AirBnBs vs hotels

KuroiXHF · Post Post #0 (isolation #0) » Thu Feb 23, 2017 9:46 am

So I know MafiaScum hosts a whole bunch of meets and that AirBnB is the method of lodging.

In April, I'm going to go on a vacation with the wife over to Utah, and I was going through hotels. My wife and I disagree about what we can live with to save a buck or two, and the thought came into my head to look into AirBnBs.

At first glance, they look awesome. There are a bunch that are affordable and they look clean. They have some rules, but they all look very reasonable. (No parties, no smoking, clean your dishes, etc.)

I'm sure many of you would suggest one if we are using one for a lengthy period, but we are actually traveling along the state and will be probably switching lodging options each night, so for this purpose, would you suggest against AirBnB? (I have checked to make sure they're OK with a one-night stay, as many require a certain amount of nights.)

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

KuroiXHF · Post Post #4 (isolation #1) » Thu Feb 23, 2017 10:22 am

LOL. You're right, Zor, and I have kept that in mind - I don't care if we have a studio (as that's what most hotels pretty much are), but I'm not going to live in a campground bunk-like setting, in the sense that we all have a single bed in a room with twelve people. That's just not going to work.

Also, I think we both come from more urban/really busy places and going to Utah and reading the AirBnBs, people sometimes go beyond. This one place I'm more excited about, she said that she left breakfast stuff and drinks in the fridge and has a bunch of tea and coffee, that I appreciate. Another place said that he has a dog and apologized that the puppy might get excited and come say hi to us, which is something I'd absolutely love.

It has a more homey feel than a hotel, which I think brings out more of the rural feel of Utah.

In post 3, chamber wrote:I'd personally go for the more streamlined hotel experience if checking in and out daily.

Why is that? The only thing I've noticed is some places have security deposits. If I was staying somewhere for a week, that would make a lot of sense. However, five $100 security deposits mean $500 out of my pocket now, and I don't want to do that.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #7 (isolation #2) » Thu Feb 23, 2017 10:39 am

Fair points. I'm the kind of person who doesn't find doing the research oh so daunting. Thing is, I've taken a look at one of my other towns and AirBnB can be quite scarce.

I'm sure we'll do a mixture during our trips.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #9 (isolation #3) » Thu Feb 23, 2017 2:32 pm

In post 8, Katsuki wrote:Personally hotels are the way to go unless you happen to stumble upon a gem such as Zora's Napa experience, presuming that we're excluding roach-infested inns.

Budget is obviously key but presumably the wifey does not want to sleep in a hostel etc.

On an unrelated note, heard some amusing stories about iridescent bugs and 3ft+ long (excluding tail) rats today.

I mean, this is something I can be

dead wrong

about, but the perception I've been getting from the pictures of both hotels and BnBs of similar prices is that the BnBs look cleaner (less likelihood for bugs). More than that, I see better reviews for BnBs - although I ask myself if there's more of a pressure to leave positive reviews on BnB. Those potential reasons could be:
- Those getting BnBs tend to meet the hosts, and it's more personal than someone just seeing the check in associate at the hotel.
- You feel like you're welcomed into their home and there's a feeling where you won't want to say something to be rude to them when they let you in. (Despite that it's still a business transaction.)
- When you're at a hotel, people tend not to leave reviews for a good experience, as opposed to wanting to leave a bad one when you've had a bad experience - whereas at a BnB, you may feel more likely to leave good reviews.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #11 (isolation #4) » Thu Feb 23, 2017 3:35 pm

In post 10, Katsuki wrote:Obviously goes without saying do your research. I've stayed in cheap hotels before that give you this for your birthday, which you'd be hard-pressed to find even in 5-stars. You've pointed out the reason behind the possibility of the illusion behind BNBs seeming better so gl hf on finding what works for you.

That's a really nice gift!

Yeah, I've done my research. The only minor negative was she only had one review, although it was a positive one.

I've also had a conversation with her and asked questions and I've had a good vibe, so I think gut feelings are good indicators.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #13 (isolation #5) » Thu Feb 23, 2017 3:51 pm

In post 12, zoraster wrote:
In post 8, Katsuki wrote:Personally hotels are the way to go unless you happen to stumble upon a gem such as Zora's Napa experience, presuming that we're excluding roach-infested inns.

Budget is obviously key but presumably the wifey does not want to sleep in a hostel etc.

On an unrelated note, heard some amusing stories about iridescent bugs and 3ft+ long (excluding tail) rats today.
Yeah, I mean you have to be kind of careful but it's not that hard depending on where and at what budget. If you're trying to find a place for $75 a night, you've got to be a lot more careful than a place that charges $250 (assuming both are priced appropriately).

If you're staying for longer periods of time, VRBO is also a good place to look.

That is a good website. A lot of this trip is miscommunicated between the wife and I. She wants to stay in the SLC area, and I thought we were going to drive to some of the national parks and maybe even Four Corners, but I think we're striking that out and spending more time in the area.

But thanks for reminding me about that website. I think we'll consider that for future trips.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #15 (isolation #6) » Thu Feb 23, 2017 4:01 pm

In post 14, zoraster wrote:Do you guys like to hike? Might consider staying a few days in a place like Park Cities (~40 min drive), which is a major town but is cute and much closer to some easy mountain hiking (can even take gondolas up and such so you can hike at the best views). Also, mountain biking if you're into that, but I'm guessing no.

My wife isn't as physically fit as I am, and I think it might bother her, but I think we can do some light hiking. Have you been to the area? I'll take a look to Park Cities! Thanks for the suggestion!

