living next to an unregulated hotel room is kind of a drag, especially if there is any kind of shared or communal space. the og intent--monetize that spare bedroom!--makes perfect sense but enabling ppl to rent a mess of apartments and then airbnb em out to randos is kinda problematic imo
― adam, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 18:05 (ten years ago) link
airbnb owns, especially if you have kids tbh
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 18:07 (ten years ago) link
yea, with a small child i could not imagine a vacation in which we are all in one shared room without a kitchen
― marcos, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 18:11 (ten years ago) link
I will only be investigating unshared spaces, going solo.
― images of war violence and historical smoking (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 18:29 (ten years ago) link
http://nypost.com/2014/03/17/airbnb-renter-claims-he-returned-home-to-an-orgy/
― real myst opportunity (sleepingbag), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 18:57 (ten years ago) link
we stayed at a lovely place in islington when we took a vacation to london. location was great, the host had provided alot of amenities and guide books.. even power converters. was also way more attractive price than some wack ass hotel in a bad location.
people should take advantage before the business model gets destroyed by litigation and the big hotel companies. no way they will stand to let these guys host people without regulation, insurance, etc.
― panettone for the painfully alone (mayor jingleberries), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 19:25 (ten years ago) link
I stayed in the St Pancras clock tower on my birthday, total surprise. Place was fucking awesome so I am firmly in the 'classic' camp.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 19:31 (ten years ago) link
Lookin at this for nyc in september good to hear all the posi experiences
― treeship's assailing (darraghmac), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 20:05 (ten years ago) link
ok! looked for a air bnb thread a couple of weeks ago and didn't see anything. nice to hear folks are having good experiences. looking forward to using for trips to NOLA and Vancouver in the near future.
― condo associations are people my friend (will), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 20:12 (ten years ago) link
airbnb allows me to explore my fantasy of living in various craftsman bungalows throughout the central and western US
― marcos, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 20:15 (ten years ago) link
I find it essential for Paris... the equivalent airbnb for a basic hotel room is significantly higher in quality and location.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 20:18 (ten years ago) link
Used it in NYC and it was p amazing for hardly any money
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 21:44 (ten years ago) link
Classic based on my Chicago trip last year.
― If I had hands and you had a neck (WilliamC), Tuesday, 18 March 2014 22:39 (ten years ago) link
Had a good exp in DC, one-bedroom more than big enough for lil ol' me. She left beers in the fridge I didn't even have time to drink.
― images of war violence and historical smoking (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 1 April 2014 18:58 (nine years ago) link
I'm down with this whole idea but I don't like the idea of turning up in a strange city and the house owner suddenly being absent for some reason. I'm assuming there's some protection for instances of this happening but at least with a hotel there's a sense of security.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 1 April 2014 19:33 (nine years ago) link
i don't like the thought of the house owner being anywhere near me tbh
― fauxpas cola (darraghmac), Tuesday, 1 April 2014 19:39 (nine years ago) link
classic - we stayed in a converted garage two blocks from santa monica beach for way way way less than a hotel in the same area. owner lived in the main house but left us alone, place wasn't fancy but had a full kitchen, a large-ish bedroom and living room area that could be partitioned by a heavy curtain, and owner allowed us to bring our dog for no extra fee.
― just1n3, Tuesday, 1 April 2014 19:46 (nine years ago) link
http://www.theonion.com/articles/airbnb-user-loves-how-easy-website-makes-it-to-eja,35949/
― Darin, Tuesday, 6 May 2014 15:08 (nine years ago) link
I'm keen to try this but really really don't want to have to even see/socialize/talk to owners
I have friends who host and they are fully into the taking their guests around and showing them the city, hanging out etc and i'm just like nooooooooooooo thank you
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 18:57 (nine years ago) link
you can look for the hands-off situations, i never met my host.
― images of war violence and historical smoking (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 18:58 (nine years ago) link
accidentally airbnb'd in a hippie cult sex drug compound recently
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:03 (nine years ago) link
I didn't get much sleep due to didgeridoo
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:05 (nine years ago) link
uh oh I'm having to recount the entire affair, please
― imago, Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:06 (nine years ago) link
uh that's offputting
― james lipton and his francs (darraghmac), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:07 (nine years ago) link
it's a really funny story but was a huge inconvenience at the time, I'll prob post abt it on 77 at some point
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:08 (nine years ago) link
it was prob worse than what a stereotypical bad sketch comedy bit on airbnb would be
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:09 (nine years ago) link
sorry to speak all cryptically, just wanted to say that I have had great experiences w/ airbnb but I now know that it's possible to accidentally book a hippie cult sex drug compound
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:11 (nine years ago) link
Used it again this weekend to book a place in Austin. Great experience, as always.
