Airbnb - please share your local experience

[Quintrix]

Anybody here that used Airbnb to book local accomodation? Please share your experience.

My understanding is that the price displayed is per room per night. Some of the prices are dirt cheap.
Saw some rooms (Kimberley/Sabi) with some good reviews for R300 (2people) with no additional payment for second person

Would like to use the service in future but would not like to end up at a venue and then be told the price is per person or incorrectly dispalyed on the site and will need futher payments.

 

[halfmoonforever]

What you see is what you get. Airbnb won't allow you to advertise an "oopsie daisy" price like bidorbuy/olx/whatever classified.

Have had good experiences renting rooms in JHB for a wedding.

 

[upup]

lekkerslaap.co.za , thats all I use.

 

[RustyPrincess]

It works great. The price you get quoted when your host accepts your booking is the price you pay.
After you have stayed, you get asked to rate your stay and leave a review, which is helpful for the next people who want to book.
Just check that the room you book meets your needs. Some rooms are cheap, because it's the spare room in someone's house. Some places you get the entire apartment to yourself.

 

[raind33r]

Aslo, you pay Airbnb, not the host.
Airbnb pays the host.

There is also a review system.You get to review the host after your stay.
The host also submit a review about their guest(s).

 

[Pixelatedzee]

It has been really fantastic so far. I used it in December before I moved into my new place in the Southern Suburbs, me and a few friends also use it when going down the West Coast for a weekend.

 

[Sebulba]

I only use Airbnb, love how the whole system works. What you see is what you get.

 

[Quintrix]

Thanks for all the replies. Good to see that all feedback is positive. Anybody else that experienced any issue?

 

[Billy]

I booked, was accepted and paid. Three days later I got a message that my booking was cancelled.

I looked again and found similar accommodation at a lower price, and tried again. This time the booking went through, and I was refunded the difference. However, my "host" sms'ed that there was a mistake and the real cost was a couple of hundred more. I read the Airbnb rules and ignored the SMS.

The details on the site have subsequently been changed, so I suspect that the "Host" had completed his entry wrongly.

What we saw, is what we got, but the description was for an apartment, and it was in reality rooms in a house.

We felt uncomfortable being in a private house, and agreed that booking into a hotel would be better for us.

My advice would be to try Airbnb. It may work for you. We will probably try again when we go to an area with little choice in Hotels.

 

[Quintrix]

Thanks for the reply Billy. Might be using them next week. Hoping the experience will be positive if used.

 

[bro-da]

Used it a few years ago to find cheap accommodation in Hong Kong and used it last month when we went to PE for a few night's.

A couple great options were available. For 2 people it could be around the same as a hotel but I find it become much more cost effective when you are booking as a group of 4+. cost per person drops a lot.

Were were just 2 people and managed to get a very nice 2 bedroom apartment close to the beach for R500p/n. Had a kitchen and a lounge area with a massive TV (what else to do it PE.. ). Place was immaculate. Biggest plus is you pay through the site so you know up front what the cost's are.

If you are adventurous you can get good deal's on new listing. the initial prices are lower as they attempt to build up good reviews. Can be a hit or a miss but use good judgement based on location, pics and the person's professionalism.

Oh one more thing, if you are looking for something private, be sure to confirm with the lessor that it is an entire flat/house via the message function. do this regardless of what they say in the description. Some listings are rooms in a house (which can get awkward) others are rooms attached to houses with a private entrance cleverly marketed.

 

[d0b33]

I plan on using Airbnb instead of an estate agency to sublet my apartment, I also plan on renting via Airbnb long term, I think it's a great platform but have yet to try it out.

 

[bro-da]

I plan on using Airbnb instead of an estate agency to sublet my apartment, I also plan on renting via Airbnb long term, I think it's a great platform but have yet to try it out.

sounds great man, would be keen to hear about the platform from the provider's end

 

[Quintrix]

So my experience was not so good. Got excellent prices for accommodation in Kimberley. I tried to confirm this with owner via chat and was given a total different price (3xhigher than listed on Airbnb) even after getting a booking confirmation screen I contacted the owner with the info and they just replied with higher price. Went somewhere else as I did not want to arrive without confirmed accommodation. I logged a complaint with Airbnb. They contacted me and promised to follow up but still see the same price advertised.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

how does it work, is it similar to uber?
how exactly do you pay? do you link your bank account to the site? or does it work differently?

also do you pay in USD or ZAR's?
even overseas?

 

[Billy]

So my experience was not so good. Got excellent prices for accommodation in Kimberley. I tried to confirm this with owner via chat and was given a total different price (3xhigher than listed on Airbnb) even after getting a booking confirmation screen I contacted the owner with the info and they just replied with higher price. Went somewhere else as I did not want to arrive without confirmed accommodation. I logged a complaint with Airbnb. They contacted me and promised to follow up but still see the same price advertised.

As you pay AirBnB directly it should not have been a problem. AirBnB pay the host directly after the stay.

 

[Billy]

how does it work, is it similar to uber?
how exactly do you pay? do you link your bank account to the site? or does it work differently?

also do you pay in USD or ZAR's?
even overseas?

In rands by credit card direct to AirBnB.

 

[Quintrix]

Hi Billy. Did not want to take that chance at a third of the hosts confirmed cost and end up with no accommodation at the last minute. Even forwarded the pre_booking approval to host and they just replied with their standard (3x higher) rates

 

[Sepeng]

So my experience was not so good. Got excellent prices for accommodation in Kimberley. I tried to confirm this with owner via chat and was given a total different price (3xhigher than listed on Airbnb) even after getting a booking confirmation screen I contacted the owner with the info and they just replied with higher price. Went somewhere else as I did not want to arrive without confirmed accommodation. I logged a complaint with Airbnb. They contacted me and promised to follow up but still see the same price advertised.

So you should only communicate with the owner through the Airbnb platform - after the booking has been made you can chat to them via Whatsapp etc to arrange times and all that but anything to do with the booking process, only do through the site. This is especially important for payment - there have been scams where the owner contacts the renter directly, gives them their banking details and then the place doesn't exist. you won't have much recourse in a situation like that. Also the host only gets paid a day after you arrive.

The price you see is the price you (should) pay. You really shouldn't have to confirm anything but availability with the owner, and then they can choose to accept or decline you. There aren't extra fees or anything and if the owner tries something like that, tell them to take it up with Airbnb.
Look you get bad owners but they do get rated, have a look at their response rate and go with your gut. If they feel dodgy, don't book with them.
Used it plenty of times locally, never had an issue. Unfortunately for new owners, I do tend to stick with places with at least a few reviews and if I can, with the super-hosts.

 

[Billy]

Hi Billy. Did not want to take that chance at a third of the hosts confirmed cost and end up with no accommodation at the last minute. Even forwarded the pre_booking approval to host and they just replied with their standard (3x higher) rates

All that I can say is that I had a similar experience, and just ignored the proposed increase after reading the Air BnB rules.