Beware the bnb's

Such a generic statement. People need to read what they are reserving - it’s all there. I use apartments intermittently, although rarely the Airbnb portal.

We rented a couple of small apartments as part of our itinerary during our trip to Italy a few weeks ago. I booked them through Booking,com, and we didn’t have to do anything extra than if it was a hotel room.

We rent a large home each year in our home state through AirBnB or similar for a long weekend to have our entire family together under one roof. It does get a bit tiresome to feel like that last hour together is a thorough check list of tasks we must remember, even though I always leave hotel rooms & apartments, etc. as tidy as possible.

It would have to be a very, very long list to persuade me to stay in a hotel over a villa/apartment. I never use Airbnb these days as their fees are extortionate.

… and hotel rates haven’t increased significantly?

We are in Sicily now and have stayed in Airbnbs in Catania, Siracusa, Agrigento and now in Trapani. All have been acceptable, two have been great. The place were in now is a wonderful mix of being in a hotel with vanity kits, toiletries, sewing kit, etc. with living on a comfortable home complete with the host stocking the fridge, supplying lots of towels, beach equipment and a lovely shaded patio in the heart of the historic center. And, there’s a washer, which is a godsend when you’re on the road for a few weeks. I hate paying and waiting for someone else to do my laundry so it works for me. The cost? About $110 a night. Higher than some, but totally worth it. And less than a hotel. In Agrigento, $40 a night bought us a one-bedroom with a nice living room area, eat-in kitchen and a washer. In order to avoid disappointment, one has to read carefully and look for key words in the descriptions and reviews. For example, “cozy” often means cramped or tiny. Eclectic means god knows what you’re getting. Buyer beware. Look at the photos and read the reviews. Of course they are raising rates, who hasn’t? Of course you pay a cleaning fee. You do in a hotel, too. There is the booking fee, which I guess pays the host’s listing costs. We have yet to find a place anywhere in the US or Europe with issues of any significance. I always exchange messages with potential hosts so I have a feel for what I’m getting into. It’s pretty easy to eliminate those who expect too much in any way.

I almost always stay in AirBnBs, four this year already with another stay coming next month, and I haven't noticed any changes either in the general value of a property, or in checkout requirements. I do the same cleaning and tidying chores that I have always done, whether I'm asked to or not, and I haven't been asked do anything more than, say, sort my recyclables and put any dirty dishes in the dishwasher and start it before I leave.

I'm certain there were extortionate rates and demanding hosts on Air BnB long before Covid. Thanks to my obsessive review reading, I've managed to avoid them thus far, and look forward to many more stays.

We have experienced this problem with vacation rentals over the years. I won’t use AirbNb but have had issues with properties through VRBO and Booking. One, as long ago as 2015, so not COVID-era.

These check-out requirements were not disclosed in the listing so were a complete surprise. In one In the US, we had to strip the beds and put towels and bedding in the washer and start it before leaving, as well as wash, dry, and put away all dishes. We could not simply put them in the dishwasher.

In another, in Switzerland last autumn, we were threatened with a CHF 25 per bag surcharge for any trash or recycling left in the apartment which meant a mile long walk (each way) to a recycling center the night before departure and a crack-of-dawn run to the trash disposal location at the far end of a large complex before we could catch our 7:30 AM bus. Rather annoying. And God-forbid we left one scrap of food or they’d fine us for that as well,

Each place had a longer list we had to attend to. These are just examples.

Both places had hefty cleaning fees that made me wonder at doing these clean up tasks. I left detailed reviews at appropriate sites to warn future guests.

There are many places we have stayed that are far more accommodating. Luckily the tyrannical ones are the outliers so far.

Booking fee, cleaning fee, and sometimes there is a damage waiver fee. The latter is similar to the car rental CDW. It's a non-refundable amount that you pay up front to cover you in case you break something in the accommodations. You just have to read all the fine print and do a little math to figure out your actual average daily cost compared to a hotel.

Search on AirBnb as they have the largest listings. Then if yiu don't like Airbnb or the cleaning or cancelation terms look for the apartment name, failing that find a fairly unique phrase in the listing description and Google it along with the city name. Fair chance the same apartment is on multiple platforms; often with differing prices and terms.