― EZ Snappin, Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:15 (nine years ago) link
please tell story on 77 xp
― marcos, Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:16 (nine years ago) link
there's at least one airbnb place on every block near my house, in a city with a hugely depleted stock of rental properties and already-skyrocketing rents and ten million billion hotel rooms. i find this problematic.
― adam, Tuesday, 6 May 2014 19:30 (nine years ago) link
I just booked a big farmhouse in NH for a week. The rate is so cheap I'm wondering if there might be a (n unpleasant) surprise awaiting our arrival. THe owner seems super chill and didn't have any problem with the fact that our party will include 8+ kids. should i be concerned?
― tobo73, Tuesday, 6 May 2014 20:20 (nine years ago) link
I have never socialised (or even had the opportunity to socialise) with a host. Sometimes you meet them at check-in/out, sometimes you don't see them at all.
― popchips: the next snapple? (seandalai), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 20:36 (nine years ago) link
the whole airbnb thing just seems like a big ugly mess just waiting to happen... like an ideal scenario for unsavory people to take advantage of others.
― Darin, Tuesday, 6 May 2014 21:53 (nine years ago) link
that's what they said about christianity, maaaan
― james lipton and his francs (darraghmac), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 22:03 (nine years ago) link
........
yep, proceed with caution, as always.
― images of war violence and historical smoking (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 May 2014 22:11 (nine years ago) link
Problem with Airbnb is that people can be unwilling to write bad reviews or point out bad parts of a trip if they've gotten to know the owner
I know that when you review you can tell the owner stuff in private
But who knows if the owners ever actually act on it
― 龜, Tuesday, 6 May 2014 23:48 (nine years ago) link
would stay
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Wednesday, 25 June 2014 16:26 (nine years ago) link
lol
― marcos, Wednesday, 25 June 2014 18:16 (nine years ago) link
http://valleywag.gawker.com/the-worst-airbnb-in-the-universe-22-beds-in-one-apartm-1630029953
Lol @ this pearl clutching
― 龜, Thursday, 4 September 2014 17:25 (nine years ago) link
I love the idea in principle. In practice, I used it once and it was a total disaster since it turned out host's definition of "nonsmoking" meant something more like "I'm not personally a smoker but obviously when you have people over, they smoke, what did you expect, and when I say I'm not a smoker, I mean I don't smoke every day, but usually when I smoke I smoke on the porch, OK, not every single time" and we ended up in a foreign country with no place to stay because the place reeked.
Another friend got to his airBnB only to find that the host wouldn't accept his service dog so he too was in a strange city and SOL. Hotels, under ADA, are required to admit service animals; airBnB rentals are not.
So it's a funny thing -- I would probably try this again at some point, because I love the idea of staying in a house with a kitchen instead of a hotel room, but in practice I've really come up against the fact that there's some actual value to regulation and knowing exactly what you're getting!
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 4 September 2014 17:33 (nine years ago) link
he didn't think of mentioning he had a service dog?
you'd rather be homeless than smell cigarettes?
trying this for the first time sat night btw hi
― nakh is the wintour of our diss content (darraghmac), Thursday, 4 September 2014 17:44 (nine years ago) link
sorry that's coming across harsh but both of those seem like strangeness to me, is all
― nakh is the wintour of our diss content (darraghmac), Thursday, 4 September 2014 17:45 (nine years ago) link
just letting u know darraghmac, if there's a disaster u CANNOT stay at my place
it's a gamble to be sure, but hotels (cheap ones anyway) are too.
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 4 September 2014 17:47 (nine years ago) link
(I would NEVER stay at one where the host was around)
well, same as that, so yr place was academical I guess
― nakh is the wintour of our diss content (darraghmac), Thursday, 4 September 2014 17:51 (nine years ago) link
this is still libertarian techy faux utopian bullshit and airbnb's smug, plentiful subway ads are just insulting.
