This reads like DARVO - Corporate Edition with a derogatory jab towards free time and unions both.
I work 30h now too and thus I suppose this is aimed at people like me, but tell you what: the job I applied to was actually only approved by HR/payroll for 30h max, the company doesn‘t WANT to pay more than this and they knew they wouldn‘t find anyone experienced to sell 40h of their life for such a measly salary.
So we managed to find a mutually beneficial agreement, I get to live and exist like a frugal monk, perpetually renting and never owning anything (the European dream!), and they filled a position at 70%, pocketing 30% of the salary they would have had to pay to attract a full time worker.
Now, how is it my fault I can’t spend like an American and the economy stagnates then? It‘s maybe a shared responsibility, but truly, the company is the one in charge here and if they told me I have to work full time and get that 30% more pay too, I probably would (since I kinda like my current job oddly enough and don‘t want to switch again yet).
Americans are becoming poorer. 'Yes, We’re All Worse Off." A middle class overworked by its CEO set the stage for economic regression. Then came greedflation and federal rates increases.
I travel for work. Just stay at a Hampton Inn. Always coffee, breakfast, clean. Not to mention its usually close to whatever you want to go to. The garden Inn is good also, as well as holiday express. I don’t like double tree, even though they give you cookies.
Also Hamptons have a shuttle to theme parks in Orlando. Its really easy to wake up and eat breakfast then get driven to the park. Done need to worry about parking, where to get breakfast or how to get back.
I’m not traveling for work. I’m traveling with my friends, for pleasure.
Last week a group of us went to Boston for the weekend. We got an Air BnB downtown. It was like a large apartment. It is far more pleasurable and easier for the group to be in that type of setting. We can socialize, make plans, and all leave at the same time as a group. This saves time.
The alternative of having each couple have their own hotel room is more expensive, less efficient, and less enjoyable.
I don’t care about Hampton Inn breakfast. I care about my mates.
I’ve been using airbnb for month-long rentals across Europe and I still haven’t found a good alternative.
There are no hotels that offer even remotely similar apartment size/price ratios. And I prefer apartments specifically, living in a hotel for a long time is just weird. All my airbnb hosts for the last two years have also been great. Btw, all were actual apartment owners, so none of that corporate crap. Many were helpful showing interesting places or best restaurants/shops around the neighbourhood.
On the other hand, local rental services and websites either have listings that start at 3+ months, or are completely unreliable, either taking weeks to reply or changing their mind on price or availability a few days before the arrival date.
And airbnb in Europe had that checkbox to display the final price since forever, so you’re not getting unknowingly ripped off anyway.
Is there something usable besides airbnb for 1–1.5 month long rentals across EU? At this point I’m not sure if it’s even a good idea to look for one.
Lol good luck with Latin America. It’s pretty split between China and the US Empire/“the west”.
With the recent small wave of “left leaning” politicians winning in many places, many started to turn to China again.
And all in all China is a more attractive partner, because they usually pursue more equal deals compared to the IMF/“west”. Also they don’t call the global south a “jungle” while saying Europe is a garden lmao
But it doesn’t matter. In some years the US backed political parties will win again (after magically arresting another opponent, or killing them, couping them etc.) and turn to the EU and US again.
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.
"values its free time set the stage for economic stagnation", those damned People wishing to not be slaves for the ultra wealthy are to blame, not the wealthy's looting and corruption! /s
A union of guys who are paid to break up protests and strikes doesn't really count as a union, especially when they have guns but most of the elected officials don't.
It’s a union - and an extremely powerful one at that. You can wish and hope all you want that it isn’t, but it is and shows just the kind of corruption and bullshit unions can be.
A union of seamstresses is not going to be able to hold the city hostage. Hell, even when Hoffa was running the teamsters--The most infamous example of union corruption in history--he couldn't get a clause in the contract where a guy who killed a guy on the job got to keep his job.
Unions have long outlived their usefulness in the US. In other parts of the world, unions are still very important and seem to be able to operate without turning into pure corrupt bullshit. In the US? Not so much. With money comes corruption and we can’t seem to get things right here. Either we have corporate bullshit or union bullshit and neither of them are good for workers or the country as a whole.
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.
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