patrick.net

In addition to the nickel and diming, there is the risk that your reservation will be cancelled without recourse 10 minutes before you get there.

This happened to us. No, AirBnB does not get you an equivalent place, or any other place. They did absolutely nothing to help.

Check out this fucked up shit, if real. I have my doubts.

Now I'm worried about the place I stayed at last month.

This is a total lawsuit for big ones, and probably criminal charges. While the STR asshole might skate if they're within the handful of jurisdictions where they never passed any laws on this, pretty sure cameras looking at the toilet are highly illegal if the place is rented for money even for 5 seconds.

Nothing like a laundry list of chores on top of a $150 cleaning fee



"We here at the Marriott demand you strip your bed and take it to the laundry room on B level, use exactly 1/4 cup of the Acme Powder Detegerent, hit the rapid wash... also take all trash from the 3 (THERE ARE THREE! REMEMBER!) cans around the location and throw them out at the dumpster located on the other side of the parking lot behind door 1A no later than 9AM on the day of checkout or there will be a $150 service fee added..."

Nothing like tipping housekeeping, on top of the $200 Cleaning Fee!

Patrick's last minute cancellation

(something broken for me on brave with quoting, it always quotes the last post now)

I also saw that people who tried to cancel their reservations well in advance - like a month or more ahead of their stay due to work issues, etc. - only got 50% back.

Including for a multi-month stay when one guy found he wasn't being sent to the area and tried to cancel more than 2 months in advance.

You'd be hard pressed to find a hotel that wouldn't refund somebody entirely for canceling days in advance, much less weeks or months.

Some others were out $1000 because of the Tampa Hurricane, the host cancelled their stay but kept half and AirBnB said it was an Act of Nature despite the State/County declaration of emergency, so they're out half the money.

Some say used a pre-paid disposable Credit/Debit Card so the host and AirBnB can't ding you, but i figure if you need to do that, why bother with AirBnB at all? VRBO isn't much better.

Useless app grift.

Manufacturing matters.

I think that you would have to be a moron to use an Airbnb. I'd expect issues like bedbugs or just finding the place with an Airbnb. I go to hotels several times a year and have never had an issue.

Link to more comprehensive Airbnb thread:
https://patrick.net/post/1340070/2021-07-11-short-term-rentals-airbnb-or-other

Airbnb was bound to fail, it incentivized Lemming Morons to do more Lemming shit.

Case in point, my friends Girl friend has a house in Planation that she rented out to a couple for over 12 years. They recently moved up North. Now at first she was quite content to try find new tenants that were willing to pay what the last tenants were paying around $1900. But when she caught wind, that people were renting out houses like hers from $3500 to $5000 a month. She got greedy and listed it for $4500, it sat for a month, then she lowered it to $4200, then $3800, then $3500. Finally after six months of it sitting vacant(Has HOA as well) She heard that she could make that much by renting one time a week on Airbnb. She did it like three times, and each time they left her with a ton of clean up or repairs. Now the economy is shot, and people aren't able to move into a house and pony up the First, Last and Security. After 2 or perhaps 3 by now, she can't get anyone to rent it even for closer to $2000 that she should have listed it for in the first place.

Oh also she chopped the house up to make a bunch of detached units to rent out on Airbnb. Now she can't rent it as a Single Family home, and She can't sell it, as it is not up to code, and if the HOA finds out what she did, they would fine the hell out of her.

The reason Airbnb was attractive at all, imo, was the ability to enjoy unique locations and/or accommodations. It may be a great opportunity for a larger $$ company to create a string of Airbnbs (shit, Airbnb should do it themselves) where you get what you expect. Could be very successful.

My family has used Airbnb a few times. Since we are a family of five, there’s basically no hotel which would accommodate us in one room, not unless we lie and say we’re a family of four. It’s a pain, and we’ve navigated it many times, sometimes asked to pay extra as a result. But it’s not like you can just put your young kids in a room by themselves!
So we thought Airbnb might be the answer. Kids would have their own room in an apartment or house and we’d have one for ourselves. Might actually get some vacation sex done! Sounded great!
Our experiences have been mixed. The Montana ranch house near Yellowstone was nice enough, and we fit two families of four and five in it. It was nice to have a place to hang out and talk and drink coffee. It was expensive, like $450/night, but split two ways it wasn’t too bad.

