Airbnb's in London

Timalay

Has anyone ever stayed in an Airbnb in London before, instead of a Hotel?  What has been people's experience of them?

itsthelittlethings

I have stayed in two, good experiences in both. I think both were “rarely available “ which is a mark of being pretty good.

elsien

I always presume that the rarely available tag is just a marketing ploy to get you to book.

Cairnpapple

I've stayed in 4 London airbnbs but the last time was 2018 so maybe not reflective of the current market. 2 were people's actual flats that they let while away (one on holiday, the other on business travel) and they were excellent.  The other 2 were full time airbnbs and they were a bit soulless but the locations were good for what we wanted. I also used to stay in apartments pre-airbnb when you'd just get some random text listing and like 2 photos

Good if you need a kitchen but the price difference over a hotel is not what it used to be and I'm not that comfortable ethically with the full time airbnbs. I would still use airbnb if staying in someone's own home or annex or obvious holiday accommodation. 

For London specifically I think it's most useful if you already have an idea of the area/s you want to stay in, otherwise it's very overwhelming and you might end up somewhere you don't want to be. 

DullGreyGuy

In London you are limited to 90 days per year for short term lets, inc AirBnB, any more than that you need planning permisison. It may slightly change the mix of what's available as a consequence -v- other cities where there are no restrictions. 

Outside of that it's no different to any other place, other than cost, and there will be some good places and probably some not so good ones.