Airbnb queries & info

PLL · 07-02-2015 8:08pm #1

We are planning to go to Lisbon in September for our Anniversary. I have been researching Hotels and found a nice one with a pool (which is a must for us) which we will book if nothing else catches out eye.

Someone then mentioned to me about Air Bnb, they used it for a trip over to England for a wedding and found it great. So I had a look and was shocked to find a few fairly central apartments with a pool for only a bit more than the hotel.

What I want to know is if anyone has used Air BnB to stay somewhere on the continent? Is it safe/reliable? Will our booking be honoured. Any experiences?

Also if anyone has any Lisbon tips they would be much appreciated.

Louche Lad · 07-02-2015 9:08pm

I've used Airbnb a number of times on the Continent - not Portugal, but Belgium, France and the Netherlands. I have always found it reliable, and all places I've stayed in were safe. I only experienced one place that was below a reasonable standard of comfort. All bookings were honoured.

The thing with Airbnb is they ask people to give reviews of places they've stayed at, and you can read people's reviews before you book. Note that sometimes people praise places more than they should so you have to 'read between the lines' a bit. If places aren't as advertised, or hosts manage to grossly upset guests in some way, then they lose business.

JohnMearsheimer · 07-02-2015 11:27pm

Myself and my girlfriend have used Airbnb twice. I only have positive things to say about it. Apartments have been as described and it has saved us a bomb on hotels. Read the reviews and do a little bit of research about the areas where the apartments are and you'll be fine.

I booked a trip to Lisbon last tear for myself and my girlfriend and I used Priceline to bid on a hotel. There is an element of pot luck when bidding on Priceline though. I eventually got the Marriott in Lisbon for 4 nights for €220 through Priceline. It had a pool and all that carry on. It's another option to keep in mind.

PLL · 08-02-2015 5:25pm

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

Myself and my girlfriend have used Airbnb twice. I only have positive things to say about it. Apartments have been as described and it has saved us a bomb on hotels. Read the reviews and do a little bit of research about the areas where the apartments are and you'll be fine.

I booked a trip to Lisbon last tear for myself and my girlfriend and I used Priceline to bid on a hotel. There is an element of pot luck when bidding on Priceline though. I eventually got the Marriott in Lisbon for 4 nights for €220 through Priceline. It had a pool and all that carry on. It's another option to keep in mind.

Thank you for the tip about Priceline. I have never heard of it before. 4 nights in the Marriott for that price is a great deal.

finbarrk · 10-02-2015 10:07am

The thing I don't like about airbnb is that the host can cancel without penalty, whereas if the guest cancells it's penalised. Make sure there are good reviews before you book.

keithclancy · 10-02-2015 11:13am

finbarrk wrote: »

The thing I don't like about airbnb is that the host can cancel without penalty, whereas if the guest cancells it's penalised. Make sure there are good reviews before you book.

Well to be fair the same can happen with a Hotel/B&B also.

If a hotel or B&B cancels your reservation what exactly is the penalty for them other than bad reviews and their reputation ?

jjbrien · 10-02-2015 4:08pm

What i dont like about Airbnb is i made a booking then the host refused it as he said he had others coming the same day. It took my money and I then had to wait for my bank to return the money back to my card before i could try again.

keithclancy · 10-02-2015 5:20pm

jjbrien wrote: »

What i dont like about Airbnb is i made a booking then the host refused it as he said he had others coming the same day. It took my money and I then had to wait for my bank to return the money back to my card before i could try again.

Just send a message before hand asking if the dates are available.

Louche Lad · 10-02-2015 6:12pm

keithclancy wrote: »

Just send a message before hand asking if the dates are available.

Yes, that's the way to do it. What I do is simply ask 5-6 hosts "Is the room available Thursday-Sunday nights, 10th-13th April?", and then choose the best one of those that respond within a few hours. Unfortunately some hosts are a bit casual about keeping their calendar up to date.

Also, there are some rivals to Airbnb, such as Wimdu, using almost identical booking processes.

keithclancy · 11-02-2015 10:04am

Louche Lad wrote: »

Yes, that's the way to do it. What I do is simply ask 5-6 hosts "Is the room available Thursday-Sunday nights, 10th-13th April?", and then choose the best one of those that respond within a few hours. Unfortunately some hosts are a bit casual about keeping their calendar up to date.

Also, there are some rivals to Airbnb, such as Wimdu, using almost identical booking processes.

Yes that's true

I'm an AirBNB host myself, if you message them though it's in their interest to respond to you within 24 hours otherwise it affects their response rate and their bookings.

It's also better if you have some verification such as a passport logged with AirBNB, many hosts won't take bookings from non verified guests.