KuroiXHF · Post Post #17 (isolation #7) » Thu Feb 23, 2017 4:11 pm

In post 16, zoraster wrote:Oh wait. You said April? That's nto the best time for Park City, unfortunately. It'll still be ski season or right after and it'll be kinda muddy and quiet. If it was summer, I'd definitely recommend it.

Ah, I see. Yeah, we try to plan our trips to warmer climates in the spring. We kind of also realized after we booked the trip that Utah isn't as warm as I first thought.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #19 (isolation #8) » Fri Feb 24, 2017 4:53 am

Yep. And silly me, too. I never expected Colorado to be warm, but they're both about the same latitude. We were doing more researching and I think we'll be entering CO for a little bit too.

I'm starting to remember how much I love to travel.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #22 (isolation #9) » Fri Feb 24, 2017 5:03 am

In post 20, xRECKONERx wrote:In general, I've found hotels to be cheaper where I'm traveling. Most of the time. There are rare exceptions. When I went to Norfolk, it was cheaper to crash in an AirBnB instead of a hotel, but the AirBnB was also in a pretty sketchy part of town.

I've noticed it cheaper for AirBnB for a lot of parts. But Utah is a different part of the country than North Carolina. I've taken a look at New Jersey and hotels are much cheaper than AirBnB, so I think the general answer to this is, "It depends."

It's all about what you're willing to put up with... when I'm going to see my parents, I appreciate the hotel experience. I also, if I'm renting an AirBnB, want complete privacy, so I only search for "entire home" options, which are more expensive. I think it's just weird to have a private room in a house where there are other people living there I don't know.

Dude, I totally feel you on this. We were looking at a place just today where the hotels are expensive and one of the AirBnBs was reasonably priced and we would have a private room, but in a shared house.

My first thought was, "Not optimal, but OK."

Then I started thinking about shared bathrooms, and it became kind of awkward.

Then I thought about how I don't think the bedrooms would be individually locked and I got worried about leaving our suitcase there, and I didn't like it.

And again, the bathrooms. It's just awkward to share bathrooms with people you don't know. I'm kind of weird, but I'm conservative about who I want smelling my poop after I go. (Don't tell me lysol/febreeze. It doesn't do jack shit.)

Preview Edit - Zor: That's actually a nice place.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #29 (isolation #10) » Fri Feb 24, 2017 5:26 am

In post 23, zoraster wrote:Yeah it was. It looks like she's moved to just doing monthly rentals now though. And I think that'd be kind of weird because while a couple of days there was perfect, there was only a kettle and a coffee maker for food type things and you'd run into her a lot.

I'm curious who do monthly rentals. I don't think it happens a lot. Most people go on vacation for a week or so.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #33 (isolation #11) » Fri Feb 24, 2017 5:30 am

In post 30, zoraster wrote:
In post 29, KuroiXHF wrote:
In post 23, zoraster wrote:Yeah it was. It looks like she's moved to just doing monthly rentals now though. And I think that'd be kind of weird because while a couple of days there was perfect, there was only a kettle and a coffee maker for food type things and you'd run into her a lot.
I'm curious who do monthly rentals. I don't think it happens a lot. Most people go on vacation for a week or so.
I think other sites cater more to the week-month crowd than Airbnb really does, but it's not that unusual for someone to rent a house for a month during the summer or some such.

I hear that and I can understand it can work with kids or if you're a teacher and your job operates from September to June, but I don't understand how most jobs will let you take a month vacation.

In post 31, xRECKONERx wrote:Monthly rentals are also really helpful when people are in transition between jobs or something. I know people who got a job on the other side of the country and had to be out there to start, but didn't have time to fly out beforehand to look at apartments. So they booked an AirBnB for a month while they get on their feet.

OK. That sounds like something I can understand kind of well. I have a few friends who just up and go to different jobs. I have one who grew up in NY, moved to CA, then moved here and is now in PA.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #35 (isolation #12) » Fri Feb 24, 2017 5:39 am

In post 34, zoraster wrote:
In post 33, KuroiXHF wrote:I hear that and I can understand it can work with kids or if you're a teacher and your job operates from September to June, but I don't understand how most jobs will let you take a month vacation.
Depends on what you're doing. Back when my wife was consulting, some of the partners basically would ship their families to a vacation house for a month or two and they'd fly in for a long weekend before flying back out to their clients.

I meant a number of sectors, fields where it would be viable or worth it for places to do only monthly.

And I understand there are some where you can do it. I just think it's somewhat of a rarity.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #41 (isolation #13) » Fri Feb 24, 2017 7:02 am

In post 40, zoraster wrote:
In post 37, Katsuki wrote:
In post 26, zoraster wrote:
In post 24, Katsuki wrote:That Sonoma property just showed up on an airBNB ad offsite...
YOU'RE BEING TRACKEEDDDDDD
I know that you're pretty much tracked across the internet but jesus.
When I was looking at engaging rings online for my then-girlfriend years ago, every single ad I came across was for rings. For like... weeks.

You just typed the word rings.

Prepared to see diamond-everything in ads for the next month.

KuroiXHF · Post Post #45 (isolation #14) » Wed Apr 19, 2017 4:32 am

I should also describe my experience in an Airbnb. So for all but one of the nights during my Utah trip, I spent one night in an Airbnb, and it was for the first night. It was wonderful. They were super respectful of our privacy, gave us little extras like muffins for breakfast, tea, coffee, apple juice, etc. The place was clean and it was a delight. It was cheaper and better than a hotel.

I did bump into the owner, but only because she was taking was finishing a walk around the neighborhood after we just parked our vehicle after visiting some local attractions.