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Comment by add-sub-mul-div | Hacker News Reader

Isn't Airbnb nosediving everywhere? It's no longer cheaper than a hotel and can't be assumed to provide the equivalent level of hospitality.

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Yeah this is my take as well. I used to Airbnb every time I travelled out of state for work, but the last couple of times has convinced me that it’s no longer a real option.

Scummy contracts, poorly maintained rentals, and nonsense followups seem to be the standard, and it’s basically the same cost as a decent hotel room. I can’t see a reason today not to just use the hotel.

Sucks, because my initial experiences were really good, it only started to be awful after property management companies started buying cheap homes to use as airbnb rentals.

I'm curious. Are you using hotels, hostels, or maybe something else?

I actually really like hostels, I always seem to meet someone interesting to chat with, but normally my best option seems to be a hotel.

You do get what you pay for though. A Motel 6 is going to be lousy in general but if you opt for something a little nicer you do tend to get a cleaner room and better service.

For business travel I’m not going to risk it. But for personal travel I’m still finding the vast majority of properties are well maintained and, for me anyway, multitudes more comfortable than a hotel room. Just the fact that i can stop at a store and buy a hundred dollars worth of groceries that will last me three days is worth it.

The number one issue I have with airbnb is that you are completely on your own to resolve issues with the host. And some hosts are scumbags.

> For business travel I’m not going to risk it.

Things just as simple as arriving become major pains. "Oh the key code isn't working, I'm sorry, I'll send the handyman to meet you, he's at dinner then he's 40 minutes away so he'll be there in two hours."

I'm on vacation, I want to show up when I show up. Hotels are nice because you can just check in when you get there.

After one key code box that wasn't working and another where they were clearly renting the airbnb in secret from their neighbors and had a bunch of rules like no carrying your luggage through the common areas (um, okay how are we supposed to bring our stuff in then?), I'm done with airbnb.

Hotels might not be as sexy but at least they functionally work.

My last airbnb ended up being in a part of town under heavy construction, in a townhouse that had a shared wall with people who clearly were not renters.

I got there jet lagged and tired, to discover there was no ac and the house had no fans. No ceiling fans, standing, anything. It was hot as shit.

When I finally got to sleep, the people I shared a wall with turned their music up real loud. I called to complain and nothing was done. They played that music all night.

After getting no sleep I dragged myself into work the next day exhausted and on a three hour time difference.

Airbnb is too much of a risk period. My Airbnb had fantastic reviews that did not reflect reality at all, and when I posted a negative review it was simply deleted.

Hotels indeed at least functionally work. Never again, airbnb.

My last airbnb was a beautiful four bedroom home on a secluded lakefront property in Maine. It was beautifully decorated, topped off with nice little amenities throughout the house. There were several canoes and kayaks available for use, plus all sorts of wakeboards and skis that we could use if we rented a boat. There were a number of swings and hammocks hung throughout the property and a large fire ring with birch cutoffs for seating. The hosts were very helpful the whole way and we had an amazing time.

I’ve had bad experiences too, including chargebacks and starting the process of suing a host for fraud, but I’m still rolling the dice.

Isn't this basically the story of big startups in last 10 years?

- Upend an industry - either by evading existing regulations until you're too big to stop or with unsustainable pricing, availability, and/or quality of service by burning VC money. (or both)

- Try to become profitable.

- Find out why said industry had regulations/poor margins/bad service/limited availability when VC money runs out.

Examples are numerous, but top of mind for me are Movie Pass and WeWork because they were so obviously never going to be profitable. It's also weird that companies like this get labelled "tech companies".

After a host canceled on me the evening of New Year's Eve as I was arriving in a city I never booked Airbnb again

How did you get around it? Were you able to get a hotel? Did AirBNB assist you?

They certainly did not assist no but I went door to door for a few hours and eventually found a hotel

People keep saying this but this has not been my experience anywhere. Where do you see this? What gets me a pretty nice little airbnb, private room with kitchen and bedroom and working space, only is going to get a sort of crummy hotel room that feels a little damp with kids yelling from the next room. I really don't understand the economics that leads hotel rooms to be so expensive.

I feel let down by many of the airbnbs we have visited lately. There is always some weird aspect that was never represented properly. I've always loved nice hotels tho. They've all been nicer than hostels tho.

Uh, hotels in SF are faring even worse. A few Hilton (?) property owners decided to default on their loans.

And you get told to spend hours cleaning and washing everything under the threat of extortionate "cleaning fees", what fun!

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