I truly love the idea of a sharing economy. Putting idle resources like cars, boats, and homes into service for short term use pushes out the utility curve by getting more value from a fixed good, while gaining revenue for the owner. Additionally, I prefer to do business with a ‘local’, instead of a corporate chain. So when AirBnb, and VRBO, and Homestay launched I was excited to explore the variety of offerings and support the people who offer them. I remain a fan of this model, but with the following significant cautions.
Using AirBnb is always more of a hassle than booking a hotel. Using Hotels.com I can be done and on my way to checkin in less than 5 minutes. AirBnb involves the usual confirmations; perhaps an online questionnaire (yes really) to fill in; communication back and forth about when I plan to arrive (I often cannot say exactly, and neither do I want to be pinned down); exchanging of phone numbers to keep up to date; arrangements about where exactly to meet; sometimes a key pickup at a different location, and often an actual meeting (all too often with WhatsApp messages about running late). Additional annoyances await after gaining access to the property – no toilet paper in Prague; a flooded refrigerator in Strasbourg. As well as the need to figure out how to use diverse new systems (the record thus far was a rental on Martinique that had twelve tent cards explaining how to use things).
Additionally, the profile of property owners has evolved. From individuals doing their own work it has become predominantly rental management companies, working for property portfolio investors, handling the guest reservations and check in and out. It is not unusual to deal with five different people (via website, email, WhatsApp, and in person) in the process of a single stay, often in a foreign language. Inevitably something gets lost in translation or communication, or the field worker is off handling some other property. I have waited hours for someone to show up to let me in (most recently in Athens and Bologna). This portfolio management approach really takes a lot of the attractiveness of the peer-to-peer experience away.
The reviews of properties may give some indication of what to expect, but given the site’s practice of directly linking reviews to customers I believe that most people are loath to leave less than stellar reviews (especially since the owner has your phone number and email address at this point). This was brought into sharp focus during a stay in an “artist’s” cottage on Hawaii. The reviews were great. Yet, though it was literally a moving target, I counted 17 cockroaches in the open at one time. It was obvious from the way everything was packaged (cereal in the fridge, sugar in ziplocks) that this was a chronic problem. Yet no review mentioned it.
In some cities AirBnb is not welcome, yet there remain many listings. After making the reservation I have been bombarded with notes giving me instructions such as “tell them you are staying with Daniella”, “do not mention that you are renting the apartment to anyone at all”. I love a bargain any time, but do not want to be part of a conspiracy.
Hosts (using the official term, which in this case is ironic) deem themselves authoritarian lawyers, and are drafting extremely broad ’rental agreements’ that guests must now sign. These agreements are most often disclosed, but in a micro type link. Two recent examples will serve to bring this point home. If guest wears shoes in the apartment, host may charge them a floor cleaning fee. If hosts feel in any way that they are ’disrespected’ by guest they may cancel reservation without refund.
Then there are the ‘you are the cleaning service’ requirements. Take the trash out, strip the bed, put the towels in the washing machine. Then the additional inconvenient steps on departure to get your car out of the garage, only to have to return to the apartment to drop off the key fob. In one rental in Milan it would have been impossible to follow the steps if I had not been traveling with another person.
Finally, AirBnb has opaque pricing. The bill for a property that was listed as $50/night, at the final reservation screen, adds service fees ($10/night) and a cleaning fee ($150 one time), and an occupancy tax ($5/night), that netted a week long stay to $85/night. The variability of the additional fees make it laborious to compare listings. These numbers are known to AirBnb and it is obnoxious to low ball a price instead of disclosing total cost.
This page also applies to VRBO, which is now owned by Expedia. Two differences that I have noticed. VRBO only rents entire apartments rather than individual rooms or shared spaces. This is fine for me, as I have aged out of the thrill of co-living. Even better, VRBO discloses the entire cost of the stay, making direct, quick comparison possible. I really appreciate this transparency.
When to use AirBnb? When planning a medium length stay and you want to cook your own meals, and when looking for more space or quirkiness than a hotel will provide. The site is filled with cute places like tree houses, train cabooses, converted barns. I stayed for two weeks in a delightfully decorated and spacious place in Reims, where I could do my own cooking and have guests over.