Anyone here used Air BnB?

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Icarium

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The GF and I are planning on spending a week or so in Toronto in August, and we're looking at our accomodation options. In all my previous overseas trips I've stayed with family so having to actually plan stuff properly isn't my strong point, but my brother suggested we look at Airbnb for accomodation.

The pricing on Airbnb is substantially lower than what we'd pay for accomodation otherwise, with hotels being R2k+ per night for anything that isn't a rat hole while renting a room in someone's home starts around R400 a night, and in some cases renting an entire home from R1k a night (still half the price of a hotel).

It's been around for a while, and it looks fairly professional, but has anyone on here actually used airbnb before? Anything to take note of or look out for?
 
Yes, I have used it before for a trip to San Francisco. We rented an apartment and it worked out significantly cheaper than staying in a hotel. Everything worked out fine and we were very happy with the place. I basically read the reviews from other people and looked at the photos. Just check that it is real people that left the reviews, but you should be able to tell from their post count. Also determine if the area is actually close to were you want to stay, I think they give maps.

We have already booked through AirBnB again for our February trip to Thailand.
 
Slightly off topic, but try looking at booking.com

We used this on a recent trip to Spain and while these are mostly hotels, the rates are significantly cheaper than any other sites we used - even the official pages of the hotels we stayed at. In the end we saved about 40% off the regular price of accommodation.
 
I have used airbnb.com many times for trips to Europe as have my parents and my sisters. It is brilliant. Works really well and you get to experience a city from a locals perspective rather than staying in some hotel surrounded by tourists and the tourist traps. I would highly recommend using airbnb.
 
AirBnB is a damn good service.

Would def recommend using it. You get such a different experience staying in a place like that.

Unfortunately for us SA ppl, most of the stuff on AirBnB in SA are normally Bed and Breakfasts, rather than people renting out a room or their apartment while they're away.
 
So thought I'd comment here rather than start a new thread.
So apparently renting out an apartment for less than 30 days is illegal in many places, unless the owner is staying on the premises.
AirBnB is fighting a few legal battles but for the moment, would you guys still use it?
Obviously I'd do due diligence on the place before hand but assuming everything checks out, there couldn't be repercussions for me could there, by booking through them I mean?
Anyone else currently using them?
 
I still use them fairly regularly. I would assume the onus is on the owner to ensure they are compliant with any local or rental agreement requirements.

That said, when we rented a flat in Munich for Oktoberfest last year the owner did mention that her body corporate might frown on her renting the flat so asked us kindly to say we were friends of hers if anyone asked. Nobody asked though so it was a non-issue.
 
I would imagine its the owner that may find themselves ina spot of poo for violating local laws not the BNB guests.
Apparently many spots in the US, esp NYC are cracking down on BNB as the majority of listing violate local regulations.
Probably just teething, same stuff UBER and similar disruptive start-ups have been experiencing, mindshift/regime change.

Traditional hoteliers are not stoked with BNB style room rentals, wouldn't be surprised if they may be fomenting authorities to crack down on BNB. But then again reports mention there are people making a business from BNB rentals, apparently some people in NYC buy 3 room apartments, live in one and rent out the other 2 on BNB, make something like R100k+ a month. I can understand that kind of thing would seriously piss off the other residents in a building and create real issues but the casual BNB hosts that genuinely only offer rooms as a side line/interesting opportunity to met new people shouldn't be hounded.
 
I just used it last weekend in NYC, was really easy, center of town, and the cheaper than any hotels/BNBs.

Just make sure theres some good reviews and you should be smiling.
 
Cool thanks for the feedback.
Pretty sobering to see the size of NYC apartments!
 
Used AirBNB to rent a place in JHB for 3 days for a wedding
 
Never heard of it before. Well rather I have heard the name never knew what it was about.

Checked it out now and I might just use it in SA for my next trip.
 
We'll be using AirBnB for our trip to Istanbul next year. It works out a lot cheaper than hotels and you basically just need a bed to sleep in and a bathroom to clean yourself in if you're on holiday.

Reading reviews helps to decide where to stay and I love how they add photos and location information so it makes it so much easier to plan.
 
Was going to use airbnb, but their gallery pisses me off. Haha
 
I'm planning a Paris trip in August, so I'll get looking on AirBnB. Never used it before though.
 
Method said:
hmmkay? Why? I don't see any problems with it.
Click to expand...
They use some service to cache their photos, often the galleries just do not display. I did look at over 100 properties though.
 
We used AirBNB when the kids went to CapeTown just before Easter for that concert. The place we stayed in was awesome and affordable - definitely going to use it again.
 
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