Anyone tried Airbnb for traveling?

Hi,

Anyone used this service for accommodations? How was it? Positive or negative?

I *may* be able to take a vacation at some point this year, don't know where am going to go yet though, but can't do the hotel thing, and would like a step-up from hostels If I can manage it. This seems like a good alternative to hostels and less expensive than hotels.

yes, love it, it is great. i would recommend it.

yes, love it, it is great. i would recommend it.

Cool! Which country did you stay in, if you don't mind me asking?

I rent my place out using airbnb. I also have a few friends who used it to rent places. The place that I rent out is in California. My friends rented places in France and I think a few other European countries. I have never had a bad experience with the guests staying at our place. My friends who rented places also had very good experiences. As far as I can tell it's a reliable website and there are a lot of protections on there for both the renter and the guest. Definitely a good alternative to hostels (although, I do work at a hostel, so I personally love staying in them as well).

My husband and I just booked a place to stay in for our trip to Nashville. That'll be our first time using it.

My friend in Chicago rents her apt out and so far has had no issues except for when she took the sheets off th bed in the guest room, she found a used condom wrapped in them. Gross!That's her only bad experience so far though.

Love AirBnb. We use it as both guests and hosts. As a guest, I've stayed on a beautiful boat in London, an apartment in San Francisco, an apartment in Toronto, a room in Brooklyn and a room in Hong Kong. I just booked three nights on a upcoming trip to Geneva where I'll be renting just a room. Most places were incredibly clean and well decorated (except for the one in Brooklyn but I knew that upon booking).

I really like AirBnB because you can have fun and quite luxurious accommodations, and also very cheap convenient ones, and you can decide depending on the trip you are planning to take. Also, if you are just booking a room, you can stumble accross incredible hosts.

I used to do Couchsurfing, and that was really fun, but I would only recommend that if you are in your early twenties and preferably with a friend. Just because it's such an adventure and you never know what to expect so it's a lot to handle if you don't want any surprises.

Awesome thanks everyone!!

Airbnb is awesome and may be an even better alternative to hotels. They are based where I live so I've used them a lot and I'm doing it again in April for my trip to France and Belgium.

Ya, I can't do the hotel thing or BnB thing because I need to have access to cooking facilities. So I could stay in hostels, and I have done the hostel thing, but I would like a step-up, you know? It seems like a great service, but I was unsure if it might be rife with sketchiness, but seems like it isn't!

Acutally, with airbnb you would likely have access to a kitchen. I did it in the US and northern europe. It was great, all the hosts said i could use the kitchen (actually in europe i had the entire apt to myself). it was great. very clean, very nice, more homey and comfortable than a sterile hotel room.

Acutally, with airbnb you would likely have access to a kitchen. I did it in the US and northern europe. It was great, all the hosts said i could use the kitchen (actually in europe i had the entire apt to myself). it was great. very clean, very nice, more homey and comfortable than a sterile hotel room.

Ya that is why I am considering it. Though I wasn't sure if I would have access to the kitchen if I just rented a room, I have been browsing around the website and it seems that many places do offer kitchen access with room rentals, and not just if you rent the whole apt or house.

You can always email the host and ask what is their policy on cooking. The last place I stayed said I could cook (i didn't) but they had 'quiet hours' from 10-8.

Ya I figured I would ask directly just to be sure, sometimes it says in the description that there is a kitchen, but sometimes not.

Yes, I've used airbnb to stay in new york city for a few days. I'd have to say, be careful with your selection. I wrote to several airbnb hosts and ended up staying with the first airbnb hosts that said yes to my request. Problem is, you can't tell what age the people are, so I had assumed they were in their early 30s like me. Nope, they were in their early twenties -which I didn't realize would be a problem but it was. They were pleasant for the most part, and since I was out and about most of the days I didn't really deal with them much, but on my last night at their place, the young airbnb hosts had gone out clubbing and I had gone to bed. All of a sudden at 3AM in the morning these hosts come crashing into the place with a bunch of friends and turn up the music full blast -so that woke me up of course. It was seriously awkward and I really didn't know what to do, so I just stayed in bed and did my best to cover my ears and try to fall asleep again. At some point somehow I did sleep, but then, next thing you know I'm awake again because I can hear the airbnb hosts having loud sex in the next room.

Needless to say, I'm wary of using airbnb again, and if I do, I'm going to ask a LOT of questions of the airbnb hosts before I fork over any money. I'm pretty sure those kids used my money to go clubbing, lol. At the end I honestly would have been better off staying at an expensive hotel, and for me, I think I'm just going to do the hotel thing from now on.

What exactly is airbnb? I'm planning a trip to New York soon. Is it a sort of a bed and breakfast thing, hence "bnb"? I wouldn't need it for New York as I'll be staying at my friend's place, but... Is this also international? Just in case, for when I do international?

What exactly is airbnb? I'm planning a trip to New York soon. Is it a sort of a bed and breakfast thing, hence "bnb"? I wouldn't need it for New York as I'll be staying at my friend's place, but... Is this also international? Just in case, for when I do international?

Ya it is international as well. So it's basically regular people renting out condos, rooms, or homes for travelers to stay in. Not like a traditional BnB because it isn't really regulated, so there is potential for sketchiness, but it seems like most reviews are very positive.

Look like my proposed trip is not happening this year anyway, so airbnb will have to wait

I't a lovely idea cause you can rent a whole flat for a low cost! I was in Barcelona and Paris and I used it and it was wonderful!