Airbnb has Problems and the Platform NEEDS to Change for Guests!
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
- This video is a letter to Airbnb on 10 things we and our viewers think Airbnb should change to make the platform better for the customer and world traveler. We cover topics like pricing transparency, cleaning fees, ease in searching for units, reviews, loyalty programs, safety, customer service, impact on communities and more.
In today's video, we summarize the feedback of our viewers from our video when we explain why we QUIT staying in Airbnb during our full time travel. After booking 45 Airbnb's during our first year of world travel and having a wide variety of issues and frustrations, we decided that we had better options. We detail all the specific issues, that we think Airbnb needs to improve. These deal with fees, cleaning, misleading photos, lack of loyalty programs, bugs and much more. These are the reasons why we now stay in hotels the vast majority of the time. Is an Airbnb crash on the way? Many
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We love living on the road, traveling each week to a new location. We plan to travel extensively to every part of the world. Ours is not a slow travel lifestyle but rather a vagabondish one. The goal is not to check a country off a list, but to experience it by meeting new people, seeing how others live, and making new friends. We believe in laughing, loving, and living our lives to the fullest.
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Video # 140
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00:00 Introduction
02:42 Airbnb #1: Have Transparent Pricing
04:25 Airbnb #2: Eliminate Cleaning Fees!
05:24 Airbnb #3: Improve Your Search Platform
06:16 Airbnb #4: Change Your "Review" System
08:26 Airbnb #5: Add a Loyalty Program
09:15 Airbnb #6: Require Smoke Detectors
10:12 Airbnb #7: Make Privacy a Priority
11:24 Airbnb #8: Designate Your LOCAL Hosts
12:25 Airbnb #9: Review Impact on Communities
13:35 Airbnb #10: Revamp Customer Service
14:23 Conclusion
My husband and I are going to Paris for two weeks over the Christmas holiday and had an Airbnb booked. A few weeks ago the host told us she had to cancel because Paris had changed a law/rule that meant she could not rent the apartment for the remainder of the year. Then she told me I could still rent the apartment if I rented directly from the owner and she would give me information on how to send the money. This sounded fishy to me, so I declined and asked her to cancel the booking. She made me cancel the booking. I then went searching for a hotel, which cost much more now that we are so close to Christmas. I'm done with Airbnb.
Wow, thanks for sharing. That is awful. We hate it when the host wants YOU to cancel. It is always a trick.
Safe travels,
John and Bev,
retirementtravelers.com/
Yes, I’m thinking of staying in a hotel due to issues like this. I believe there are a lot of scrupulous hosts and they need to be weeded out and banned.
several years ago we rented a 3-bedroom beautiful apt in the 1st arrondissement, through a realty co (no airbnb listing). They required that we pay the fee in cash upon arrival, before we took possession, but did allow us to do a quick walk through to make sure it was intact. I was very nervous about that set up and never have understood why they did it this way, but it was a wonderful place actually at a decent rate. I don't know if we got lucky or what.
Many western cities are starting to apply weird, seemingly impulsive renting rules regarding Airbnb. We are full time travelers like Bev and John for the last two years, we are 10 years older than them and we have not had any major problems so far with Airbnb. I think when people are traveling for just a short vacation they can’t be as flexible with their time. Good luck with the hotel in Paris and enjoy your vacation there it is a fabulous city!
I run a traditional B&B. I have my own website but also list on Air. This past year I had to cancel a guest’s Air booking minutes after she had made it because a direct booking had been made on my own site three minutes before her Air booking. Because Air hosts are penalized heavily if they cancel, I explained to the Air guest and asked her to cancel on her end. I refunded her in full and sent her a check to cover the Air fees. I am very grateful she was understanding. I am a single handed sailor in my micro business and keep hyper vigilant to avoid double booking. On this occasion I wasn’t fast enough. Please understand - a host asking you to cancel is not always a trick.
We got so many comments from our viewers on our "Why we quit Airbnb" video a few months ago that we wanted to summarize the feedback in hopes that Airbnb might make some positive changes for their customers! Thanks for watching and safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
That was a very good video. I would not use Air BnB for travelling again. We were thinking of starting an AirBnB on our farm but don't really want to now.
@@Vee-zx6eh Thanks for sharing. We have been more pleased with booking dot com. It is just so much more user friendly.
John and Bev
I can understand why the cleaning fee is separate since the rental is cleaned once. A guest staying 5 nights, eg, is much more efficient for the host than 5 guests each staying one night, so there should be either a break for the 5 night guest, or a higher charge for shorter stays. Agree on the blocking of problem guests. We bring our own coffee cups, pack out our trash, and many times for one night, don’t shower. There is nothing to do after us but change the sheets, but we still pay $175 sometimes for cleaning.
Never stay in ABB and never will. Can’t imagine changing the sheets and cleaning everything on my time off. They charge you for the property and cleaning on top of it separately. What do they expect hosting the ghosts without using anything. 👻👻👻👻🤑
@@Chantesky I’ve never had to change sheets. Some hosts ask you to strip the bed. I have never cleaned anything or been asked to. We have had great AirBnB stays. I just do t stay long enough usually to justify the fees. But you have a mistaken impression.
Thank you John and Bev for pointing out these necessary changes. I hope this video goes viral and lands on AB&B ears.
Thanks and we hope it does go viral. Feel free to share and thanks for watching.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I've got good and bad AirBnB stories, but these days I'd rather just stay at a hotel. No more surprises when I arrive. If there is a problem with one room at the hotel, they can fix it or move you to another room. And, we have loyalty points and uogrades. But, I appreciate your giving this excellent advice to AirBnB. Very respectfully done.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and following along with us. We sincerely hope that Airbnb improves so that travelers get more good experiences. We have simply enjoyed hotels more than airbnbs.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
AMEN!!!!!!!! We switched to hotels because we got so sick of the hidden fees, false descriptions, bad customer service, and negative impact on communities.