Shop, be fully informed and purchase wisely. I also like to communicate with the host prior to booking. No answered, no booking. I am going through that process right now for a booking in November.

@Laurel, “ In one In the US, we had to strip the beds and put towels and bedding in the washer and start it before leaving, as well as wash, dry, and put away all dishes. We could not simply put them in the dishwasher.”

We have seen those requirements for ones we rented in Hawaii, so our first task after arrival was to run all of the dishes through the dishwasher to ensure they weren’t just rinsed as the former occupants hurried the last morning to leave. Sometimes we run the sheets through the wash, too, that first day so we know everything is starting fresh for our time there.

We have stayed at numerous Airbnb's over the years. In Europe and the Gulf. The longest lists have been in the gulf staying at rentals through a Realty CO. We have never had a problem but we clean as we go.

Air BnBs may (often do) have these problems.

Staying in traditional B&Bs in the UK and Zimmer Frei in Germany I have never had any of the noted problems.

I won't use empty apartment rentals because they are so harmful to the local housing economy. These are not a means of subsistence for local people. they are operated by investors with multiple apartments that yield more income by the day than by the month.

I won't use empty apartment rentals because they are so harmful to the
local housing economy. These are not a means of subsistence for local
people they are operated by investors with multiple apartments that
yield more income by the day than by the month.

Gross generalization

I can point to situations where both individuals and the community benefitted and I can also point to situations where the contrary is true and I have no idea which is more prevalent.

Some jurisdictions have regulated or banned AirBnbs and some have lifted prior bans; these are decisions best made by communities.

As a very tidy person who cleans up every day in a vacation rental anyway; I don't mind doing a final dishwashing, strip the beds , empty the fridge , type of cleanup on the last day.
I also take out the trash and recycling on checkout, even though sometimes the host has not asked for that.
I think it's just polite.
I have been given very good reviews from hosts, and they all mention "clean guest".

We were in Rome and Sicily in September and October and stayed in B&Bs in Rome, Palermo, Sciacca, Noto and Cefalù, all booked through booking.com, and all more than satisfactory. All were centrally located and reasonably priced with cordial hosts and no requirements other than to show up, leave by checkout time and pay the bill, just like hotels. To-do lists would be non-starters for us.

I would caution that you can no longer count on having your hotel room cleaned every day at all properties. I assume that's still pretty much a given at 5-star and upper-4-star places, but spots I'd think of as middle-of-the-road business hotels often don't do anything in the room (sometimes not even picking up the trash) for three days or longer. I'm low-maintenance, but I do like the trash removed and the toilet paper resupplied if necessary. I know staffing issues are at the root of many of the service limitations, but I have a strong suspicion things will not change for the better even if the staffing situation improves.

People need to read what they are reserving - it’s all there.

Not necessarily. I've been participating in a Reddit thread about this, and there are many people who leave notes or instructions for the renter once they get there and it's too late to back out. One woman said she was asked to strip the beds, take the trash out, wipe down the shower walls and so on - and this was after paying a cleaning fee and service fee. The problem they face is if they don't do what the owner wants, they run the risk of a negative review and find it hard to book other places.

I'm usually a fairly neat person and do not leave a mess, but when I am paying a cleaning fee to someone for the use of their apartment, I'll be darned if I have to do all the cleaning.

@ Mister E - instead of searching phrases, you can go to http://www.hichee.com and put the actual listing in. It's how we found a place we're staying at in London, on booking.com it was around $300 less than airbnb.

Kristi, thanks!

Kristi, I had not heard of that site.
Thanks!
A good way of crosschecking different listings for the same place.

My niece used to love to stay at AirBnBs but tells me now it's as expensive as staying at a hotel. There are two that I will always go back to as the owners are amazing but there are also a lot of awful ones. Talking to the owners told me that I would never do well as owner as these people are always fixing, renovating or moving items in the rental. Basically after they retired it's their full time job and the husband who is almost 70 still fixes everything.

I was addicted to a British show called Escape to the Country, which is like a more palatable version of House Hunters. City dwellers want to "retire" to the country and perhaps open a B&B, I always scream "you call that retirement?"