Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a really bad experience also and so now we stick with hotels.

Yep, me too. Hotels and traditional rental homes.

What does this mean? Like VRBO or something else?

I’d like to know what “traditional rental homes” are too? Do you mean at a resort or resort community that has condos and houses for rent that aren’t through VRBO or Airbnb?

I'm guessing they mean more local rental agencies. These places manage the properties and have extremely high standards for them. We used one for our Cape house and they wouldn't even let us supply the renters soap, they wanted to manage that plus all the cleaning, what is and is not accessible, etc. There's no contact with the renters directly and the homes are not on sites like VRBO or AirBnb. Taking the example on the other thread where the AC broke down and the husband was schlepping around trying to get units and an HVAC repairman in there, that never would have happened with a well rated traditional agency. If for some reason it did, the renter would be compensated and we as the owners would have NO say. It's what we use as owners and also the only type of agency we will rent from. Never Airbnb or VRBO, I don’t want to leave my vacation up to the whims of some slumlord.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a really bad experience also and so now we stick with hotels.

Yep, me too. Hotels and traditional rental homes.

What does this mean? Like VRBO or something else?

I’d like to know what “traditional rental homes” are too? Do you mean at a resort or resort community that has condos and houses for rent that aren’t through VRBO or Airbnb?

Never had a terrible AirBnB stay and generally prefer them to hotels. But, you have to look carefully at the reviews. Many people will give 5 star reviews but put hints about what’s lousy. “Cozy” or “good for a short stay” mean it’s cramped. “Could use a little freshening” means it’s a dump. Etc. Only book the stays with consistent glowing reviews.

Anonymous wrote:I’m the first response to this thread. It was well reviewed, above 4.8 at least from what I remember. I was concerned about the age of property but inventory was very low for a house we needed on short notice. I would say to avoid older homes entirely as the photos of this place gave absolutely no indication of its dilapidated state.

I hope you got pictures and reviewed accordingly so others don’t have that experience?

I don’t understand this “Airbnb deletes reviews” thing. I haven’t had any bad experiences but I’ve had a couple of middling ones, and my mediocre reviews were posted just like all the rest. I’ve also seen listings with very bad reviews and avoid those. In my case, Airbnb reached out to me because I flagged an issue and wanted to know if I wanted to make a formal report. This was only like two months ago.

For all of you who have had bad experiences, then SAY SOMETHING. Tell the host immediately and document it. Then write a review! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on here and someone says they just didn’t leave a review. Why?! This is what allows bad hosts/listings to continue! You’re doing a disservice to other people.

This is all arbitrary - customer service oriented stuff like restaurants, hotels, tour groups, you really have to read all reviews. You have to be someone who recognizes that shit happens but also that if you pick a place with reviews or pics that don't look pristine, you may be in for bad surprises. Typically speaking, cost should be factored as well - nothing too below market but nothing too high unless you can obviously see why the markup is legit.

I've stayed in more horrible hotels than any Airbnb or Vrbo. I also happen to be a careers recruiter and I know how to screen out what is likely not a good catch.

You really only have yourself to blame if you're picking over and over properties you encounter big issues with. Between pictures and reviews, maybe you have a prob one out of 10+ times on holiday but I'd actually be more timid renting out to idiots than booking a property. Caveat Emptor - buyer beware.

OP did you reach out to the AirBNB hosts from the outset of the issues? I would start documenting via messages and pix, regardless of whether they are responding.

Sucks that this happened. Agree with others that usually properties with great reviews are very good. IMO 5-star cleanliness Airbnbs are cleaner than a lot of chain hotels like Marriotts.

Anonymous wrote:We've only ever stayed with super-hosts with excellent reviews and have never had a problem

Same. We rent aribnbs all the time and have never had an issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're longtime Airbnb fans and have stayed in Airbnbs all over the US, in the UK and France. We like the extra room, we like to cook, we like staying in residential neighborhoods, and we like having outdoor space. We honestly have never had a bad experience, but we only do superhosts with lots of reviews.

We’ve never had a problem either. The people that complain choose poorly. Or are going to complain no matter what.

This is only a person who hasn't had their bad experience yet! We'll see you on this thread in a bit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're longtime Airbnb fans and have stayed in Airbnbs all over the US, in the UK and France. We like the extra room, we like to cook, we like staying in residential neighborhoods, and we like having outdoor space. We honestly have never had a bad experience, but we only do superhosts with lots of reviews.

We’ve never had a problem either. The people that complain choose poorly. Or are going to complain no matter what.

I’d have thought the same until I experienced an issue. Really liked the host, their space was dirty and had multiple safety issues. It changed my Airbnb experience greatly. Had no problem for YEARS prior.

+1

Had no issues for years, then had a bad experience that made me see just how little leverage I have, or resolution there is, if there IS a problem. We stick to hotels now.

Eh. I find hotels much worse and have had far worse experiences with those, and zero “resolution” that isn’t a giant PITA that ruins my day. No thanks.

IDK, I stayed in hotels 40+ weeks a year for 8 years (mid to higher end, generally 4 stars) and I can count on one hand the times I had an issue and none where we couldn't find a satisfactory resolution. Airbnbs are like 50/50 for me so I refuse to use them. Just my own anecdotal experience but I find them far more reliable and with much better options for recourse than dealing with some slumlord directly.

I belong to a women's travel group and FB and recently there was a thread of those having major issues with Airbnb. These are well seasoned travelers. A few had been accused of damage to the homes and found they had little recourse. Seeing enough of these threads has turned me off to airbnb and haven't used it in years.

I’m the first response to this thread. It was well reviewed, above 4.8 at least from what I remember. I was concerned about the age of property but inventory was very low for a house we needed on short notice. I would say to avoid older homes entirely as the photos of this place gave absolutely no indication of its dilapidated state.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The protected hosts and screwed guests at the beginning of Covid. Haven’t used them since.

Us too.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Why would you want to stay at somebody else's house for vacation? Cheap guest and cheap host.

Most AirBnB's at this point are dedicated short-term rental properties, not just someone's house. The whole concept evolved from what the original idea was.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're longtime Airbnb fans and have stayed in Airbnbs all over the US, in the UK and France. We like the extra room, we like to cook, we like staying in residential neighborhoods, and we like having outdoor space. We honestly have never had a bad experience, but we only do superhosts with lots of reviews.

We’ve never had a problem either. The people that complain choose poorly. Or are going to complain no matter what.

I’d have thought the same until I experienced an issue. Really liked the host, their space was dirty and had multiple safety issues. It changed my Airbnb experience greatly. Had no problem for YEARS prior.

+1

Had no issues for years, then had a bad experience that made me see just how little leverage I have, or resolution there is, if there IS a problem. We stick to hotels now.

Eh. I find hotels much worse and have had far worse experiences with those, and zero “resolution” that isn’t a giant PITA that ruins my day. No thanks.