― adam, Thursday, 4 September 2014 17:51 (nine years ago) link
viva la regulatory state
― adam, Thursday, 4 September 2014 17:52 (nine years ago) link
― nakh is the wintour of our diss content (darraghmac), Thursday, 4 September 2014 17:52 (nine years ago) link
bet if eve saw a hot shit apt for cheap on it you'd find yourselves yrself overruled p sharpish
The reverse is happening in Joshua Tree, where frightened Angelenos are trying to escape the city.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-22/californians-flee-cities-as-coronavirus-pandemic-spreads
― nickn, Wednesday, 25 March 2020 02:15 (four years ago) link
And in googling this story I found a place out there that calls itself "The Gaslight."
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/42228923?source_impression_id=p3_1585102174_fWmUOnxm9QmMLvfs
― nickn, Wednesday, 25 March 2020 02:17 (four years ago) link
San Bernardino County (which includes Joshua Tree) has ordered airbnb’s to shut down fyi
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 25 March 2020 02:21 (four years ago) link
They could switch to long-term rentals now, I suppose. Even if it ends up being a short term situation.
― nickn, Wednesday, 25 March 2020 02:28 (four years ago) link
coworker just moved out of a situation where her landlord decided (midway through her contract) to convert the vacant rooms in the house into airbnbs. every week there'd be a new set of random people roaming around, sharing amenities, complete nightmare
― ℺ ☽ ⋠ ⏎ (✖), Wednesday, 25 March 2020 03:14 (four years ago) link
christ, I couldn't handle that. can barely handle the steady roommates
― sorry for butt rockin (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 25 March 2020 03:22 (four years ago) link
Yeah that's a nightmare. I could barely handle when other units in my complex turned into short term rentals. But at least I was only renting. Felt so bad for the retirees who bought condos in that complex years ago only to have it all go to shit due to rich fucks from Phoenix buying up all possible units and turning them into airbnbs.
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Wednesday, 25 March 2020 03:48 (four years ago) link
Like for real I've had bad dreams where there's somehow strangers living in my home legally
― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Wednesday, 25 March 2020 03:49 (four years ago) link
I called them step-brothers.
― pplains, Wednesday, 25 March 2020 03:56 (four years ago) link
Don't know why I expect more from a single room single night stay in london than a man wearing only shorts opening the door and communicating in little more than grunts that the room is upstairs.
― organ doner (ledge), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:17 (three months ago) link
So just a room in someone's house? I don't think I knew that was a thing!
― Benson and the Jets (ENBB), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:24 (three months ago) link
Utter classic, the future of holidaying
― imago, Tuesday, 18 March 2014 16:25 (nine years ago) bookmarkflaglink
innocent days
― imago, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:32 (three months ago) link
Really? We occasionally let a room in our old 3 bed flat and maybe there a still a few friendly families out there doing that but this definitely looked like a 'landlord has converted property into short term rentals' deal, perhaps with a couple of long term tenants to do the most perfunctory 'check in'.
xp indeed.
― organ doner (ledge), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:33 (three months ago) link
still using it this weekend for a one-night stay in todmorden as there really wasn't much in the way of hotels
but in general, booking hotels is at this point both nicer and cheaper than even an ethical cabin-in-the-garden airbnb
― imago, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:39 (three months ago) link
my issue with AirBNBs is snafus that happen that could never happen in a hotel.
one time, it was a multi-room AirBNB that had a self-entry lock on the door, but I couldn't get in because one of the other idiot tenants had locked the door with the second lock that had "DO NOT LOCK" written on it in tape. then he berated me, suggesting I wasn't really a tenant when he answered and I had to get the actual host to message everyone to say do not lock the door that says do not lock.
a second time, I put some stuff in the room to go to a concert, and then when I came back, the code stopped working on the door. the host wouldn't answer the phone so I had to give up and leave. thankfully all I left in there was contact lens solution. I got a refund though by disputing with Paypal lol
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:46 (three months ago) link
My experience has generally been very good. A couple of kind of funny ones--I once rented a "room" in Beverly Hills that was essentially a balcony converted to a very narrow sleeping space--but overall good and interesting experiences.
That said, I did have one situation that freaked me out--it was an entire apartment that I was supposed to have for a few days. I walked in, and it was obvious that someone was already staying there. There was a bag of warm food on the coffee table, the bed was unmade, the toilet (which was not flushing) was full of piss. I noped out of there immediately. On my way out, I noticed for the first time (still not sure why I didn't notice on my way in) that someone had splashed red paint on the front door.
