I'm looking into renting a house when we visit family in Florida this summer. We always feel like we are taking over when we visit family and now with 2 more kids it'll just be too much! Hello, would you wanted to be invaded by a family of 9!?! Plus we usually stay with my SIL and they only have 2 extra bedrooms...not really enough for us now. Wondering if any of you have experience renting houses through places like Airbnb?
When I stayed in Korea for a month, I went exclusively through Air BnB, I loved it, the people (renters) were AMAZING, the place was perfect and just as it advertised. Next time I go, I'll be doing the same!! So yes, I definitely recommend it. I DID have one problem while I was staying but the landlady met with me IMMEDIATELY. Do it, you'll love it and appreciate the freedom and peace that comes with it!! Double check all the photos and then message a few, those that write back IMMEDIATELY are worth every penny, they'll do what they can to make sure your stay is flawless.
I've never used Airbnb myself but I know someone at work who has on several occasions. She has never had any issues and she's always been happy to recommend them to others.
I have always heard so many positive things, nothing bad so far. We have some gorgeous homes and locations here ... I would love to stay myself, lol! As a family traveller, I would have loved this when we had littles.
Yes! I've gone through homeaway.com a few different times, always had a good experience. Last summer we stayed in a small place in downtown Philadelphia. It was the same cost as a hotel, but more space, a kitchen, and I loved being in the neighborhood as opposed to a busier area where hotels are. All of our experiences have been good ones, I'd recommend it for sure!
Yes we love it. I used it for a few stays recently in Hongkong and China. All worked out really well. Just check out reviews before booking.
Yes, we do it all the time. We don't stay in hotels. The reason is the greyhounds. We can find REAL dog friendly places. Most hotels say they are dog friendly and then they have BIG BUTS.... like under 35 lbs, or only 1 dog or ridiculous fees.
Love it and I rarely look for hotels any more. It's so much more convenient and comfortable. I have only had one problem and that was a young not experienced couple who didn't know old ladies go to the bathroom more often. They never talked to me about until I left. I just learned to talk with my hosts if they have any concerns I should be aware of. Communicate with your hosts before so you know the boundaries for kids. Most experienced hosts have a home notebook with a lot of that info anyway.but there may be areas of the yard that are off limits or something like that. I love Sorbonne. We just booked for. Memorial Day weekend and hope to meet up with Zane, our youngest. Will the oldest will be traveling with us too so we would have needed 2 rooms. Good luck and read the reviews.
hate to be the bearer of bad news but family have had issues with 1 out of 3 airbnb places so has gone back to tried and true hostel accomodation. She complained and ended up getting a refund I believe and the host was no longer able to host through Airbnb. Definitely agree about checking profiles, reviews, pictures etc as some are great.
Thanks for all of the input! Looks like most of you have had great experiences, that's good to hear! The first thing I do, before I get excited about a place, is to read all the reviews. We are definitely going to rent a house this summer for a week...I'll let you know how it goes. Um, gorgeous! I want to go there.
Good luck, Liz. I read all the comments because I have booked a house in NC for November from HomeAway. It looks good on the internet and the host has been responsive so far but I still have my fingers crossed that all will go well.
We have done a lot of homeway/vrbo in England (London, Harrogate, Bath) Italy (Orvieto, Genoa) and then airbnb in the US. When I've gone on my own I've stayed in a room of my own but in someone's home. Together, we've stayed in places where we have the whole place - one in London may have been airbnb. The only problem I've had was not realizing quite how much of a hippie one host was. When she said I had the use of the whole place, I did not realize others (not her) would also have access. There was never any real issue but I just was not prepared for the Taos lifestyle, though I should have been. All in all it was a really interesting experience and I don't regret any of it. Now I want to book some place!
Yes. I had a good experience, although the I was unaware of how chatty the host would be. That said, we looked into Airbnb in Anaheim. There were a ton of options cheaper the hotels. But in diving deep into reviews (and I mean deep, because the places were all highly rated) we found a lot were little mobile homes that had been divided into 5 or 6 rooms, and you shared it with other people. Even though it said full house. So I'm leary of it, especially in more touristy areas.
Sarita and her friends love it, and I have two friends in Barcelona who are in the AirBnB list..... Now, I would think for you, with the space you need, you being a whole family, it will always be cheaper.... but Sarita tells me you need to look at prices. She booked us a hotel when we went to Barcelona last year that was actually cheaper than 4 of the AirBnB she looked at in that area. We had to be in a good location because of my mobility impairments (otherwise we spend our life on taxis) and she found that the AirBnBs in that area had the same price as the 4 stars hotels.... But I imagine for you it will always be cheaper so , yes, go head. The great thing these days is that you can read reviews too.... Sarita decided to go for the hotel after she saw that the AirBnB that had the best price had stairs so it was a no no for us... but oince again, I[m sure it will be a great thing for you guys!!!!
We have a lot of friends who love Airbnb, we haven't used them mainly because we always stay right in the middle of where we stay and we are generally travelling in the christmas/ new years period so thats when airbnb prices get far more expensive and hotels are cheaper then. If we were staying longer in one place or had a bigger family likr Liz, then would definitely give it a go.
