I travel a lot and used airbnb for a year or so during their heyday, I greatly preferred them to hotels. I would never go back to them now though. Ever since they started going crazy with the fees and chores, I prefer hotels where you know what you’re getting.
A while ago I got an email about my “planned trip” where I was added as a guest by someone I don’t know to a house on another continent… Because they speak another language there, everything in my email was also in that language I don’t understand as a bonus
It’s been years since I used Airbnb, just never deleted my account.
Apparently anyone can add anyone as a guest to their booking. There’s no way to decline being a guest, it just automatically accepts. There’s no way to cancel on the app yourself. And customer support kept alternating between “there’s no way this could have happened” and “anyone can do it, just block all emails from Airbnb if you don’t want to see it”.
Like, I still can’t get over how they could suggest the fix was just block all emails from their company.
So now my account is fully deleted, and Id advise anyone else with an old account to do the same.
The last thing I need is Airbnb coming after me for damages to a property someone unilaterally decided I was a guest at.
Yeah, like maybe the booker just mistyped someone’s email and somehow got mine? I’d be surprised since my email doesn’t have random numbers or anything that would make it an easy mistake.
But also, if it was a scam to trash the house and have random people on the hook for damages, I have no idea how they got my email.
I have no idea what was going on, just reminded me how bad an idea it is to have an account like that with my personal and financial info just hanging out because “maybe some day Airbnb will stop sucking”.
If that every happens, I can just make a new account. That would be much less of a hassle than fighting a fraudulent charge from another country because Airbnb told me I stayed there.
Indeed. Loved the concept and have had some really great properties. If I can sus out the specific property now, I'll see if they have a direct book and use that instead. I don't mind the simple stuff on exit, that's just polite, nor a small cleaning fee if the nightly cost is low (I think of it as a turning fee), but I hate having to play whack-a-mole on the site to find a property in budget when half of the fees aren't included in the top line.
Except for large parties (me and the parents, or another family joining) in the same location, or the need for a full kitchen, there are few places where ABnB/VRBO has better pricing than major hotels with suites.
Been using airbnb for years- never ran into what you guys are complaining about. Nobody required any extra steps/chores… I do agree that the prices can be wonky- but you see it before you pay…
I'm not sure the prices even are that wonky. The cost to have someone drive to a property, clean it, and wash/dry all the bedding is by far the highest cost of anything related to running a property rental (at least in the US). That's naturally going to make it abnormally expensive for short stays (compared to a hotel) and much cheaper for longer ones.
The problem really is that AirBnB is trying to position itself as an expedia competitor and not a vrbo competitor, and changing that will change how they are valued.
Edit: I think tiering pricing makes more sense here too. A host could easily say that the first night is $350 and subsequent nights are $150 (or something like that) and then it'd represent their cost structure better without explicitly calling out a high cleaning fee.
I think AirBnb screwed up in the same way that eBay did, where they let the price not be the price. In my opinion eBay should have made sellers enter their location and the weight/dims of the item and it'd work out a fair shipping price and not let that be changed.
Was putting 10 hours a day in my work before all that. Still putting the same hours in. Have obviously less purchase power. I don’t see no free time in this… I even had to learn some crafts to survive the inflation so it’s even less “me time” than before…
It seems like everyone would be better off if we did away with tipping and paid works a fair wage instead. Employees would know how much they’re taking home every week, and customers wouldn’t feel pressured about how much they should add on. This is already standard at many restaurants for larger parties. Just do it for everyone, and build the price into the food, rather than as an add-on.
This is partly because they have to do this by law in Australia, so you can go to the Airbnb.au site and use it to book rooms today with these settings.
They are just making the “hack” official to try to end run more laws compelling them to do so.
“Hey, what if we did Uber but for Hotels, except that we make it so its as expensive as a hotel and impose lots of ridiculous rules and expectations of our guests?”
I don’t even look at AB&B anymore when I travel. It used to be a bargain, but between ruining local real estate markets and the general asshattery of most AB&B owners, I’ll just stick with hotels.
One time I shared an Airbnb to try to cut costs on a trip. I got there around 4pm and hated it so much that by noon the next day I had already booked a hotel.
I just do king suites now since they’re about the same price as a double but include free breakfast, a kitchenette, extra pullout couch, etc. Cheaper than an Airbnb with the same (or more) amenities.
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