used airbnb? If so how was your experience? Myself and my housemate are going to manhattan in May and whilst hotels aren't out of our price range, we thought about going for something that's not plain jane. Except, we've never used airbnb, so I thought I'd ask if you lot have. Good/Bad reviews welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoogleViper Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 I tried to book somewhere, but the lady took a week to reply, ultimately saying it wasn't available. My friend did book a apartment in Cardiff. It was a really nice place and everything went through smoothly. I think it's going to depends on the vendor, but is no different to hotels in that regards. I'd definitely recommend it. Just make sure you're booking enough time in advance. It's not suitable for last minute bookings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 I've used it 3 times now, once in London with my girlfriend, once in Paris with my brother and Aunt and once in Valencia with friends. London - Lovely wee apartment, worked perfectly. It was our anniversary and I asked ahead and they put some Champagne in the fridge for us. Great location and great apartment (although small). Paris - Dirt cheap and right next to the tennis. Absolutely perfect for us. Valencia - We had issues with this as they thought that it was me and my girlfriend going because of my profile picture. I had clearly told them it was a group of 6 guys. They spent AGES showing us the apartment which was managed by a company and I think they were having a discussion behind the scenes what to do. In the end it worked fine. We could've done with more than 1 set of keys though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 I used it for Rome and Paris. Rome was great and had a nice big private balcony (had something like 15 seats outside!) and was really nice to curl up with wine at the end of the day out there. Paris was good. I would personally clean my place a bit more if I was renting it out, but it's not like it was filthy. Was a good location and cheap though. I enjoy it all in all, but the worst part is the exchanging of the keys. It's always been an awkward affair. Airbnb really should rent out lockers in big airports/stations and allow the owner to drop off, get a security code to give to the renter and then reverse it on the way out. I've always ended up in "oh I can't do then, I'll send some random person round" kind of situation and it's just... But still, I'd recommend it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightwolf Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 @Moogle we'll definitely be doing in advance, we're not going away til May. It does sound like a good idea, I'm mostly concerned about what happens if you say 'this apartment' and then don't hear from them or they cancel 12 hours before etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Used it for Australia and I'm using it next week in the UK. No problems with it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoogleViper Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 @Moogle we'll definitely be doing in advance, we're not going away til May. It does sound like a good idea, I'm mostly concerned about what happens if you say 'this apartment' and then don't hear from them or they cancel 12 hours before etc. It's a possibility, but it's also a possibility with independent hotels/guest houses/BnBs. Just make sure you pick with with a lot of good reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Another fan here. I've used it for personal holidays, work off-sites and biz trips. I'd definitely recommend it and will continue to use it. As already said, just go for the people with good reviews and you should have nothing to worry about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 I enjoy it all in all, but the worst part is the exchanging of the keys. It's always been an awkward affair. Airbnb really should rent out lockers in big airports/stations and allow the owner to drop off, get a security code to give to the renter and then reverse it on the way out. I've always ended up in "oh I can't do then, I'll send some random person round" kind of situation and it's just... But still, I'd recommend it! Agreed. I've seen in some listings that the keys are held in a secure locker at the property itself. Just need to enter a PIN to get them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightwolf Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 Thanks everyone! We're planning to use it given everyone I've spoken to has spoken highly of using airbnb. Plus there's some beautiful places to stay there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Definitely gonna give them a go next time I travel, heard nothing but praise. Just gotta make sure you do your research and pick places with decent reviews/hosts etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 I've been thinking about hosting a room on airbnb, but I wonder how much you'd have to worry about/scrutinise potential applicants. Also I'd feel like I'd want locks on all my doors :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 I've been thinking about hosting a room on airbnb, but I wonder how much you'd have to worry about/scrutinise potential applicants. Also I'd feel like I'd want locks on all my doors :p I'd be tempted to rent out a room on AirBnB if I had a spare one. I wouldn't accept every single person and only take them for certain dates. You want to stay away from people who will be coming back drunk at 3am and target couples of city breaks, lone travelers (like @Rummy when he came to Glasgow for a wedding) or people travelling on business on a budget. You could make a fair bit of extra money by doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rummy Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 I tried to book somewhere, but the lady took a week to reply, ultimately saying it wasn't available. My friend did book a apartment in Cardiff. It was a really nice place and everything went through smoothly. I think it's going to depends on the vendor, but is no different to hotels in that regards. I'd definitely recommend it. Just make sure you're booking enough time in advance. It's not suitable for last minute bookings. Other than this, the waiting, I'd say AirBnB(for the one time I've used it) is pretty good and I've only heard good things from others too. It's a bit annoying that in requesting a booking you're tied in when they accept, as for me a much better deal came up from someone who changed their mind about whether they could have me after I'd booked somewhere else(I was only booking a week or two in advance, so had to take what I could get whilst I could). It's definitely something I'd consider using in the future. We went to Wales for a week in the summer and I'm pretty sure my friend booked through AirBnB for that too - again can't say I've got any complaints(except the gas going out one evening). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Yeah I wouldn't try and book with someone who didn't have good feedback for responding very quickly, unless it was well in advance and I had plenty of time for other options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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