Thanks for sharing. Hotels for us.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Very good video! I'm a frequent Airbnb user and I agree with most of your points. Especially that Airbnb needs to implement some sort of loyalty program. I hope that Airbnb executives will heed your recommendations for the constructive feedback that it is!
Thanks so much. We do hope they make some changes that will help travelers. Thanks for commenting and following along with us.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks folks, we've just stopped using Air B&B's. Last minute owner cancellation is very common in Europe. We're convinced that when given the opportunity of filling un-rented days with a long term renter, they become overwhelmed with a service problem, a flood repair etc. No recourse. Prices are quite high when you add all the hidden charges and certainly much higher when you calculate in your own time spent cleaning, putting away laundry, sorting garbage. Frankly the owners have simply gotten lazy and demanding...we're done.
Hotels for us. Thanks for sharing.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Y'all are very kind and generous to publish this. If Airbnb pays attention and does these things, it could be a win for everyone - the customers, the company, the hosts, and the cities. Thank you for staying positive and fair. Again, very kind of you to offer this content.
Thanks and we hope so. The more great lodging choices that travelers have, the better it is for everyone. Thanks for watching.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I have been travelling in Europe for the last 3 months. This time I used booking and it was so much better.
We had the exact same experience from last year to this year. We had a few great Airbnb stays, but overall no comparison!
Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
I wonder if the one way reviews is part of it. No risk for stayers to tell the truth in the reviews
Comments and suggestions are spot on! Thanks for sharing an alternate suggestion. We got cancelled by a host at the last minute this summer. Fortunately, we found another home, which turned out great. We were within driving distance but we did wonder what would have happened if the whole family had airline tickets and had encountered this last minute cancellation. Frustrating that there was no compensation for our additional time and energy to fix the issue.
Great point and thanks for sharing. We really think Airbnb needs to shift more focus to the paying customer and making their experience better.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
price transparency AND a list of the damn house rules are. It's crazy to show up to a house and you have a list of 'to do's' and 'musts' and frankly it's less hassle to just stay in a hotel. I am not going to clean the house before I leave, nor will I pay a cleaning fee. and NO I am not stripping the beds and loading the damn Laundry and mopping the floor.
We enjoy not getting reviewed, not paying cleaning fees, getting free breakfasts, and gaining actual loyalty points at hotels. We keep hoping Airbnb improves, but not seeing it yet.
Safe travels and thanks for sharing,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
We stayed in an Air BnB earlier this year because we were attending a wedding out of town. During the night (about 2am) the owner came into our room and drew the curtains whilst we were in Bed!!! She came in via the door from the bathroom and exited into the living room before we knew what happened. She must have seen we were in bed. It was very unsettling. We woke up, confused and wondered who the heck it was and how the heck she got in and where did she go once we got out of bed!!. It was in the morning we realised there was a hidden staircase behind the kitchen where she entered/exited whilst we was asleep! Creepy and unsafe. Never again. First and last time.
Wow, unfortunately these types of things are happening far too often. Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Did you complain to BnB customer support? I know for sure their Customer support is very good and responsive. I was in a situation where a host was supposed to meet me at the unit and he was a no show and had to wait for 3 hours before realizing that the entry door was unlocked and the unit not cleaned and made ready at all. I did try to reach the owners tel and absolutely no response. I lodged a formal complaint that night and left the unit the next morning with the fee being refunded. I wrote my comments and realized later that it was removed. Was shocked how a comment could be deleted. I sent BnB the pictures of the unit as I entered and my comments were very legit. That Host had a totally crappy place and didnt deserve the rating.
Yes we complained but the comment was taken down. I wont ever use AirBnB again. I will never again feel comfortable staying in a stranger's guest rooms.@@cookmaster3626
@@cookmaster3626oh dear. That’s awful. Does Airbnb think people who spend $10k+ on airfares plus an additional $10k to $20k on a family holiday think people should be treated as such and are irresponsible.
It appears guests aren’t the priority and that’s a problem. A holiday shouldn’t be like this. I feel for your experience. Awful.
@josephj6521 AirBnB does not provide the accommodation.
This is so on point. We spent a year traveling the globe and our stays were hit and miss. You have to do so much research to just make sure that what you are getting in the product is want you wanted in the first place. The wife always does a deep clean when we stay at an AirBnB and this shouldn't have to be the case. We traveled with our own skillet, spatula and knife during that year because we often found the kitchen stuff to be awful. Next year we will go back to Europe for 4 months and hope to book on alternative sites.
Thanks and glad you found it helpful. Good luck with your travels.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thank you so much for this post. I help my family run rentals on the OBX. We run the program (booking, inspection, cleaning, repairs, etc) ourselves. However, several of the units in our development are on AirBnb. I have heard horror stories from friends who were harassed through texting and phone calls by owners after they left an unfavorable review. One owner retaliated by claiming ridiculous damage fees. The stay was a one-night stay by retired, elderly college professors. There was no damage done. Airbnb did nothing to assist or mediate. I will never use this company, either as a host or as a guest.
Thanks for commenting and sharing that story. We hear similar type stories too often. If we head down to the OBX, we now know who we can rent from!
Thanks again and many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Best to take a video and photos when you leave a property?
Sadly, I had this happen to me this summer when I stayed in Athens. The host made up a bunch of ridiculous damages to get more money from me because I reported her to Airbnb for reaching out to me on WhatsApp and asking me to cancel my reservation and paying her cash upon arrival. I had a bad feeling about the host but it was too late to do anything so we stayed in the apartment which turned out to have many issues. The whole experience was a nightmare and lasted for months. I finally had to involve a supervisor at Airbnb to fix this mess. The host didn’t win anything because she had no way to prove her fraudulent claims but she did aggravate me and caused me stress.
VRBO is better and they don’t put do much extra charge on the fees as Airbn . I think there are so many other options websites to rent .
@@sweetsimpleslowlife2709 Maybe the host felt you were going to be a pain in the ass and didn't want to rent to you .
