Airbnb
Airbnb can be a great option for vacation accommodations – you just have to do your research. I find that Airbnb is best for stays over a few days, or for larger groups. The initial price may look great, but most hosts charge a cleaning fee along with Airbnb’s service fee and spread out over a few nights it’s not so bad – but adding it to a one-day stay may make it cost prohibitive. Airbnb works out great for large groups or families because you can usually get multiple rooms/beds for about the same price or for just a little bit more than a hotel room. I have a family of five and Airbnb is always cheaper for us than renting 2 hotel rooms. It’s also great if you want to save money by eating in, since you can rent a place with a kitchen.
The user search on Airbnb is fairly simple. Enter the city you want to visit, the dates you will be there, and the number of people in your party and click on, “Homes”. Make sure you enter this information correctly as prices will vary based on dates and the number of people. This will bring up a plethora of options for you to choose from. On the left-hand side will be the listings, and on the right will be a map of the homes for rent. Use the + and – buttons to enlarge the map or make it smaller and Airbnb will amend the listings to just those in the area you are looking at on the map. I use this feature a lot in London because I know I want to be in the West End, and I can see exactly where my Airbnb is located compared to the theaters I want to visit.
Once you have a list of potential homes in the area, now you can narrow it down even further. You will see several buttons near the date and number of people in your party. The first is home type. You can choose, “entire place” if you want the whole home or apartment to yourself, a private room, a hotel room or even a shared room if you’re a bit of a budget seeking adventurer! I still have flashbacks from the shared bathrooms in my college dorm plus I’m an introvert so for me it’s “entire place” all the way. The second choice is price, you can enter the minimum and maximum amount you’re willing to spend so that you don’t have apartment envy over those penthouse suites in New York that you will never, ever be able to afford. (NOTE: It filters on the base amount for the night, not the total amount for the night so you might want to set it for a little less than you’re willing to spend – more on the base amounts later in this article). There is a “more filters” button where you can then rule out homes based on just about anything. I use this constantly when I want to make sure there is free parking, a washer or dryer or a pool. When I took my 16 year-old to Paris she insisted on a place with a hair dryer since hers would not work over there – I rolled my eyes, but added the filter anyway. A big one for Americans who are visiting Europe is Air Conditioning. A/C is not standard in Europe and we just about died in Paris in the Summer when it was 90 degrees outside and most of the shops had no air. It was nice to come home to our little flat that had A/C so make sure you filter for that if you’re going abroad during the summer. One thing you cannot filter for in regard to A/C is whether it is central air or a window unit. If it does not specify in the listing, I would ask the host. If there are two of you and the A/C is in the bedroom it might be ok, but for families where someone is sleeping on the pull-out couch you could end up with angry sweaty family members in the morning.
Once you have narrowed down your list of potential homes, now you need to decide which one you want to book. I cannot stress this enough but READ THE REVIEWS. It’s true that people tend to leave reviews more often when they’re unhappy, but if you see three different reviews that mention bed bugs then you know this place is not for you. I also pay attention to the number of reviews – if there are 50 reviews and they’re all great that’s a good sign. If there is only one review and it was just placed recently, you’re taking a bigger risk that this might be a scam or that the host’s mother wrote the review. AirBnB has also introduced what they call “Superhosts”. Superhosts have to have a minimum of 10 reservations a year, 80% of their reviewes must be 5 star, they should maintain a 90% response rate, and should rarely cancel. When you book with a Superhost you know you are dealing with an experienced host and not a novice, which might influence your decision – this is not to say that those who are not Superhosts deliver bad service … I don’t think I’ve actually booked with a Superhost yet and have great experiences. You can tell someone is a Superhost because they will have a badge icon next to their name.
The next step is comparing prices. The price listed on the searches is usually the base price per night and does not include additional fees. Common fees include the service fee (which is paid to Airbnb by the host) a cleaning fee which is the one-time fee charged by hosts to clean the space after you leave and occupancy taxes. Some hosts include these fees in their base price, but each listing is different, so you have to make sure that $135 a night base rate apartment doesn’t actually cost you more than the $150 a night base rate apartment once the fees and taxes are added.
Here’s an example of a 3 bedroom apartment in Manhattan:
The listing shows the base price as $172 night for two nights, but with the added Cleaning Fee, Service Charge and Occupancy Taxes the total is $542 meaning you’re really paying $271 a night. That same listing for 7 nights is $1634, (which spreads out the fees over 7 nights instead of 2) which means you’re paying $233 a night. The longer you stay, the cheaper the price per night.
Here’s a different listing in Manhattan, also for two nights with a base price of $181 – which is higher than the first listing. However, if you look closer this host does not charge a cleaning fee or occupancy taxes, and the total for two nights is $409, making it $204 a night and the cheapest of the bunch even though the base price is higher. I booked a home in Maui recently for a four-night stay and as I got through the booking process at the end, I was required to either provide a $400 refundable damage deposit or pay $59 for damage “insurance”. This is not normal, but there are some people charging funky fees out there. All this is to say that you can get some great deals on Airbnb but make sure you’re comparing Apples to Apples when choosing a home, so you know what they’re charging you for before you hit “book”.
Another trick to save money which may sound crazy – is adding a day to your stay. Many times hosts give discounts for weekly or monthly stays, and it may actually be cheaper to book the place for longer (you don’t actually have to stay the whole time). In the above example, the first picture is an Airbnb in San Diego, for 6 nights at a cost of $587. The second picture shows the same home for 7 nights, for $549. Adding an extra night actually made it cheaper! I have done this for trips where I’m only there 6 nights, but I book the night before so I can get into the home as soon as I arrive and not have to wait until the afternoon to check in. The third picture shows the same home rented for 28 days at a cost of $1894. If I add one day to make it a total of 29 days (what Airbnb considers a month), the price drops to $1442 because of the monthly discount. So I get an extra day AND save over $400!
