Airbnb

The podcast How I Built This interviewed Joe Gebbia, founder of Airbnb. There was a convention in Joe’s town that sold out of hotel rooms. Quickly, he made a website to auction off the three air mattresses he set up in his living room. The winners won more than a spot on Gebbia’s floor, they got an experience. He toured the winners around the city, cooked breakfast, provided local maps, and made them feel like insiders, not tourists. His site was originally called www.airbedandbreakfast.com, “air” because of the mattress. The business blossomed into fully expressing its tagline of “Belong Anywhere”.

To use the service most effectively, you should book the houses on a computer for easiest viewing, but then download the phone app for more portability while you are traveling. You search for homes available for locations, dates, room types or price. There are also filters to narrow your search and include “pet friendly”, “hot tub”, “waterfront”, “igloo”, and “smokers allowed.” You can message the host to ask questions before you book. You can look at a multitude of photos of the space.

Know that your credit card is charged when you book. So, for instance, if you were to book 31 houses in a single night, you will have a monstrous credit card bill.

The app is super handy. It reminds you when your booking is coming up. The app will ask you to check in that morning. It has a message portion so that you can talk to the hosts like texting. The app will text you to let you know that you have a new inbox message. It will give you directions to the listing. After your visit, it will remind you to review the listing.

From my experience, here are some of the overall advantages of Airbnb.

• You get to stay in cool places that are unlike any hotel.
• You can search “pets allowed” and show only places that are animal-friendly.
• The cost is usually less than a four-star hotel and you get the whole house if you want it. This is especially advantageous if you are traveling with a group and splitting costs.
• It is healthier for you. Most of my Airbnb houses had full kitchens. I was able to shop at grocery stores, store food overnight in the refrigerator, and refreeze my ice packs for my cooler. If you are so inclined (which I was not), you could even cook.
• It makes you feel like you are visiting friends in the area. I didn’t feel like a tourist.
• The hosts are usually willing to give local recommendations and this was priceless.
• You can interact as much or as little as you want with the host. If you are looking to make friends, some hosts enjoy that same interaction. Most of the hosts I experienced were available on an “as needed” basis or were out of town with a local contact person in charge.
• Some hosts use Airbnb for companionship. I always reserved whole houses or guest houses, so this aspect eluded me.
• You get to stay in the houses owned by some interesting people, like Albert Reed, a model who appeared on Dancing with the Stars and Alissa Moreno, a songwriter for Rascal Flatts.

And here are some of the disadvantages.

• The host may not be completely forthcoming. For example, Abby and I stayed in a house where the entrance opened to an alley with burnt out buildings and shady characters loitering. In another location, I walked Abby to the nearby park and noticed that every house has a sign stating “No Trespassing”. I asked a man on the street about the signs and he told me that the neighborhood had become quite rough. On our walk back to the house, two different carloads of men yelled two different sets of lewd comments. There was no mention in either listing of a difficult neighborhood. If you are not alone, this might not be a big deal. If you are alone, it makes for some sleepless nights.
• The houses are usually cleaned by the owners, whereas hotels would be cleaned by professionals. Some of the homes had professional cleaning people. One of the houses was “self-cleaning” and had a to-do list on the fridge for the tenants to do. This included washing and drying the sheets. Granted, there was no “cleaning fee” charged, so you cleaned the place under the threat of getting a bad review. So, the cleaning person was the previous tenant, which caused me to question how hygienic the house was.
• Airbnb users and hosts don’t tend to state bad things in the public review. (Myself included.) For example, at one house, Abby barked for about 25 minutes one day after I left. I was unaware until the host told me in my private review after we had gone. But, in my public review, he wrote that Abby was well behaved. I would have more confidence in his reviews if he mentioned that she barked. I felt that other hosts should know that barking was a possibility.
• Another house had garbage on the front lawn and discarded and rotted furniture on the porch. The inside of the house was beautiful, but the outside was off-putting. This house was in a remote area in Montana with gorgeous mountain views. I wrote to the hosts privately that they should consider cleaning it up, as the initial appearance might give tenants an uneasy feeling being so far from civilization. There was no mention of this (myself included again) in any reviews. As I stayed in more homes, I started being more honest in my public reviews, especially about the neighborhoods.
• Airbnb is very personal in some cases. Some homes had clothes in the closets, food in the kitchen, religious quotes on the walls, and jewelry on the dresser. Others were wiped clean of all possessions. Personally, I prefer the house to feel sterile, without personal affects.

Here are some tips on how to minimize the disadvantages.

• Ask about the neighborhood. The host may not be forthcoming, as it may cause them to lose the listing. Research the neighborhood online. After the catcalling walk, I felt tentative about taking Abby outside for her last pee that evening.
• You can ask why they no longer live in the house. Sometimes, it might be a downturn in the neighborhood. Or it might be the annoyance of carrying groceries up three floors without an elevator. It could be the gorgeous but trepidatious spiral staircase that is the only access from the first floor to the second to the third. They may tell you the truth.
• I would leave notes for the homeowner to clarify things. For example, if the previous tenants left a load of sheets in the washer or dryer, I would leave a note. I wanted to clarify anything that deviated from the “House Rules”.
• Be aware of your surroundings and protect yourself. I carried bear spray everywhere that was questionable.

All in all, I highly recommend Airbnb. It was a huge positive factor in the trip of a lifetime! Airbnb added an unexpected aspect to the trip in the uniqueness of the accommodations.