Thank you for sharing these! Hopefully AirBnB is watching. As long-term travelers we rely heavily on short-term furnished rentals, but AirBnB is becoming less and less of a go-to option for us. We used to trust the reviews on AirBnB until we learned that future hosts can see the reviews you wrote about previous places you stayed. So if you write a negative review, a future host may not want to rent to you, thus encouraging mostly positive reviews on the platform.
The system of reviews is certainly a bit flawed. Thanks for sharing.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
My Australian daughter moved to LA and had booked an Airbnb for a month whilst she looked for her own place.
She arrived at 11pm to find that she had been given the keycode to the apartment door but not to the security door. The entire apartment block was surrounded by a high 1.8mt fence and without the security door code she could not even get the attention of anyone inside the complex. The apartments are managed by a company and of course no-one was available at that late hour to assist. After many attempts to contact Airbnb at midnight sitting on the curbside in Hollywood (not the safest area to be stranded) and calling me in tears, Airbnb finally offered to cover up to $130 for a hotel for the night, as they could not offer an alternative place to stay, but everywhere she tried calling was fully booked. We couldn't even book anything online. She ended up sleeping (if you can call it that) in her little rental car. She eventually managed to get into the apartment by around 10am the next day and they tried to charge her $50 for using one of the car parking spaces overnight, UNBELIEVABLE Airbnb refunded her ONE nights accomodation !!
So sorry to hear about your bad and scary experience. We have been so much more satisfied with hotels instead of Airbnb.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Air B&B needs competition that will make them change. Overcharging for all sorts of things and crazy 'review' rules. I will never stay at one again.
Yes, competition is a good thing. We have been so much more pleased with our hotel stays lately vs. Airbnb. It seems like they make everything more complicated than it should be and it is difficult to trust them! Thanks for sharing and following along with us.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thank you for including the fact that corporate greed is destroying the housing markets for the neighborhoods and families who need houses. In fact, there needs to be a law prohibiting corporate accumulation of houses. And I agree on your points. Any more, I also use hotel sites.
We heard this from SO many of our viewers about many different cities. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and hope you enjoy our channel.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
#9 is the most important to me. It's terrible what's happening to locals bc of corporate investors.
Thanks. We have heard this from SO many people. Hopefully either cities or Airbnb will make some changes.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
On your point about internal cameras, a friend's daughter, while on honeymoon in Scotland, found a hidden camera in an air freshener in the bathroom. She only noticed it because it hadn't been in the bathroom earlier that day and there was already another air freshener already in the room. The matter was dealt with swiftly by local police and one would hope by Airbnb, but it left them shaken.
Wow, that’s awful. Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
What did the local Police do ?
I don't know what the outcome of the investigation was @@sarahann530
The last Airbnb I stayed at has cured me of ever staying at one unless it’s Dena’s Place. I arrived at the place, host walks me through a very dirty front room into a kitchen filled with five barking dogs. Tells me there is wine and cheese in refrigerator, shows me my room…which is off the cluttered laundry room. The room itself was lovely and clean. It had its own half bath…I was looking around and asked the host where I would be bathing and she said “down the hall, I’m running late” and left. My room was beyond hot and stuffy with only a window fan. The TV didn’t work, there was supposed to be a mini fridge but it wasn’t working and I was starving so I ventured out of my room only to be accosted by the five barking dogs who would let me past them so I retreated back to my hot,stuffy room. I tried calling the host to ask about TV, bathroom and dogs but she never answered her phone. I listened to nonstop barking until 1:30 am. I packed up and left as soon as she came home so that she would know just how angry I was. She then sent me an email begging me not to give her a poor review. I could not subject anyone else to this type of vacation accommodation so I did indeed give her a poor review.
Thanks for sharing and glad you gave an accurate review. Customers need to know the truth about places.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Spot on. Airbnb kept e-mailing me to review the property since the hosts had reviewed me. Nope. Tired of anytime you buy anything, someone wants a review. In various rentals, I've found that the pictures are NEVER the reality. The photos of welcome snacks and beverages and basket of toiletries is non-existent. Ditto on the check out rules: Do the dishes, take out the trash, sort the recycling, lower the A/C, and gather up the linens. Cleaning fee: For the fee that I paid, I expect rentals to be spotless. Lots of dust on various pieces of furniture. Could be that the owners are not getting what they paid for a cleaning service.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Hotels for us going forward.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Excellent video! A lot of what you pointed out resonates with my one experience with Airbnb. This is why I no longer use Airbnb. Thank you John & Bev!!!
Thanks for sharing! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
We are at an airbnb in Barcelona and 2 days before arriving we were told that to get our check in information that we had to pay a city tourism tax directly to a bank link. It was $32.96. We were never told in advance about this. On our last day of our stay we had no wifi, for 12 hours and then we lost power for over 2 hours. We were blamed for the outage, then when the maintenance man came with the weekend employee, they realized this was not our fault. Then we get a change of tone and we hope that you enjoy your stay here. It's a shame that it took us requesting a refund for the power outage to be fixed.
Thanks for sharing your story and unfortunately we hear about these all the time. We have just experienced far less issues at hotels, for about the same price and better amenities.
Safe travels and many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Totally agree concerning full transparency of the fees. I’m okay however with the cleaning fee because if I stay longer, I pay them only once. To me it makes sense since the host only needs to do the cleaning once. I also like to be reviewed as it makes me a responsible guest and to that effect, I never had a bad review. I wonder why a host would give a bad review if the guest acts in accordance with the rules of the house. Maybe I'm missing something. Anyhow this my take on it. Thanks for your videos.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. We act the same whether staying in a hotel or an Airbnb, and yet hotels don't feel the need to rate us. Thanks for following along with us and safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers If you want transparency, then a nominal fee for cleaning is a realistic and transparent charge. I charge $125 for renting my 5-bedroom house whether you stay the 3-night minimum or for a month. So it's $41.66 per night if you stay 3 nights or $4.17 per night if you stay 30 nights. And no, I don't make my guests wash the linens. That's built into the price (i.e., I do it myself). The cleaning fee goes directly to the cleaners mainly to dust, make the beds, and vacuum and mop the floors--and it is the same work whether you stay 3 nights or 30 nights.