I messaged the landlord and she never responded. I did get my money back.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:46 (three months ago) link
had you seen the movie Barbarian first, y/n
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:50 (three months ago) link
I still haven't seen it lol
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:51 (three months ago) link
I don't think I've told my horrible air bnb story here.
This was the first Christmas during the pandemic, and the kids were stir crazy and we had to be outside to see the grandparents and everything kind of sucked anyways. We decided to surprise the kids by booking a cabin in the woods not far from my parents. They would be somewhere new, my parents could come by for easy visits, it would be a nice long weekend getaway. The place got good reviews and I booked it.
Christmas eve morning we tell the kids and they're so damn excited. We've already packed their bags, we load up and go. We get there and outside of the house there are a couple of trash bins and they are overflowing with trash. There are some muddy boots by the front door. A couple of dogs from a neighbor's yard run under the fence and start barking at us, but not overly aggressively. Okay, this is fine, this will be fun!
We get in and try to get comfortable. Each of our kids has a bedroom and my wife and I have a separate room. One of the kid's window unit heaters is so noisy that we can't use it. There are holes in the walls that you can see daylight through. There's a weird cabinet thing in the living room that has remnants of dog food in it. As we start getting into the kitchen stuff we're finding mouse droppings *everywhere*. The house is grimy. We find a hypodermic needle in my youngest daughter's closet, on the floor. The oven was disgusting, like somebody cooked a frozen pizza upside down on the rack and it all melted into the bottom. Switch plates are missing on the light switches with wires poking out. No clothes hangers in the closets. muddy dog footprints on the windows. The mattress in our room is the worst thing I have ever laid down upon. STILL, the kids are having fun because they're kids. I message with the owner, SCOOTER, and she is sort of apologetic, although she says that mouse droppings are something that happens with country living. I let her know that I grew up in this area and my home was not covered in mouse feces. She offers a refund, I say no, my kids are having fun, this is a Christmas present, let's try to make it work. She says that a cleaning lady can come over at 11am.
So we wake up, wash everything that we need to make breakfast several times, then move our stuff out so the cleaning lady can come in. We don't want to be in the house with the cleaning lady because of covid. The rough looking cleaning lady shows up at 10:45. We ask her to wait while we get out. We get out at 11:02. I have a message from SCOOTER, from 11:00, saying that the cleaning is complaining that we will not let her in. Because of this, she insists that we get out and she will give us a full refund. For some reason, I'm still trying to make this work but SCOOTER is having none of it. Because we have some sort of standards, she wants us the fuck out of there. By now, my parents have shown up to open presents and everything. I tell SCOOTER that we're going to do that, and we'll leave.
We pack up and leave. While on the way to Houston we find another Airbnb in Galveston that is actually nice and the kids have fun but I'm kind of a shit the rest of the weekend because I want to burn down SCOOTER's shitty cabin. I still want to burn it down.
I leave a review that details everything I wrote above, with photos, in a professional tone. In a prior, review, someone mentioned the dogs that came over and they knew the names of the dogs and it was implied that the dogs belonged to SCOOTER. So, in my review I mentioned SCOOTER's dogs. I received a notice that my review was being removed because it contained information that was not true. I called them up and said what the fuck. They said that those dogs did not belong to SCOOTER, and because I had information that was not true, the entire review was deleted. I could not edit the review or write a new review. I said what the fuck. They said tough shit.
So, fuck SCOOTER, and fuck Airbnb, I hope they both burn in hell. I just checked out her listing and all of the reviews are uniformly positive. I do not understand.
― Cow_Art, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 14:52 (three months ago) link
Oh, I stayed in a really nice holiday apartment in Todmorden for Torfest last year - I think it's on airbnb but it looked like you could also rent directly from them. Just in case you need one again.
I've only ever used airbnb a few times and never had a terrible experience, but they do seem awful tbh. My feeling is that 'gig economy' stuff works okay on a v small scale, but once it spreads and becomes a normalised way of working, it's exploitative and shit. I guess the selling point when uber and deliveroo and airbnb first came into existence was that they were supposed to be 'side hustle' jobs, and they literally had no plan for becoming primary jobs (except to fuck over everybody and run away with a load of money).
