AirBnB

Here I'll post some notes about my experience with Airbnb. My first foray into the "share" economy. Not sure about that really, as ebay, Craigslist and a number of other well established sites are all about putting individuals in touch with each other to do commerce. But there's a new round of discussion about these sites, thanks to the rise of Uber, Sidecar, Freelancer, and so on. Given that we've now used the Airbnb service in 4 locations, I'm getting a feel for it.

 

First off, let me dispel the notion that Airbnb is an inexpensive way to go. Not in my travels. These are apartments that have been purchased (or moved out of) for the exact purpose of hiring out as many nights as possible. Sure, it may have started as a way to make a dollar off that extra room in somebody's apartment, but that isn't what it's becoming. It's a business, and not one you have to become a hotelier to enter.

 

As in everything, you get what you pay for. I need to sleep 4. A kitchen. A decent standard of cleanliness - though not perfect, more on this below. And the better the location, the higher the price tag. People aren't giving away their apartments for you to sleep in, and the owner knows well what that apartment is worth. Probably better than you do, if you're a traveler in an unfamiliar city.

 

That said I like what you get by staying in a private apartment. A kitchen, first of all, so you can avoid the crappy breakfast buffets that have become the bane of American hotel existence. Kids may like the idea of pouring their own waffles, eating them on a Styrofoam plate with goopy syrup squeezed out of a packet, but not me.

 

 



 

Other amenities such as TV, wifi, cable - you can pick out all that from the listing - and I have experienced good wifi and bad, just like at the hotels I've stayed in. Local knowledge is a plus, and I found if I had specific questions - best public transportation to take from the airport, for example - I could get informed, accurate help via email or a phone call in advance of arrival. Sometimes when you call a hotel, you wind up at a call center in Omaha and the person wouldn't know Bart transit from Bart Simpson.

 

 

 

How do you get in? Does the "host" wait for your arrival on the doorstep? Not hardly. Almost exclusively we found the properties made use of a lockbox to which you receive the code some time in advance of your stay.  

 

Upon a gate, under a stair, in a fork of wrought iron, beside a potted tulip, you will find something like this. Which works great, except when you're about to arrive, and you still haven't gotten the code.




This occasioned one urgent email saying "Call me! Won't be on the internet again before arrival." Really, people can take the whole smartphone, always on, instant communication thing a little too far. So we got the call shortly thereafter and it all worked out.

 

 

What's all that stuff in the fridge?

 

That's right, some owners tend to clean out between guests, and some don't. I personally am not looking for a perfectly spotless fridge or pantry when I arrive. I think it's great not to have to buy everything new for only a few days stay. Will I use somebody else's catsup? You bet. Or there Sri Racha sauce? Even better.

Especially welcome is coffee in the cupboard, spices, sugar, all those sorts of things. I guess I draw the line at half a deli container of potato salad. That probably oughta go in the trash. But to each his own. If you want to buy it all new, you can.

 

Along those lines a further comment about cleanliness. All the places we stayed were to a clean enough standard for this traveler. Airbnb includes a cleaning fee on each rental, and I'm sure many of the places had a service come in like clockwork on the day of departure. OTOH reading the reviews of places we stayed there were clearly dissenters, people who were disappointed, dismayed, ranting and raving and proving yet again that you can't please all the people all the time. Did they not know that San Francisco is an _old_ city? That those same endearing bay windows may not open? Or may not have double glazing, and on and on.

 

If you want to sleep like this:

 

 

 

you're probably better off in a hotel. Yeah, there may be a brand new or completely redone apartment on Airbnb, but I'd say be prepared for a little funky and you'll be a lot more satisfied.

 

And those four bottles of local craft beer in the fridge? I left 'em for ya.