My cleaning fee at my last place was 250. Equal to one nights stay. Wtf.
@@aristotleaquino3067 Why did you stay there ?
We had friends who were canceled "due to construction." But in reality they re-renred at a higher price due to a convention being in the area.
We've heard that same story from many of our viewers.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I gave up on Airbnb very early. Tried it twice. The first time, moved out of the apartment and into a hotel. The second time, the apartment was fine but as someone who is arriving and departing by air, Airbnb doesn't work. As an air traveler, I need a hotel that takes my luggage if I arrive before check-in or don't depart until after check-out. Also, I do not want to walk around the neighbourhood to find the place where the key is left for the guest. Hotels work best for me.
We agree. Hotels for us. Thanks for watching and commenting.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Great video!
Thank you so much 😊
You are so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Airbnb and other platforms always need changes. I’ve been an Airbnb host for over 10 years with a few properties we own. 95%+ of my guests are wonderful. I’ve had a few bad reviews and tried to get a some removed for various reasons. Airbnb is VERY strict and would only remove just one because it was discriminatory. I have also had to cancel a couple of guests over the years because of damage to my place that had to be fixed. Airbnb penalizes the host for canceling with charges, blocking the dates that were cancelled and taking away status. Unless you’re a host you won’t fully understand. What I’ve found over the years is that some people don’t read the full site and reviews before booking.
Thanks for sharing your experience as a host. We are sure it is quite different from our experience. Hopefully all the platforms will continue to improve for both hosts and guests.
Thanks again,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thank you! Your content is always so thoughtful. You have inspired us to broaden our travel goals and to lighten our luggage (no wheels!). We still find it hard to see ourselves adopting an "always on the road" philosophy but we are newly retired and still adjusting our perspective. Cheers from Seattle!
Our pleasure! Glad you are finding our channel thoughtful and best of luck with your retirement journey. We love the Seattle area.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I rented an Airbnb in Paris for a month. The unit was not as advertised but at the end of my stay I gave the owner a great review anyway. However when I received the owners review of me it was nasty and there was nothing I could do about it. His complaint was that the toilet was not scrubbed clean although I did clean it every week and he could have used the cleaning fee if he didn’t like what I did. Once these reviews are in the guest can no longer contact the owner to see what was wrong nor can the review be removed. I have not used Airbnb since.
Thanks for sharing. We had a similar situation once and left a bad taste in our mouth for Airbnb stays. Hotels for us going forward.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Bev & John,
Great video and ideas that sounds reasonable especially since I utilize Airbnb often. Thank you😊
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Most interesting guys - thank you for "calling" these issues out. Think i will stick to hotels 😊
Any time! We have been much happier with hotels and using booking.
Safe travels and many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Glad you can afford hotels. I live on the road, and hotels are beyond my means.
very very good points. I myself have started to avoid using airbnb, mainly due to the exorbitant cleaning fees in many properties. As you've said, why do we need to tidy up and still being charged cleaning fees. It makes more sense to just stay in hotel that also has a little kitchenette (more and more common these days) because we're not staying in the unit most of the days anyway. Thank you for the video, I hope AirBnB take notice and started to make changes
Thanks for sharing. We have been finding kitchenette options through booking and have been pleased. None of the hassles of Airbnb.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thank you and we agree on all your points. Especially the cleaning fees! Once while searching the cleaning fee was MORE than what our stay would have been!!! ~Cara 😊
Oh my! Thanks for sharing and following along with us.
Safe travels and many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks for your perspective. Great info.
Our pleasure. Glad you found it helpful and hope you are enjoying our channel.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Every time I watch one of your videos I learn something - thank you for the great videos and information. 🙂
Thanks for the feedback. So glad you are enjoying our channel.
Happy trails,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Very happy to hear they listened to you and change the cancellation policy. We usually book very far in advance and sometimes plans have to change. We also monitor reviews to see if to many problems and complaints arise. The stated cancelation policy at booking is fine
Thanks for following along and adding to the discussion. We find booking is simpler with search and cancellation, but really want travelers to have options.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
This is great information! Thank you. I would just like to add that I have only stayed in a few airbnbs but recently booked a stay and had to cancel not long after. (The wedding was cancelled!) I immediately was issued a refund back to my bank within a couple days. I was so grateful because it was a good bit of money and this meant a lot, a real positive ending! So glad they got rid of the cleaning fee! So ridiculous to have to pay a fee to clean your own room.
Thanks for sharing your story and glad to hear it turned out well.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
We stopped using Airbnb due to many of the same issues everyone else has. We never have those issues with Hyatt or JW Marriott so we stick with them or other reputable hoteliers when we travel.
We agree completely. We also use a credit credit card hack and transfer our Chase points to Hyatt. Some amazing free stays.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks for this video! I’ve never used Airbnb and doubt that we would ever consider it unless these changes you recommend are made.
Glad it was helpful! There are better options than Airbnb.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Safety is a big issue, I’m hearing impaired, I have a cochlear implant in right ear and hearing aid in left ear. When I sleep, when I’m sleeping I don’t have them in. So during the night I’m deaf in right ear and almost deaf in left. I like hotels because they have hearing accessible rooms. Most air bnbs don’t. That’s scary.
Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Thank you so much for this informative video. At the end of 2022, my husband and I took an 17 day trip up and down the coast of California, staying in Airbnb’s. At the end of the vacation, when we inspected all of our receipts, we saw that we had spent over $750 in cleaning fees. The funny thing is, we got all positive reviews that said we left the homes spotless, and we were welcome to return!! And the fees are all over the place: a three bedroom home in Cambria cost $160 for two nights in cleaning fees, even though we used one bedroom and one bathroom; a 2-bed cottage in Eureka charged $70 in cleaning fees for a seven night stay. I’m not saying that I will never use Airbnb again; however, I will be much more cautious in researching the hidden costs, and making sure that I stay longer in a property to make the cleaning fees worthwhile. And by the way, I agree with other comments… We were asked to take out the trash, put towels in the washing machine and start a load…
Thanks for sharing your experiences with our viewers.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Great info, thank you!