Also when communicating with your host your best off doing everything through AirBNB Messaging as the same response rate thing applies and if there are any problems its all logged via AirBNB.

Communication is the key really, the nice thing about AirBNB is that it's flexible for the host and for the guest.

finbarrk · 11-02-2015 8:35pm

keithclancy wrote: »

Well to be fair the same can happen with a Hotel/B&B also.

If a hotel or B&B cancels your reservation what exactly is the penalty for them other than bad reviews and their reputation ?

But if you book an apartment with airbnb somewhere that a big event is coming up, and the host doesn't realise it until some time after the booking is done, he/she will cancel as he/she knows they can get much more for the same booking from someone else. I got caught that way, hence I'm a bit sceptical about it. At least with the likes of booking.com your booking will be honoured.
Although I have an apartment booked through airbnb in Spain for this summers hols.

keithclancy · 11-02-2015 8:46pm

finbarrk wrote: »

But if you book an apartment with airbnb somewhere that a big event is coming up, and the host doesn't realise it until some time after the booking is done, he/she will cancel as he/she knows they can get much more for the same booking from someone else. I got caught that way, hence I'm a bit sceptical about it. At least with the likes of booking.com your booking will be honoured.
Although I have an apartment booked through airbnb in Spain for this summers hols.

I've had a hotel do the exact same.

finbarrk · 16-02-2015 9:15pm

keithclancy wrote: »

I've had a hotel do the exact same.

Never happened to me with a hotel.

keithclancy · 17-02-2015 12:51pm

finbarrk wrote: »

Never happened to me with a hotel.

Booked hotel in Dusseldorf around 6 months in advance, turned out there was a medical conference scheduled at the same time announced 3 months later.

The Hotel Cancelled my booking saying there was a problem with the booking.

When I went to re-book the price had gone from 49 euros to 650 euros.

Ended up staying on a mates couch as everything was more than 400 euros.

AndersLimpar · 17-02-2015 4:32pm

Is AirBnB suitable travelling with children?

Sam Mac · 17-02-2015 5:23pm

AndersLimpar wrote: »

Is AirBnB suitable travelling with children?

Yes, it is just like renting an apartment. Its not like Couchsurfing or anything.

ashvoucher · 31-03-2015 11:16pm

It's very safe and reliable. I have used it once before in Spain and our host was beyond amazing and helpful! Looking forward to an upcoming trip to Spain...

I have a discount code to receive 23euro off your first booking if anyone wants to avail of it - acoffey44 ....

Happy holidays!!

grimm2005 · 01-04-2015 1:56am

Used it once with 2 mates on a trip to Chicago a few years back. No issues at all, host was great and always contactable and it was really nice to have our own apartment where we could cook our own breakfast and just have more of a homely feel for the duration of our stay.

ScottSF · 01-04-2015 11:24am

I think the confusion that needs to be cleared up is that Airbnb is a "space" booking service. It can be for an entire house or apartment or just a spare room in someone's place (while they are home). It can be for a sun holiday home or it involve renting out someone's apartment while they out of town. There is everything from luxury to rustic to budget so you have to search wisely, read the reviews, and email the owners with questions. It is more effort to book than a hotel but you benefit from an authentic stay, more space, and a kitchen to make meals if you wish.

If you are not looking to sleep in a spare bedroom and wish to rent an entire apartment/flat/house (a search/filter option you can check on Airbnb) then it is comparable to using HomeAway.com or HouseLettings.co.uk or VRBO for example. However those sites are for dedicated/permanent holiday lets (often managed by a property agent) whereas Airbnb includes both places that are holiday homes/apartments as well as places that are only rented out when the owner is away. I tend to prefer dedicated holiday lets only because you don't have to deal with someone else's stuff all around.

I do like the way Airbnb handles payment and security. You pay Airbnb and they in turn pay the owner once you arrive and help mediate disputes. You never have to pass along your credit card or wire money to a stranger to make a booking like many other sites.

One more plus of Airbnb is their European HQ is in Dublin, so you are supporting Irish jobs

zagmund · 11-04-2015 2:47pm

Sigh. My summer holiday is going backwards at this stage.

We had a great place (sole occupancy, not shared) booked on the edge of Lake Geneva for the end of June, but the owner just mailed us to say that "something has come up" and he is cancelling the reservation. To say I am unimpressed is to understate things significantly. I have learned a very valuable lesson in terms of the wonderful new world of free form rentals on the internet. At least I get my money back, but now I have to start planning almost my entire holiday again and unfortunately I know that there's no way I'll get anything near that value so it's going to cost me a fair whack too.

