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I'm happy to have found this thread! My girlfriend and I will be traveling through Southern Europe around the Mediterranean for 2-3 months starting next June and we've been toying with the idea of using AirBnB to book our rooms as much as possible. For one, we'd love to save as much money as we can since she's still a student but at the same time, getting some local flavor at each place we stay would be an added bonus. Has anyone done the whole AirBnB thing for multiple places in a row in different cities? How feasible do you guys think this is? At the same time, what are the best steps to have an AirBnB account that's in good standings (so that hosts won't want to cancel our bookings)? Have friends "recommend" you? Would this thread be a good place to find recommenders? AirBnB also seems to have a referral system to get some extra bucks ($28 for each of us when you book a place to stay) if your friends register with your link. If any of you aren't registered yet and are looking to do so, I'd be more than happy to provide a link by PM and give you a good "review" and whatnot! Frost000 fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Jan 31, 2014 |
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Jan 31, 2014 00:40
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 20:55 |
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Dead Pressed posted:I did AirBnB exclusively in Europe (as discussed in OP) for a week. Stayed multiple (2-3) days at each place, and I didn't find communication via AirBnB particularly difficult. As long as you work to schedule in advance with the host, and let the know of any changes in your plans, it shouldn't be bad trying to get things under wrap. Typically, a credible host will have friends or family meet with you if they can't make your scheduled arrival time. That said---you need to make sure you've got a worthy host that is obviously flexible (review count matters on this, from my experience). All-in-all, I don't know that'd I'd bother with AirBnB for a single night in another country, but I'd say its worth the "hassle" if you plan on staying 2+ nights at each place. One thing to note, is if you're going to stay in one town for a prolonged time---contact the host way prior to booking. See if they'd be willing to cut the price for an extended stay. If both sides are agreeable, they can offer you a specific "discounted" rate of their choice. We've offered such a deal to people who were looking to book for 2 weeks+ (this discount was on TOP of the displayed week/monthly rates that we had already dropped the price from). All very good advice! We plan on having separate accounts (instead of having a couple's account) and using hers, for example, when the host is female. I hadn't thought of boosting our reviews prior to the trip, but it definitely wouldn't hurt! It would be pretty crappy if we were about to leave and couldn't book a single place anywhere in Europe. But I guess we'll see! An NYC trip between now and then would do me some good I think. Also great tip about contacting hosts to save on the rate if we book for an extended stay. We were planning on staying 2 weeks + in Barcelona. If someone stays with you for more days like that, how much room is there to haggle you think? Or at least in your case?
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Feb 1, 2014 15:07
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spoof posted:I basically live out of AirBnB full time now, and it's been a great experience. I love the flexibility of being able to move around from week to week (or day to day), but still often have a social circle through the host. I don't have a place of my own to rent out anymore, but read some interesting reflections on hosting on medium that might be applicable to some of you. In which city are you doing this in? I was wondering if it might be an option if/when I move to London next Fall. Seems like if I could negotiate a deal to stay somewhere 1-2 months at a time with a few down days here and there, it could be a great way to save a bit of rent money.
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Feb 8, 2014 15:03
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spoof posted:I'm mostly along the east coast and through the Midwest in the US and Canada. I don't know that it would be an effective way to save money though, because you're paying a premium for a short stay. I'm probably paying about between double and triple what it would cost for the space on a one-year lease. You would need quite a few down days to make up for that. Your best bet to save money may be to go the other way, get a 2- or 3-bedroom flat, keep a flatmate and airbnb-out the other room to collect the short-term stay premium. Do your research and see which parts of London get a lot of airbnb traffic, and which get none. I definitely wouldn't have the time to manage having my own place and renting it out... I'll still explore the feasibility of it, since apartments are crazy expensive in London and I'd love to find something that's not too demanding of me (i.e. somewhere I could stay whenever I want and drop it whenever I want instead of signing a lease). In other news, I finally got my first two references on AirBnB. If I haven't used the service yet and have no reviews (didn't leave any yet either, obviously), do hosts usually look at references? I would guess so, but I'm just making sure before I ask for more references...
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Feb 14, 2014 00:17
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Just made my first booking as a guest... It came out to about half the price of what a cheap hotel would've cost in London, so I'm happy!
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Feb 23, 2014 03:24
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Just completed my first Airbnb stay. Like others, I can honestly say that I'll probably limit my hotel stays as much as possible from now on! If you're looking for a relatively cheap place near everything in London, England: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/2419257 I even got to go out to a pub with the host and meet some of his friends!
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Mar 4, 2014 15:12
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My girlfriend and I have finished booking all of our AirBnB apartments for our European trip! The only place in which we'll be staying at a hotel (well, 3 in our case) is in Ibiza. Otherwise, we have places lined up for Nice, Marseille, Barcelona and Rome. Pretty excited!
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May 6, 2014 23:13
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 20:55 |
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Dead Pressed posted:When are you going on this trip? Be sure to keep us updated when you do! I just got back home from the trip and everything went great! It was a bit of a bummer to only be able to check in at 7pm in Nice (France) since our flight landed at around 8am and we had to lug our big backpacks all day after not being able to sleep all night on the flight, but it was worth it. I could provide links to the places we used in Nice, Marseilles, Barcelona, Pisa, La Spezia (Cinque Terre) and in Rome, though I wouldn't quantify any of them as being super exceptional. We were on a tight budget so the initial price was a big factor.
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Jun 21, 2014 10:37
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