Our pleasure. Glad you found it helpful.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I agree with most of these points. My family and I have stayed at over 30 places all over the world. When people ask me about using AirBnb, I always tell them to read very carefully all the information, read the reviews, and ask questions like "What floor is the apartment on? Does the building have an elevator, etc". I have a list of questions that I always ask the "owner" and if they don't respond properly I don't rent. Also its usually pretty easy to tell if a place is corp owned and I just avoid those places.
Thanks for the tips and sharing your experiences.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Your points are good. As both a host and a traveler, I see both sides. My house is clean and spacious. It is well maintained by my management company because I am often gone. I have had 2 glass tables and numerous other items broken. It made me wonder what kind of feral animals were renting my place. When I rent, I leave the place with hardly a trace except used towels.
Thanks. It really is a shame some guests behave so badly. We are considerate whether staying in a hotel or rental. We are sure you are a wonderful host. We just want to see great travel experiences for everyone and believe Airbnb can make some positive changes.
Safe travels and many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Hi John and Bev, thank you for discussing this topic. Airbnb might change some of your safety/hospitality concerns, but I can't see them changing most things as their only interest is money and looking after the big guys (they are a company after all). Maybe when they have competition will they do things differently. There is an alternative, at least that I know of in Eastern Europe, which had been done for at least 40 years that I know of, and that is Tourist Bureau of a particular city/municipality. Home owners rent out rooms or apartments (of which they live in a different part of the same building) and is cleaned and looked after by the family. These home owners are registered by the Tourist Bureau and either get bookings through the Tourist Bureau or advertise privately, but they must follow the law of that government. In my experience I have found that they are usually cheaper than Airbnb. I am Croatian and have family members that continue to do this for many, many years. If you're thinking of travelling to Croatia next summer, let me know so you can experience it for yourself. It's easy to get stuck in a belief (or follow the crowd, like sheep) that a particular way or company (in this case Airbnb) is safer or better and not trust other alternatives. No matter where you turn there are scammers and possible bad experiences, but stepping out and looking at other options can be positive and rewarding too. It's also a great way to truely meet the locals. Safe and happy travels.
❤Zeljka
Thanks so much for this info. We spent 3 months in the Balkans last summer and loved it. We are booked next year, but perhaps summer of 2025 we can return to Croatia. We would love to check this out.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Grounded Travel has joined you in leaving Airbnb (for the most part) for roughly the same reasons. I have never been fond of them but we are not long term travelers.
Thanks for sharing. It may be great for certain types of travelers, but we have enjoyed our hotel stays and using booking dot com much more than Airbnb.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I totally agree about that it’s not right that some people own a few Airbnb’s and get a company to manage. It is very impersonal and I cleaned for one of these companies. They pay very badly and give the cleaner only 1 1/2 hours to clean a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom place. That is never clean after such a short time, I always cleaned an extra hour without pay. That is just not right. I now have my own Airbnb and love cleaning it to my standard and people love it.
Thanks for sharing and sounds like you are an amazing host. This is exactly the type of thing we were talking about that customers want to stay in places like yours.
Many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
All good and valid points I hope Airbnb listens and changes. The corporate influence of multiple places is a big issue for the reasons cited. I had a host(Corporate) cancel while I was on a roadtrip to the location and even specified I would be driving and not available. They left a message and wanted me to cancel. I didn't and they relented but the place was very badly described and in a very unsafe neighborhood.
Thanks for sharing and good call on not cancelling. You know they are up to no good when they want you to cancel.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thank you for the time you have taken to make this informative video ❤
If AirBnb read this I would like the following improvements:
1. When guests are paying a long way in advance for accommodation (in my case 8 months) do not take the full payment - split it into a deposit and a later payment nearer the time of the stay.
2. When dealing with Customer services it is more efficient for the customer to deal with 1 operative rather than a different person each time. My experience of AirBnb customer service is lack of continuity and constant repetition of the problem by the customer (5 different people were involved in my complaint and it wasn’t resolved). Also, delays in AirBnb responses.
Thanks so much and great additions.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I love watching your videos
So glad you are enjoying our channel. Thanks so much for watching.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
from the other side accross the border hotel incl.breakfast price is higher by appx. $10 to AirB&B booked trough any website. This is my experience from early january'24 in Nova Scotia. Some AB&B is worth to book and stay 1 night and deal with the owner of the property or host privatly to extand the stay for cheaper.
Thanks for sharing.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Excellent video
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it.
Safe travels
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
We refuse to stay in an Airbnb any more! We've stayed in three and two of them were so horrible that we said never again. You've just proved that we make the right decision.
Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. Thanks for sharing.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Great video. Thanks
Thanks. Glad you found the video helpful and hope you are enjoying our channel.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thanks for your time and effort to improve the current AirBnB model for ALL with collective and constructive comments and suggestions.
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching. World travel is truly a gift and we just want to improve the experience for all travelers.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Hi-- I have been thinking about why I have had such good luck with air b and b lately. I think it's because I stayed in mostly rural to small towns-- and often I was staying not in prime season. But I still come back to the fact that my air b and bs have delivered such outstanding experiences. Not everything has been perfect, but it's been close.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I can count how many airbnbs I’ve stayed in and have been lucky. But the whole issue with corporate investors and reduced housing for locals has really turned me off and I won’t use it any more. My ski town increased the short-term rental tax to a whopping 20%, in large part because of the effects of Airbnb. So now it’s harder for anyone to rent, which I affects local owners renting on their own, local businesses and future tourists. Just say no.
This was probably the top issue our viewers brought up. Hopefully cities and/or Airbnb figure out a solution.
Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
So much information that I never thought about because I've never used airbnb...always stay at hotels. But..in Milwaukee during the music festivals attended by guests from every state +....this rent format has become big business in neighborhoods near the festival sites. Experiences are sketchy and I wouldn't chance it. Hopefully the company will heed your recommendations...the concept is excellent. Hi from Wisconsin 🍺 😊🖐
Thanks and hopefully they will make some positive changes. It will be great for everyone.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I would like to see Airbnb request their owners have a basic kitchen kit and this listed on the platform so there’s no surprises when you turn up and find out there’s no chopping board, no can opener etc.
Great idea! Sounds very reasonable. Thanks for sharing.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I haven't traveled internationally in years, but I do enjoy road trips with extended stays. I initially thought about Airbnb, but due to the bad press I have stays in inexpensive (read rundown) motels to save money. You guys are the third CZcams influencer(s) who have dissed Airbnb. I hope you can have an influence with them, but I have a feeling you'll get either no response or pushback.
Oh, buy the way, I think the whole idea of me, the guest, having to clean up after myself when I have paid money (and usually good money) to stay somewhere is ridiculous. It should be, as you say, a cost of doing business.
We agree 100%. We stay in hotels all the time, never trash them, have room service everyday and the cost is just built in.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
We aren't real hopeful that they will listen, but it doesn't hurt to try. Thanks for watching.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
My daughter and I stayed in a “gentrification “ neighborhood near downtown Houston tx. We heard gunshots and did not feel safe We left because we were scared Airbnb would not publish the review that I left. Only the positive ones. Gives the reader an unbalanced and unfair idea of where they will potentially be staying
If your review concerned you feeling unsafe because you heard gunshots, they may have considered that biased and outside the control of the host, so it got removed for that reason. People think that when they read and study the reviews that it's all they need to pick a great place. What they are missing are the reviews that get removed. Every review should be published and in your case, the host should be able to respond. Let the customer read both sides. It's the fair thing to do. The worst thing Airbnb can do is remove reviews. People will catch on to this and not trust them. It hurts hosts and the company as a whole. John & Bev
Thank you for this great vlog, there are issues to be fixed as you mentioned, and also safety & security is a big concern when it comes to Airbnb
Thanks for watching and we hope some of these issues are addressed.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Totally in agreement. Thank you for this video and bringing this to the public. I had the same situation with the cleaning fee and then I was required to leave everything in order!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for sharing and for following along with us.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I usually stay in hotels but thought I would try an arbnb last summer. Our host canceled at midnight the night before we were flying. I had to pay more to book a last minute hotel. I kept telling them to firmaly cancel so I could get my money back. It took them 3 days after our booking for it to happen. I wasn't able to leave a negative review. I contacted airbnb several times and they didn't acknowledge what happened. I went back to hotels after that
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Hotels for us as well.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Great video, hopefully Airbnb will listen. Regarding cleaning fee, I’m ok to do some cleaning if it means I can get a cheaper nightly rate (add an option?). Also, I can see having it separate, simply because the rental needs to be prepared for the next guest regardless if I rent one night or one month. Absorbing the cost in a nightly fee would unfairly burden long term rentals. I absolutely dislike the rating system. My wife and I have also moved away from Airbnb.
Thanks and we do hope they listen. We have moved on, but know many travelers still rely on Airbnb.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I read that retailers give shoppers a score, like a FICO score but based on retail behavior, which I’m not sure if it’s true but I believe it because of how well I am treated by Amazon (I return a very small % of my purchases and only if something arrives with damage, eg.). AirBnB could do similar, with confidential ratings from hosts. We are exemplary guests but the hosts don’t know that in advance, and have to charge as if we are typical or worse. Not really fair. People who leave a huge mess should get some blowback and people who leave barely anything to clean should get a break.
Great points. Thanks for sharing.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Some of the airbnb places are dirty, and I thought airbnb came to inspect properties before they go up. I'm a girl and stayed in a guys' who said he had a lock on my door - no lock. Also another guy was living there. I had a dirty shower towel, dusty room, crumbs all over the carpet in my room, and while I was out they went into my room. Calling airbnb was useless - when you finally reach someone, they don't speak english well and it soooo frustrating. Their fix, was to go find another place when there were no places available.
When I listed a place I had, they were charging visitors $2,000 for 3 month service fee and I asked why, and airbnb could not give me a straight answer and had me speak to 8 different people over 7 days. Other identical rentals had a $300 service fee and could not explain why I was losing people with the $2,000 airbnb service fee.
Sorry to hear about your experiences, but thanks for sharing.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Bravo!!! Loyalty? What loyalty?!
We think every other travel related business in the world has a loyalty program EXCEPT Airbnb. Hmmm.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Great video. One major concern is for ability of the host to cancel a guest’s reservation. This should be stopped!
I’ve never stayed at an Airbnb but after searching I’m seeing lots of issues of hosts cancelling and hosts listing their properties on multiple platforms and confusing the dates.
Host appear to be unprofessional and delusional if they think it’s ok. I’ve seen comments about hosts needing to cancel and the guest isn’t compensated.
Airbnb need to provide the guest with accommodation if this happens. The accommodation should be of equal or better standard in the same area or a more desirable area. Expecting a guest to scramble is ridiculous.
Airbnb should heavily penalize hosts who cancel. No excuses!
I was looking into booking with Airbnb but the host cancellation policies need to be addressed.
I’ve read that hosts cancel so they can rent their place at a higher price.
As for guest being dirty, that’s a very minor issue. Most guests are excellent. I treat a holiday stay as I treat my own home. Most people do and Airbnb need to be on the guest’s side instead of believing the lies of a host.
Thanks for sharing. We agree that Airbnb is not "customer centric" at all. None of their policies seem to support and help the paying customer.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers agree and thank you for creating this video. Safe travels.
@@josephj6521 Our pleasure.
John and Bev
As a single property AirBnb host I can tell you that AirBnb does penalize us if we cancel on guests. Not only does it effect our rating, but they will not allow us re-list the property on the AirBnb platform at any cost, higher or lower for the dates that were cancelled.