Here are a few additional tips for booking your dream vacation home on Airbnb:
- Make sure you read the ENTIRE listing including house rules and amenity descriptions. You may find that the “three beds” they referred to are really two beds and an air mattress. If your host states there is a quiet time after 10:30 and you’re there to hang out with friends this might not work for you. If the listing does not specifically mention something you’re interested in or have questions about, contact the host BEFORE you book. Pay special attention to the pictures – if there’s only 2 or they’re blurry they could be trying to hide something.
- Confirm the check in and check out times. If you have a flight that gets into London at 10:00 p.m. and your check in hours were 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. you could be responsible for paying for the night you didn’t spend in your Airbnb as well as finding yourself other accommodations for the evening. Many hosts are flexible if you message them, but make sure you arrange that BEFORE booking the home.
- If you’re arriving to a city early in the morning and your check in isn’t until 3:00 p.m. keep in mind you will have to find a place to store your luggage unless your host offers accommodations for that. When we were in Paris the host had a closet with a lock that we could store our luggage in until the flat was ready – not all hosts have this option though.
- If you’re arriving VERY early in the morning (most flights to Iceland for example get in before 6:00 a.m.) you may want to consider renting the home for an extra night, that way you get in and get a few hours sleep so you can hit the ground running.
- Don’t wait until the last minute to contact your host about how to access the home. Some hosts are not quite as responsive as others and you don’t want to arrive in Paris and end up standing on a street corner waiting for them to tell you how to get in.
- Once you have booked, print out a copy of the entire listing for your files. We tend to book our vacations far in advance and have had the hosts change their listing in the months in between. We booked a flat in Paris 10 months out which included parking, and the host changed the listing for later tenants to read that they had to notify them of the need for parking or the space would not be available. Because I had the original print out the host had to find me parking for the night.
- If you have booked a home and the host later states they are unable to accommodate you and asks you to cancel, make sure you tell them THEY need to cancel. When hosts cancel on you an automatic comment comes up in their feedback stating they cancelled and warns other travelers of the amount of times this happens. If you cancel this does not appear, and you may not receive the cost of the service fees back which are non-refundable.
- Make sure you are aware of the cancellation policy for the home you are renting. They are all different and you may not have any options if an emergency comes up.
- In Europe hosts will ask you to send a copy of your passport before allowing you to stay in the home. I see many people on forums asking if this is normal, and it is. This is a requirement in Europe and other areas, and you will find it at all Airbnb’s that follow the law there.
- ALWAYS communicate and make payments with the Airbnb app rather than outside email. This way if something happens Airbnb can see what the host said to you/promised.
- One thing that I find strange is that most short-term rentals are actually illegal in many cities (such as New York or Paris) if they don’t have the proper licensing, yet they don’t need to provide much documentation when advertising on AirBnB. Although you can go to a city like this and still have a great stay – many of the listings you see in those cities are technically illegal. You can do a quick google search on AirBnB laws in the area you’re staying in to find out more.
- Pro Tip: If you are in the United Mileage Plus airmiles program (hyperlink to article) the Miles Plus Shopping portal has Airbnb gift cards for 2 extra miles a dollar. You can buy a $500 Airbnb gift card and receive 1 mile a dollar for the purchase, then 2 extra miles a dollar for the portal netting you 1500 miles for this one purchase. If you’re going to rent the place anyway earn some miles towards your next trip! The only caveat to this is that if you cancel or there is an issue any refund will be in the form of an Airbnb gift card.
Many people are scared to try Airbnb – there are always horror stories out there about hosts who cancel, but if you do your research and only book with those hosts that have great reviews you lessen the chance of that happening. Here are a couple of places my family and I have stayed over the years with Airbnb hosts …. And these are just our favorites from Ireland!
We stayed at an amazing private castle outside of Galway, Ireland for $181 night. There is just one apartment in the castle for rent (the owner Pete and his famiy live on the first floor), and it had beautiful furnishings, ornate doors, winding stairs, fairy lights and turrets – I mean turrets for goodness sake! We went up to watch the sunrise and it was amazing! Pete refurbished the castle himself and was great about picking people up from the bus or train station. He also gave great tips for seeing the area. This is one of my favorite places to have stayed.
We stayed at Crookedwood Farm in County Meath, Ireland for $117 a night. This is a recording studio turned Airbnb and the instruments are still there. The wonderful owners will come have a jam session with you if they’re around. It was surrounded by a beautiful garden walk, and donkeys would come visit your window in the morning. The hosts also made sure the refrigerator was stocked with eggs to make your own breakfast. The great thing about this place for large families is it holds 8 guests and there are 7 beds! (There are only two bedrooms so it’s not really a couples retreat, but if you want to keep all your kids in the other room this is the place for you!
We stayed at a 300 year-old converted watermill in Mooncoin, Ireland for $68 a night. The house was huge, and the hosts gifted you with eggs and food to make breakfast. There was a little deck area over looking the stream with tables and chairs to enjoy the evening breeze. The grounds were so pretty that a wedding party stopped to take pictures while we were there!
I’ve seen a lot of people who say they won’t use Airbnb because someone they knew had a bad experience. There are hundreds of thousands of listings on here and just like hotels, there are going to be some bad apples in the bunch. If you do your due diligence and make sure you’re dealing with a host who has a good reputation – you could end up with some pretty great places to stay.
These tips and tricks are pretty much the same for Airbnb, Homeaway, VRBO or any of the other room finding services. Hopefully they will help you make the most of your Airbnb stay!
Interested in trying Airbnb out? Click and book through my link below and you’ll receive $40 off a home booking of $75 or more and $15 off an experience of $50 or more!