Knowing the way these things work, I have a funny feeling that airbnb will have some sort of T&C in place which says that the owner can cancel at any time without penalty despite the fact that the visitor will be hit with charges if they cancel.

Anyhoo, no real point to this other than to vent in general and warn others of the risk of this happening. At least with (most) hotels they will try to re-accommodate you if they have to pull the plug for some reason.

Sigh,

z

rowanh · 11-04-2015 2:58pm

I had a place booked in Santa Barbara on Airbnb and the host cancelled, she booked me in somewhere else and paid the difference in cost. I have used the site quite a few times over the last few years and only have had very small hassles from it. I know one person who had a bad experience where the person did not show up with the key and it was late at night in the middle of nowhere..

Gatica · 13-04-2015 8:39am

Common problem and there have been other threads on this issue on Boards. Unfortunately that's what can happen when you're trying to rent someone's home...
You're not hit with extra charges by the cancellation as I'm sure Airbnb will refund you every penny. It's just isn't going to be a cheap for you to re-book elsewhere. Personally I wouldn't rely on them if it's for somewhere where the options are limited as we've been burned with it ourselves. It's grand in a city where there's lots of alternatives should it happen.

finbarrk · 13-04-2015 12:11pm

Thats the main problem with airbnb. Hosts cancelling without a penalty. But if the guest cancells, there is a penalty.

keithclancy · 13-04-2015 12:30pm

zagmund wrote: »

Sigh. My summer holiday is going backwards at this stage.

We had a great place (sole occupancy, not shared) booked on the edge of Lake Geneva for the end of June, but the owner just mailed us to say that "something has come up" and he is cancelling the reservation. To say I am unimpressed is to understate things significantly. I have learned a very valuable lesson in terms of the wonderful new world of free form rentals on the internet. At least I get my money back, but now I have to start planning almost my entire holiday again and unfortunately I know that there's no way I'll get anything near that value so it's going to cost me a fair whack too.

Knowing the way these things work, I have a funny feeling that airbnb will have some sort of T&C in place which says that the owner can cancel at any time without penalty despite the fact that the visitor will be hit with charges if they cancel.

Anyhoo, no real point to this other than to vent in general and warn others of the risk of this happening. At least with (most) hotels they will try to re-accommodate you if they have to pull the plug for some reason.

Sigh,

z

Did the host mail you outside of AirBNB ?

If so keep the correspondence through the AirBNB messaging service.

Make sure the host cancels the reservation and not you

More info:
https://www.airbnb.ie/support/article/170

You should mail your complaint to AirBNB as they may accommodate you.

finbarrk wrote: »

Thats the main problem with airbnb. Hosts cancelling without a penalty. But if the guest cancells, there is a penalty.

That's not true, it leaves a negative review on the hosts feedback saying the reservation was cancelled and if the guest does it more than once they will have to pay a penalty.

They also lose their superhost status if they have it.

So it can cost them future reservations and earnings.

sandra_b · 18-07-2015 11:39am

Hi all,

I am going to Nice and I am looking for an apartment through AirBnb. I found the one I really like, but the host does not have any revews.
He is verified through Facebook, ID and phone and has 1 review as a guest.

Would you book an apartment with no reviews? How safe you think it is?
Thank you.

Curb Your Enthusiasm · 18-07-2015 11:50am

I'd try to pick somewhere that has a few reviews, but you should be fine.

Every user starts on the site with no reviews, when you think about it.

Yamanoto · 18-07-2015 12:25pm

Tell the owner you're really interested in their property & ask if you could have a quick chat on the phone about the rental process, the house & surrounding area. If they're amenable (and assuming their English / your French is up to it), then you can get some sense of whether it's a punt worth taking or not.

RainyDay · 18-07-2015 12:26pm

I had a similar situation when booking for Barcelona recently, and I just moved on to find one with reviews. To me, it was just too high risk, given the people who were travelling with me.

keithclancy · 18-07-2015 3:50pm

The thing is though, the price will be lower as the person starts out with a low price when they have no reviews and then raise the price when they have a few good reviews.

So it might be good value.

Celly Smunt · 18-07-2015 3:53pm

I'd have a chat with then and go from there. The review system is a little flawed on airbnb anyway since the host has to approve a review so basically negative ones can be filtered out.

Curb Your Enthusiasm · 18-07-2015 4:48pm

Celly Smunt wrote: »

I'd have a chat with then and go from there. The review system is a little flawed on airbnb anyway since the host has to approve a review so basically negative ones can be filtered out.

That doesn't sound right at all. Sure then there'd be no negative reviews whatsoever!

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Airbnb queries & info