Luckily I have so far never had to cancel on a guest, but I did have to take the property off the market because of a prolonged power outage in my region that knocked out power to my property for almost 2 weeks. This is not a remote area, but right in the middle of a large city. If I had guests already scheduled during that time I would have had to cancel their stay because do this as there was no power during a severe winter storm. There are plenty of emergencies which could cause a property to be unavailable. Water leaks, storm damage, fire or other property damage, vandalism from a prior guest, broken major appliances that cannot be repaired in time for the guests arrival.
Hotels often have vacancies in other parts of the property that they can move guests to. Bnb hosts do not.
I haven't traveled anywhere since 2008 so never used Airbnb. But my friends used to live in Lake Placid. And then they moved. It took them a long time because they were trying to sell someone who wasn't going to use the place as an Airbnb and they thought they succeeded - but after they moved, they heard they did not succeed. I'm sure you can imagine your neighborhood turning into all Airbnbs...
Right now we have one across the street and one house down. So far no trouble but I could see what it could turn into. Of course I have no idea how this could be solved.
I heard from one girl that she couldn't get into a place because the host was unreachable (She was left, on the street, and she doesn't have a car. Forget how that turned out.)
And I heard from my roommate that there were cameras where he was staying. So he and his friends left and went to a hotel.
I have never visited their platform. I don't know if it would kill me. Long ago in the '80s I stayed in a rental house in Pennsylvania and had to go to the ER after the first night because, despite the lack of pets presents, someone obviously had had them previously and I'm severely allergic. It was either talk a random doctor into giving me steroids for a week or just go back home from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts... (I had that problem a lot in Pennsylvania... (And one time in New York) But they weren't all rental housing, some of them were just old motels) It was the '80s. I have no idea who we were renting from back then. It was before PCs...)
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. We heard from MANY of our viewers about the negative impacts to cities.
Safe travels and many blessings,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
As you know, I am full-time on Airbnb and haven't found the need to change - yet. But the thing that rankles as a heavy user is having to put in my search criteria afresh every. single. time. Surely it must be possible for the platform to record my preferences and use the search criteria each time I do a search, and make it possible for me to tweak it if necessary.
Great suggestion. Thanks for sharing. It gets back to that CUSTOMER focus.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I have a small gadget that detects hidden cameras, but also just observing common areas like TVs, lights fixtures, power outlets with things plugged in already are easy enough to find with own eyes.
That is interesting. What kind of a gadget is that and have you ever found a hidden camera? My sister was recenty being "watched" in her bedroom when she was housesitting.
@@Vee-zx6eh Yikes. My device is from Amazon I think, and says G4 Pro on it. I saw it mentioned on a CZcams channel either talking about safety measures for traveling, or camera detectors specifically.
I haven’t found anything with it while traveling. It would be freaky if I did, but I’m going to test it too, and hide something at home. 🥴
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I read that if you turn all lights out and stand in a room in the dark, you will be able to detect hidden cameras which will have a pinpoint of red light.
Thank you for the inputs and information.
Our pleasure! Glad it was helpful.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
A few dissenting views: toggling to find out the final cost is hardly torture - in a second or two I have the complete pricing information; taking out your own garbage is hardly an onerous task - it is part of "living like a local"; if I were a host, I would definitely want to be able to see reviews for potential customers - I'd guess that bad guests outnumber bad hosts by a fair margin; finally, hotels are not an option for those of us engaged in permanent long-stay travel. But I do agree that there should be some way of assuring that I am renting from a local host, not a corporation.
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
John and Bev
My complaint is that in the last 2 AirBnB's we have stayed in, there was a tip jar prominently displayed in the property & a request to leave a tip for the cleaners.
No way for us. We like tipping, but not for a service we shouldn't be paying extra for in the first place. Thanks for sharing.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
@@RetirementTravelers Just like in hotel, you make cleaners very happy if you leave a tip. Are you upset at a cruise for adding the tip at the end, even though you paid for all that service? And in a hotel, you pay for cleaning built into the price, do you also balk at leaving a tip?
Good video and agree with all your points, but I thought you said you were not staying in Airbnb’s anymore and were staying in hotels? Has this changed? Would really like to know your accommodations in each location and your opinion of it. Thanks!
Thanks so much. We are no longer staying in Airbnb's, sorry for any confusion. We received SO much feedback on our last video that we wanted to summarize all of our viewers comments. Thanks for watching.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thank you! This is very helpful information.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
I want to point out
I was a host from 2015-2024
I got a very bad review in 2019
I was sad
I didn’t do anything
During Covid-19’s, I didn’t do this job anymore
However, when I come back to restart my Airbnb business in 2023
I am very shocked that review is disappeared
Airbnb didn’t teach me how to remove the review, it’s just disappeared automatically after few years….
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing and best of luck with your business.
Happy journeys,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Same here
Thanks 😊
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
One of the main drawbacks to the Airbnbs that aren't really homes, but commercial properties is that the furniture is always poorly made and the place is not comfortable. As you pointed out, the kitchens are sparsely fitted, barely any pots & pans, not to mention the condiments, etc. If it isn't comfortable enough to hang out there, I'd prefer a hotel where at least the bed is comfortable. I now find myself spending in inordinate amount of time looking between the lines in reviews and in most cases, asking the "host" if they are the property owner. Airbnb's model has changed and it's all about greed, not the customer, IMHO.
Thanks for sharing. We have been enjoying hotels much more!
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Appreciate your reply. BTW, we met you in Madrid at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museumin November of 2022. We went to Egypt late in 2023, just returned and are headed to South America to see the penguins! Keep on traveling...! @@RetirementTravelers
@@chateaustjean Awesome. We love these stories. Thanks for sharing. Safe travels and many blessings in 2024.