― emil.y, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 15:02 (three months ago) link
xpost jesus christ. maybe she is getting ALL of the bad reviews taken down on 'misinformation'.
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 15:03 (three months ago) link
I am imagining Cow_Art's story being about HP Baxxter from Scooter, it's a bit more fun that way.
― emil.y, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 15:05 (three months ago) link
My feeling is that 'gig economy' stuff works okay on a v small scale, but once it spreads and becomes a normalised way of working, it's exploitative and shit
otm
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 15:05 (three months ago) link
SCOOTER: Those are rat droppings not mouse droppings. Please remove this review as it contains untrue information.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 15:09 (three months ago) link
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/46087930?source_impression_id=p3_1702480399_ceES%2BIjmOdGM90VI
Here's the place. Pretty sure those are the same photos from three years ago. It looks nice from the listing! Even the tetherball was gone when we were there. Just a rope dangling from a pole.
― Cow_Art, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 15:15 (three months ago) link
there was one time I stayed at a place as I was going to a Judas Priest show, and I was only at the place very shortly before the show. so I came back drunk, and the house was pitch black, and I was stumbling along with my phone flashlight (since I couldn't find the light switches), got to what I thought was my room, opened the door, to find another female guest lying in bed asleep. was fairly surprised because the listing had mentioned nothing of this being a shared space with other roommates, I had thought I had the place to myself.
I quickly backed out and shut the door, startled, then found my room. the next day, the Host asked me about it, as the guest had mentioned it to them (understandably!). I apologized for scaring the guest and said it was dark and thought it was my room but I'd accidentally opened the wrong door. He responded "Or maybe you were looking for some action?".
I said "you didn't even fucking indicate in the listing or in your email to me there'd be other guests, how could I have done it on purpose? I completely understand why the other guest was startled, I would be too if a complete stranger walked into my room. But you didn't tell either of us there would be other guests staying!"
he was apologetic.
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 15:22 (three months ago) link
xpost oh no re: tetherball!
One of my favorites was the carriage house in Sacramento that was completely decorated in a log cabin, Twin Peaks theme.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 14 December 2023 21:48 (three months ago) link
omg. would want to stay there. themed places can be great.
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Thursday, 14 December 2023 22:06 (three months ago) link
apparently lots of people rent via AirBNB that shouldn't/aren't allowed to? I stayed one place that was built like a hostel in Miami, and the owner wrote many times on the front page "don't ask about or mention Airbnb or ask neighbors where the Airbnb is, or I will put you off the proprety", and I didn't get why he'd be saying that, but then it seemed like maybe he lived somewhere where it was a violation to do Airbnb and he was afraid of getting shut down. but why write it so prominently on your listing? easy way to get caught, more discreet way of ensuring nobody asks about your Airbnb is making your home and parking instructions easy to follow.
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Thursday, 14 December 2023 22:08 (three months ago) link
"I'll do my best to make you feel very good here..if you want we'll go out together to events, etc.😊,"
― Tow Law City (cherry blossom), Sunday, 18 February 2024 09:52 (one month ago) link
The place only has one review, though it is a positive (and real-seeming) one
― Tow Law City (cherry blossom), Sunday, 18 February 2024 09:56 (one month ago) link
I get nervous about first time or relatively new hosts, but one of the best AirBnb experiences I had was renting a small apartment room smack in the middle of Times Square for like $90 a night. I showed up and the hosts handed me a glass of Shiraz and said "let's do a toast" on arrival
― CEO Greedwagon (Neanderthal), Sunday, 18 February 2024 15:37 (one month ago) link
Cos I was their first ever guest
Wish I could find the old Spy Magazine article where the author stays at an under-the-table New York B & B where the host is doing naked yoga (this is long before Air B & B).
― B. Amato (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, 18 February 2024 17:56 (one month ago) link
This place now has a second review, positive but uninformative.. Then I checked his review of the guest
"i enjoyed my time with Victor.. i showed him the place around and we were together in canyon, he loved it and he appreciated so much that i spent my day with him.."
― Tow Law City (cherry blossom), Saturday, 16 March 2024 20:51 (one week ago) link
I also enjoy being in canyon with my air b& b host
― from a prominent family of bassoon players (Boring, Maryland), Saturday, 16 March 2024 23:57 (one week ago) link