I've AirBnB'd in Harper's Ferry, Charlottesville, NYC, the Outer Banks, London, Paris, Australia, San Juan, and New Zealand. I read all the reviews, always read the entire refund policy before booking, google map directions to/from public transportation if that's how we're getting around a city, and I've never had a problem. I'm in my mid-20s, and usually travel on a pretty limited budget. Airbnb is great bc I love having a kitchen on-site---DH and I would prefer to eat PB&J sandwiches 2x a day while traveling and spend our $ on things like admission to the Louvre or bunjy jumping.

I actually prefer AirBnBs where the host lives on-site when I'm traveling alone, I enjoy getting to know people and they usually have a wealth of local insight. I stayed with a guy in San Juan who worked from home and gave me a ride to the airport so I didn't have to spend $20 on a cab, and sat and talked with me for an hour when I got there about traveling, my plans while I was in town, and all kinds of things. When I AirBnB'd in NYC, DH and I rented a photographer's apartment in a quiet residential neighborhood in Brooklyn. We had a full kitchen, a full bath with a bathtub, and paid $50/night since it wasn't a trendy area. I'm totally willing to spend an extra 20 mins on a train for those kind of prices, but your priorities may be different. We stayed in two tree houses in NZ, with outdoor showers and one had an outhouse that overlooked the ocean. We have had way more adventures via Airbnb than we would have had in generic hotels---we spent $150/night for three nights sailing on a yacht with a retired couple (three meals a day were included!), something I never would have dreamed we'd been able to afford if I hadn't seen the listing on Airbnb!

I have stayed in AirBnB properties several times in Bangkok, Prague, Budapest and Hong Kong. All worked out great. Do your research is the key and read the reviews carefully.

But I will say that in other areas AirBnB have limited value, especially if you're looking to rent an entire studio or one-bedroom. It's often no cheaper (or more expensive even) than hotels in comparable locations in a number of key cities like London, New York or even Munich.

Not my thing. I prefer hotels anyway but if we book apartments I just look for them on Booking.com. Airbnb just sketches me out.

AirBnB bothers me because I feel for the neighbors in those situations.
I know some localities have even prohibited Airbnb because of that.

I would HATE it if the house next door had new "tenants" every few days---people that know they aren't going to be there long so they don't care if they piss off the neighbors with their noise late at night.

I can't participate in something that I know would upset me if I was in the neighbors shoes.

I've done I think 4 Air BNBs now. Loved them.

Twice, have rented whole apartments (Istanbul and Nashville). Two times, have stayed in someone's house.

All four times, have loved the experience. I didn't worry about cameras any more than I would in a hotel room or B&B - I guess I am not generally too worried about that (I also use public restrooms, for example).

My advice would be to carefully read the reviews, see if you can figure out who the people are based on the info given (what you get on the website + google is enough to track the people down and make sure they are who they say they are).

I've met some really interesting people, stayed in some fabulous homes and apartments, and would absolutely use the website again.

Not that it's impossible to have a bad experience, for sure! And I don't know that you'll always save money. But I've enjoyed Air BNB over the comparable hotels that I've found available to me at the time.

And with the apartments, there were other people I was traveling with so we could all share the space - separate bedrooms but shared common areas - which cut down on costs and let us hang out more when we wanted down time.

Anonymous wrote:I tried to rent for the first time and a host wouldn't let me rent from him because I wasn't verified. Ugh. Makes it feel hard to get started if hosts are seeking verified people only.

Look at it from the host's perspective. Anyone can reserve a room online. I want to be sure you are who you say you are. Same as Uber.

We've done it twice and been very happy both times. First was an apartment in Rome which came out to about $100 per night. It was large, clean, and centrally located. The host was very responsive and helped us with restaurant recommendations, etc. We had some issues with our flight over and she offered to let us stay an extra night to make up for the time we lost. We weren't able to take advantage of that, but it was nice that she offered.

Second time we rented a house near west palm beach in Florida. The place was larger than we expected and well appointed. It was a perfect spot for an extended family meetup and much more affordable than local hotels.

I'm sure there are horror stories too, but we've been really pleased and plan on using air BNB or something similar for all travel with our daughter going forward. It's just so nice to book a place where she has her own space.

We've also do airbnb probably 3 times a year both in US and Mexico. We also rent vrbo but my sense is that the better places are switching over to airbnb in SOME areas. I would only do 'whole house/apartment' rentals. We've done in Seattle, NYC, Chicago, Maine, Santa Fe, Tulum and Merida, MX. Definitely look at reviews and confirm locations. Our Seattle place was a good deal and huge but = waterfront/views only if you leaned over and looked through the highway underpass; our Merida was totally fabulous place that felt like an amazing gallery with pool, private patio w/gas fireplace and had option of a chef which we used for first night and to stock food/alcohol.

We've done it and have had great experiences. I'm also generally a trusting, non-worrying type of individual and it doesn't freak me out to be in someone's home (and it's often a rental property, and not their actual home, in many instances), and I also don't worry about hidden cameras and such, so ymmv.

Anonymous wrote:I used it in San Juan and had a great experience. We only stayed a few days, but saved a lot versus the hotel. Many of my friends use it all the time.

I am about to use them in 10 days in San Juan. I am hoping our experience is great too.

Reviews and ratings, photos, maps, messages...

It's so easy to be thorough.

We've done it twice and both times our experience was exactly what we expected.

We've used it (and similar sites) a lot and think it is a great way to book accommodations. Like others have said, you have to study the reviews and always rent the whole house or apartment.

I feel that guests are likely to veer on the generous side with reviews when they have meet the hosts (unless the host was really horrible). So we only stay at places that have all 5's for Cleanliness & Accuracy. We stayed at a Brooklyn place that reeked from the dirty cat litter box in the hallway. In hindsight, the reviews alluded to it but no one came right out said the place smelled.

I would find it a little creepy to be in someone else's house. I would never rent just a room in a house. It just doesn't seem like something I'd do.

It took me a long time to use Uber regularly. I'm just not an early adopter of tech.

I have had great success with it in this country and overseas but only booked with established hosts. Look at the reviews carefully, ask questions of your potential host and if it something "seems off" go to another rental. It is a great way to learn more about a place, see more of a city as well as save money. I always like that you get more space and better amenities than a hotel (except for housecleaning).