John and Bev
Thank you for not holding back on your feedback while remaining fair. Sometimes the cleaning fees are the same price as 1 night's stay. Now, if we stay for a week or 2, it isn't as big of a deal. I think the concept of Airbnb is great and hope they will make the needed improvements. I have read several articles about how the short term rentals has driven up housing prices for locals, which isn't right. When you were talking about that topic I was wondering if you have thought about doing a video on responsible travel/tourism. Living in Colorado we frequently see tourists doing reckless things, such as getting close to elk during the rut, walking off the paths on the tundra which can take 100 years or more to regenerate, and being completely unprepared on hiking trails wearing flip flops and not carrying any water. Safe travels! --M
We try to be objective with our videos. Thanks for following along and thanks for the video idea. Something that we will consider.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Greetings from Italy 🌹 I’ve watched your previous video and I have considered leaving Airbnb platform, however I’m traveling with my daughter and we need our space since we don’t have the same schedule and we need two separate rooms. Hotels are not the proper accommodation for us for that reason and also because we like to cook . Do you have any suggestions for this kind of arrangement? Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Sounds like you do need something a little different than hotels. We have done a few a good places with kitchenettes and went through booking. com. We just like using booking better.
Safe travels and good luck,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
The long distance host that owns multiple units as an investment are the worst. I miss the old days of the local host or host living on premise.
We do too. It has changed a lot in the past decade.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
If I travel alone, I would not use an Airbnb because I am concerned about my personal safety. You don’t know how many other people may have the key to that property… Even the cleaners could be multiple people.
That's a great point. Thanks for sharing. We have a lot of concerns with Airbnb still.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
The host gave me the wrong address. When I finally got checked in, I was getting bitten a lot by bugs in the room. The ad said it was an apartment, it was not, it was a very small hotel size room. The pictures in the ad are deceiving. The bed was very hard. The doors were not secure when shut. We could not stay there. After 15 minutes, I gave the key back and left. Almost 2 weeks later, and Airbnb has done nothing, but ask for evidence, which I provided. So I paid for a week and received nothing for my money.
Sorry to hear about your experience. There are just far too many of these for our liking. We have been much happier in hotels.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Thank you. And thank you for your videos, they have been a great help while preparing for our 6 month stay in SE Asia. Safe travels to you both as well.
I just had a bad experience with an AirBNB for the 2nd time out of many times.
Sorry to hear about your experience. Hotels for us!!!
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
The entire review structure is massively unfair to hosts and guest. As hosts, we recently had a guest give us a three star review because she used the wrong credit card when making a reservation with us, and her husband subsequently didn’t get airline miles. She was also frustrated with Airbnb because she couldn’t get help from them to change her payment method.
What does this have to do with us as hosts? Nothing. Everything related to making or changing a payment has to go through Airbnb. However, Airbnb insists that this is a fair and relevant review.
I know that same thing happens to guests who may receive bad reviews from hosts that are not relevant, and this also hurts the guest, as future hosts will be more wary to book them.
As a result, good guests and good hosts both are leaving the Airbnb platform.
Thanks for sharing your perspective as a host. It is very helpful.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
I would also like to know what your 2024 travel plans are? Mine are all set! Mexico, Cuba and Italy!
Sounds like an amazing year of travel for you in 2024. We have most all of our plans set and will be doing a video, so stay tuned.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
No AirBnB for us …. Plenty of small private hotels and resorts that are cost effective.
We travel and budget $200 - $250 per day for food and accom when travelling.
We also hate the cleaning fees and booking fees! Not for us and not having any regrets!
We have been staying in mostly hotels and have found it much better, but still competitive pricing to Airbnb. Thanks for sharing.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
B&B stands for Bed AND Breakfast. AirB&B is not inclusive of breakfast. Unfavorable reviews we have left HAVE been removed by the owner. We don’t want your dog in our space during our stay.
Great point. Sorry to hear your reviews have been removed.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
AbnB were great 15 years ago but now they are expensive, stop using Abnb, but using other holiday rentals which are better
We agree. Lots of better options these days.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Do these also apply to Vrbo? Vrbo started earlier than Airbnb, somehow overtaken by it and now operates just like Airbnb
We don’t have experience with Vrbo.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
Yes! Many of these apply to vrbo. I own/host via vrbo. Reviews system sounds the same. Bogus fees, the same. Loss of original purpose/mission, the same. These companies just got money hungry and what stated out as a great thing, has soured.
Nice to see you young folks again. Years ago I had many of these concerns about this company. I hate to be pessimistic but I highly doubt the company will make any of these changes. The model is, unfortunately, fatally flawed.
We highly doubt they will take any action, but we wanted to share the feedback of our many awesome viewers.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
Please rethink using B**king. 18% commissions per booking. If looking at a small property - please book direct. If you need to alter or cancel a stay you made on b**king you will have to deal with the platform instead of the property. The booking you made belongs to them - not to the lodging. Often, properties only put less desirable accommodations on the platform that are less likely to be filled. Book direct to get the best deal.
I have a small traditional B&B and would not touch b**king with a 10 foot pole.
There is no commission paid by the guest, just the host. It's one more cost of doing business. With that said, you are right. You can get much better deals by going directly to the website of the property. We oftentimes see signs when we check in asking guest to book directly with them next time. They even offer a discount for doing so. We check the local hotel before we book with Booking just to see if there is a discount for going direct. There oftentime is, but with our genius discount, we are better off half the time. Thanks for your comment! John & Bev www.retirementtravelers.com
Why does Airbnb allow places without hotwater to even be listed?
That's a good question! Hopefully Airbnb will respond, but doubtful.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
It seems to me that you want airbnb to be like a hotel, at a low price!
We just want them to improve and help travelers. They don't seem to focus on things that help the traveler.
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/
AIR B N B sounds like they on the way to foreclosure themselves! lol
They do have some room for improvement!
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com
In my opinion the 20% Airbnb fee is too high. I am ok with the cleaning fee if it is reasonable.
Thanks for sharing. The fees certainly do add up.
Safe travels,
John and Bev
retirementtravelers.com/