Anybody used AirBnB

globalds

More a discussion than specifically about travelling to one place so I put it here.

Has anyone had experience of booking and using AirBnB ?

I have just sent a request for a room and wondered what others thought ?

PompeyPete

Used Airbnb twice last year.

A homestay for a week just outside the Kathmandu (Nepal) ringroad in March. Stayed with a Hindu family, and it was a wonderful experience. We were totally immersed, and even ate with the family in the evening, discussing what we'd done that day, what we'd do going the following day, our different lifestyles, families, travel, jobs. You name it, we discussed it.

Then in September we had a week in Sanur (Bali), which was alright, but nowhere near as absorbing as our Kathmandu experience.

There's all sorts of places in all price ranges on Airbnb. But you really have to do your homework, and make sure that you read the individual property details thoroughly, the location, availability of public transport, etc.

holidaysforme

Used for the first time earlier this year in Spain and had a very positive experience. I would definitely use again.

globalds

I will be booking a studio apartment in KL.

The reviews seem spot on ..It does say you can go for a beer with the owner if you want ..I probably will if he can find me a good restaurant

PasturesNew

I used it once in the UK to find a cheap hotel when I was relocating, but I didn't go through the site as I could work out from the advert who/where the hotel was and looked at their website, then phoned them direct and got a better deal for a 3 week stay (single room, three weeks, B&B, peak UK holiday season, £150/week or so I think).

globalds

PasturesNew wrote: »

I used it once in the UK to find a cheap hotel when I was relocating, but I didn't go through the site as I could work out from the advert who/where the hotel was and looked at their website, then phoned them direct and got a better deal for a 3 week stay (single room, three weeks, B&B, peak UK holiday season, £150/week or so I think).

Smart Idea

asajj

The main idea behind AirBnB is/was that people would rent their own home/spare room and this would create a global network.
AirBnB of course has become popular and hotels / commercial property owners are now advertising on it.

I have used AirBnB several times and my best experience was in Northern Europe with it (Denmark, Sweden) while my worst was in London. To me, it doesn't worth it to use in London for instance.

I'd suggest to make a list first then eliminate some of them from your list with whatever requirement you may have. For instance, I will always look for free wi-fi.

It is also worth looking at whether "owner" has other properties listed. You may notice one user listing 5 different properties within the same building and sometimes they are identical/similar but have different prices.

Personally, I wouldn't use AirBnB to stay in an apartment that is hold for commercial purposes however nowadays it is becoming more difficult to identify this.

Also check whether owner requires you to clean up before leaving or washing beddings etc as I failed to read the requirement once and owner wasn't happy (she still left a positive feedback though).

Shelly_P

yes! I can't recommend more, its so much more cheap and its so personal and feels like you're at home - plus all the home amenities that overpriced hotels cant provide