AirBnB is now a giant source of budget accommodations worldwide, and they're a force to be reckoned with in the future.

I used them in Halifax this Summer, and we stayed at a fantastic house. The pictures looked great, but they didn't do the place justice. As soon as we were home, AirBnB was inquiring on our experience with the property. At the same time, they were inquiring with the property owners about us as 4 day renters of their property. Both parties rate each other.

With European accommodations costing substantially more per night than comparable North American rooms, we as travelers need to take advantage of all ways to save money. And AirBnB is a great way to save.

Another way to find rooms often overlooked is Craigslist.com filtered for a specific country. They would be more risky because nobody is being rated. AirBnB is specifically designed only for renting rooms, and I would think it's more reliable than direct want ads for rooms.

Let's see...since 2011, used it in Boston, London, Paris, Florence, Villefranche sur Mer, Bath, San Francisco, LA, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Yosemite...so I've really taken too it...what do I look for when renting? (Most have been places with the hosts at home)

My #1 - read the reviews! For me feedback is most impt....if a few people are complaining about unclean facilities or loud neighbourhood I'll pass.

2 - look at the street view usually attached to get a feel of what the neighbourhood looks like...does it look dirty/run down? Clean and upscale? I always check out the map as well to get a feel for where in the city it's located. If using public transport is it within walking distance?

3 - I like to make sure they have the amenities I need...do you want to use the kitchen facilities? Need parking? Want laundry? Internet? Smoking or non?

Also, you are charged at the time of booking, so if you are like me and sometimes book 4-6 weeks in advance, you'll have long since paid before you arrive. That being said, if they cancel, you are reimbursed, and they don't get the funds til a few days after your stay, so if there were issues, you contact the company and work it out.

I have found some real gems (Florence - a lovely spot not to far from the buses, quiet, kitchen, laundry - $45 a night - tho the prices have gone up) and met some wonderful people (we talked to the lady near Yosemite for almost 3 hours...after the gov't closed down the parks and we had nothing else to do; the lady in Villefranche cooked us supper and took us for a drive to a hilltop village the next morning) and saved some serious dough (well, compared to hotels - the place in Santa Barbara was a little more then we usually would pay for airbnb (I like to keep it under $100 for the two of us), but the bedroom looked like 4 star hotel...it was glorious!). If the hosts are at home, you can get ideas on what to see (or not) and where to eat (or not)...but some people are uncomfortable 'sharing' a home or bathroom with someone else. You have to ask yourself if you are OK with that...also, sometimes they are really flexible with check in (our flight was cancelled and instead of arriving in SF at 3pm, we arrived at the airbnb at almost 2am...)...others can be a bit of a production (in London, we had to get off at one tube stop, walk a few blocks to get the key from the person's work, then back to the tube and off the next stn).

Have used it successfully in Madrid....no problems at all.

Just a word of advice. Do not use Craigslist for lodging in France. It's notable for scams here.

Have used it in London over the past three years. Have stayed in great places. Apartment owners now good friends. We correspond regularly. One owner even visited me in LA. My rule of thumb is that there is a picture of the owner (not their pet), that they correspond within 24 hours, that more than 10 people have stayed there, that they give you the actual address of the property so you can google map street view to see what's close by AND that they don't own other properties in the same building or neighborhood. That's just the criteria I use. Love Airbnb. Good Luck.

I haven't used airbnb myself, but in a recent article in the Times newspaper here about scams with property rental, airbnb came out with flying colours, because the owners of the property do not receive any of your money until you have been in residence for 24 hours.

I have never rented an apartment for my own use through Airbnb but I do have some experience with vacation rental apartments in Europe (both sides of the equation). My concern with Airbnb is that there is a broad spectrum of individuals and companies listing on the site and it can be hard to figure out who or what you are doing business with. I feel more comfortable dealing with a company that rents for a business than I do renting from an individual. Companies tend to have a structure that encourages something more consistent than what you might get from Boris who is renting out his deceased mother-in-law’s flat in Bucharest. Of course I would also suspect that the best individual renting an apartment is substantially better than the best business doing the same thing.

When I am looking to stay in a town I look for a small company that specializes in renting in that particular city. The middleman companies generally don’t add to the cost of the apartment the owner just gets less income, but then has less hassle as well and can count on there being some level of consistent service when his place is compared to many others in the city.