The last place we were in Hawaii was less great. Parking was a problem, not easy. The walls and windows were thin, so plenty of noise from other apartments. The AC was from two window units so not consistent. They did leave a box full of mask, snorkels, and fins and we used those for the beaches we visited. I suppose other renters left those. So that was nice.
The location was beach close at least. Very short walk.
Checkout procedure was a bit involved. And the cleaning fee was truly exorbitant at $500. I think total for six nights was about $3500.

Shaman says

So we thought Airbnb might be the answer. Kids would have their own room in an apartment or house and we’d have one for ourselves. Might actually get some vacation sex done! Sounded great!

This. It's why we use VRBO, we've only done Airbnb a couple times. I need my own space. Vacation has an aphrodisiac element to it and sex is legit something to account for and your kids not seeing it. Being in the same room ain't gonna work unless it's a hand/finger job situation.

I'm also probably autistic or some spectrum. I HAVE to have a nice bathroom and shower. Don't care so much for tubs being taller and it's not economical to put a huge tub in. But hotels rarely deliver on that as it's a scale/size issue. Wife needs a TV in the bedroom (fuck that) and I need my big shower... to have sex in. When I post my floor plans on the build, you'll see my personality on the shower size I like.

I procrastinate, but I will start the thread at some point.

I've done Airbnb a few times with differing results. Mexico City trip in 2021 during the pandemic days, booked an apartment that was dog friendly. Because of all of the rules for dogs flying in cabins, our flight to Mexico from LA, California got delayed by 4 hours. We got to the apartment in the evening and not in the late afternoon. We messaged host in MXCity. No response. We arrive MXCITY, No one there. No answer on the phone or message app (fortunately I was lucky to get a vendor at the MxCity airport to swap out our SIM cards for Mexican ones, so we could call people while in Mexico. Our driver dropped us off with two dogs and a shit load of luggage in a part of Mexico City that was not as nice as I'd like, or expected. Driver had given me his card so I called him and he took us to a 5 star hotel where we paid $450 a night for one room but they were pet friendly. Next day rented an incredible triplex apartment for a couple of weeks on Airbnb. The original place called me back the next day and refunded me 50%. I took photos of the seedy entrance door and the street while we waited and posted them on his Airbnb and left him a shitty review.

We continued getting mixed services from Airbnb, but mostly good. One of my least favorite things: Check in by 4 (or 5) PM and check out by 11 (or 10) AM. And, yes, a laundry list of shit to-do. We pick up after our dogs and we are considerate. But don't charge me $500 for cleaning fee and then expect me to do your laundry and dishes.

I’ve always been weary of cameras in AirBnBs… I.e. intimate moment with a significant other.

Sure, it can happen in hotels but I don’t think it’s anywhere as big of a concern.

GNL says

The reason Airbnb was attractive at all, imo, was the ability to enjoy unique locations and/or accommodations. It may be a great opportunity for a larger $$ company to create a string of Airbnbs (shit, Airbnb should do it themselves) where you get what you expect. Could be very successful.

The reason Airbnb doesn't do it is the same reason Uber doesn't own cars and doesn't hire drivers as employees.

https://babylonbee.com/cleanArticle/airbnb-listing-stipulates-you-must-remodel-kitchen-before-checkout

BayArea says

I’ve always been weary of cameras in AirBnBs… I.e. intimate moment with a significant other.

Sure, it can happen in hotels but I don’t think it’s anywhere as big of a concern.

Old comment. I scan them pretty meticulously for cameras if/when we rent one. Specifically where the wife and I are. Anything on the nightstand is suspect #1. I generally unplug anything and set it on the floor. Smoke detector #2. Lights #3. I'll check mirrors but that's not how it's done now.

Look on amazon for hidden cameras and you'll be safe. Just learn to know what you need to look for. Alarm clocks or USB chargers are the biggies. I bring my own and unplug that shit.