1. Immediate access without having to talk to a human gatekeeper.
My introvert-side loves this, especially after a long day.
2. Beds are great.
There’s a number of standard amenities now for most AirBnBs which is helpful, but I find the beds to be almost as good or as good as my one at home.
3. I can eat at home.
This is a major one for me. I can order the food that makes sense for me, I can cook, and it’s all manageable with an easy kitchen. I’m surprised so many people like hotels given they trap you with no place to store food for yourself & charge you for junk food. This one alone is worth it to me.
4. Hosts are generally responsive to requests for accommodation or addressing issues.
Not every AirBnB is perfect and I rate/review for other travels, in as fair a way to the host as I can. While I’ve certainly had my fair share of places that suck, they were all in cities that were AirBnB hostile. RIP NYC & LA.
Like ordering off Amazon or picking a restaurant off Google reviews, it helps to develop a radar for what a quality AirBnB looks like and how it presents itself. Unlike those sites, I’ve found the reviews to be accurate and helpful in finding the right ones.
While I think the article is fair in its assessment of Chesney’s approach to hyping minor product upgrades, the platform has come a very long way in reliable quality.