Memes

Stopped using them once my girlfriend and I found a hidden camera.

Sueing was much more stressful than just getting a regular hotel. Never again.

Don't forget the hidden cams. That's part of why we don't use AirBNB.

I remember when AirBNB was new and they were giving talsk at various tech conferences. The buzz and excitement for what it could ecome was great. The person presenting at the local PyCon I was at used it to get local accomodation for cheap.

Then the greedy landlords with multiple property-portfolios got involved and it turned into yet another money making gig for everyone and his auntie. It's turned to shit as do so many things when the lust for money overtakes it.

Airbnbs also encourage property owners to hold on to real estate for short-term rentals exacerbating the housing shortage in North America.

AirBNB's can also be a real problem for the local renters who actually live where the tourists want to go.

It's so funny how it's all come full circle. I'm back to using hotels and taxi cabs now. How crazy I would have thought that sentence 10-15 yrs ago.

Folks that rent an Airbnb are often wanting more than a boring room (full kitchen, yard, washer/dryer), which is still without a doubt vastly cheaper than any hotel.

Sure there are shitty hosts with ridiculous rules, but those are things you should be researching in advance to paying.

I have stayed at Airbnbs across 4 states and four countries; other than one of them being cancelled due to plumbing issues, we have not had a single problem and each time it was far cheaper (~40%) and had more options than hotels.

So far I haven't had any bad experiences at an Airbnb, but I only ever rented them because they were cheaper than a hotel room, and I refused to get one that shares a space with the owner.

I just recently booked a hotel room because the Airbnb prices are through the roof. I can check in to the hotel at midnight if I want, and they actually serve free breakfast unlike an AirBedNBreakfast...

Not all of them are that bad. I've had nothing but good experiences in the UK and EU. Often times cheaper per person than a hotel too. And you get left alone, don't need to deal with cleaners or what not.

Parts like this make me think airbnb is only shit in the US. I've never had those crazy cleaning bills or other hidden fees.

Ever tried to leave some luggage behind at an airbnb to go explore before checkin time / after checkout time? Yea, good luck with that. That's the primary reason I stopped using airbnb again.

I prefer hotels too. Too many horror stories with airbnb.

They have AirBnB management companies that people can use to rent their places and those are fucking AWFUL.

I will never use AirBnB again. For my friends birthday, he wanted to go to Hawaii. I booked an AirBnB at the hotel he was at. A week before I was scheduled, the management company contact ed me and said the host cancelled, but not to worry, they had an equivalent room nearby!

So I get there, and their equivalent room was across the island over fifteen miles away (it's Hawaii, so you must travel around the big mountain, not through it). No where near the original. I left and booked at the hotel. I contact AirBnB and their response was "Sucks to be you. We'll ask them to waive the cleaning fee." Like ??? Yes, of fucking course you will? I just stepped in. (Narrator voice: "They did not, in fact, waive the fee") That was it; over $900 down the drain. Should I have validated that the company and I considered "nearby" the same thing? Yes. Should me thinking "nearby" meant the same hotel or a house within walking distance cost me over $900? No.

The idea that these Mom&Pop shops are selling AirBnB isn't strictly true, and AirBnB is incentivized to bend over backwards and fuck over guests in favor of those middlemen management companies since they represent a large chunk of renters.

Because this really annoyed me recounting this, I actually looked at my email history. They DID NOT refund the 'cleaning fee' in full. Instead they offered me $75 off my 'next adventure' This is what AirBnB sent me:

Hi me,

This is Monica again the case manager here in Airbnb. I hope this will not be a bother for you.

While I am unable to offer you a full refund for your cleaning fee, under these circumstances, I would like to offer you a coupon of $75, half of the cleaning fee that was not refunded by your host to put towards your next Airbnb adventure as a token of our appreciation and in lieu of a refund.

I have not yet created this coupon, and would kindly ask that you reply to my email to confirm if you would be agreeable to this. As soon as I hear back from you, I will be more than happy to send you a code that will deduct $75 from your next Airbnb reservation!

So, I now post this story on every social media I can find when it reference Air BnB. Fuck them.

my provincial government finally started cracking down on Airbnb's this summer. can't say I'm going to miss them

Meanwhile me in a £20/night shit hostel

I hate AirBnBs because they make housing less available for everyone, but are they really that or as expensive as hotels now? I feel like hotels are probably still more expensive.

Missing the worst thing about AirBNB

Browsing AirBNB and finding a room for 30 dollars a night.

with a 400 dollar deposit

and a 500 dollar cleaning fee.

You know those motherfuckerrs don't even do basic cleaning when a guest leaves, much less 500 dollars worth of cleaning.

Never have. Never will.

I've had fine experiences with Airbnb overall. Did have one host that wanted a copy of my driver's license and I politely said I wouldn't be doing that, and then a few weeks later he canceled my reservation at the last minute. Airbnb did reimburse me and I see he is no longer renting there.

Mostly it's just staying in a house and the rare times I've met the hosts they've been nice normal people. YMMV of course but that's true of hotels as well.

I read somewhere that a lot of the private equity that was used to jump start Airbnb has now been pulled back so they can generate revenue on their own.

For regular folks, this means less subsidized/cheaper rooms available now that Airbnb has to front everything versus someone propping them up.

shocking!
I never thought I'd see a repost on Lemmy

I’m cool with old memes, but I’m not down with lemmy repost from last week.