If you want the best of both worlds then find something you like on a company website then look and see if the same apartment is listed on Airbnb. If it is then you can use Airbnb for the rental and still have some idea that you are dealing with area experts/professionals and not Boris.

I'm with James from Frisco on this one. I have rented apartments in Europe found in a number of ways over the past 3 years. Regardless of how I found them, the ones that look like the owners just went down the street creep me out, and I won't even consider them. I far prefer the ones that are clean, neat and somewhat sterile. I haven't rented through Airbnb yet because no matter what city I look in, most of the apartments I've seen (so far) are so cluttered with the owner's stuff that I could never be comfortable there.

I’ve used airbnb almost exclusively this year here and in Asia and having nothing but positive things to say. I love it. You can get great apartments (fully equipped) right in the center of major cities for 1/3 the cost of a hotel room. I’ve rented places this year that were almost brand new. There have been a couple isolated cases in the media of renters either trashing an owner’s apartment or using it for prostitution. While unfortunate, airbnb did help cover the owner’s losses through their insurance scheme. There really is no downside for renters. It’s totally safe and secure. The owners are reviewed by renters, and renters are reviewed by owners. That alone provides some protection. The apartments themselves are reviewed. While you pay with a credit card at time of booking, the owner doesn’t get paid until 24 hours after check-in (another protection for you). If you really want to go cheap, you’ll find tons of options for renting a great room in a nice home or apartment. You’ll even find entire homes for rent. You can’t go wrong with airbnb. The only people I’ve ever heard of who have issues with airbnb are big corporations (i.e. corporate hotels). They’ve been successful in preventing airbnb from operating in NYC. Apparently, they can’t handle competition, which I thought was as fundamental to the “American Way” as a damn hotdog or apple pie. BTW, airbnb will have listings everywhere in Europe...from way out in the middle of nowhere to all of the major cities in Europe (and the world).

I wasn’t suggesting not using AirBnB. There are two broad types that advertise on AirBnB. There are individuals who own properties and there are Management Companies that take care of properties owned by many individuals and there are small to large apartment holding companies that rent apartments. WAIT! That’s three. Okay, there are three types that advertise on AirBnB. My preference so that I know that I am dealing with a professionally run and maintained unit is to deal with one of the two business profiles and not the individual. Not that there aren’t fantastic apartments run by individuals but when I am staking my vacation enjoyment on my decision I prefer to play what I think are better odds with the company as opposed to the untrained individual.

Be sure on what type of room exactly are you renting from. You can get clues from description, pics etc. AirBnB allows offers on a broader spectrum than a traditional vacation rental website, so be careful not to end up, by oversight, on the sort of makeshift rental where the owner is renting his/her own residence while leaving for a weekend away or, worse, living on the basement during your stay.

What’s the issue with renting an owner’s own apartment while he is away for the weekend? That’s the whole point of airbnb. As for renting a room in an owner’s apartment while he is still there, that is an option on airbnb for those who are okay with this type of arrangement and, again, is the whole point of airbnb. Airbnb may not be for everyone. There is a certain, younger demographic they’re going after. Still, it’s pretty clear that the best information about airbnb in this thread is from those who have actually used it.

We do some couchsurfing when travelling, but the site has gone to hell in the last year or so (to my reckoning - too many people joining for a free place as opposed to meeting locals when travelling) so we have been using airbnb more now. It is great to meet people and stay with them (if you like that kinda thing). You feel like you make more of a connection when travelling as opposed to staying at an impersonal hotel. But, I'm the kind of person who likes to meet new people (for the most part) and learn about things to see and places to eat that you may not otherwise know about. It's not for everyone, but it's nice to go back to your room at night and if the owner is there, to have someone to chat with for an hour or two. You may meet some, let's say, eccentric folks as well, but in a good way...lol...we stayed in San Diego with someone who had a military macaw, a red macaw, and two crested cockatoos (as well as a great dane and a lab mix)...that was fun...the cockatoos were more like cats...wanting to be stroked and cuddled, but the dang military macaw didn't want to get off my arm and give me the biggest bruise from pinching...I shoulda got the water bottle! But I've never been able to see parrots that close up, so it was pretty cool...you never know what experience you'll have!