AirBnb issues

We travel for business and holiday extensively utilizing Air BnB. Only once had a mediocre experience. Rest of stays have been phenomenal.

When we book in a city that regulates short term rentals, for AirBnB searches we do two things.

First, read all reviews carefully and see if the owner/caretaker responds to complaints or low ratings; or has fixed the problems for the low ratings. If not, don’t book that property.
Second, we only book properties with a Super Host status.

Have a great trip!

We do the same thing and it has always worked.

Are you saying that obeying local laws is up to the host, and you don't care about damage to the local economy (and law abiding neighbors) that led to regulation of "the disruptors?"

Before you answer that you are entitled to set your own priorities, I'll mention an article today about inflated Uber prices in NYC that have exceeded the plane fares they were meeting. We may regret relatively recent Libertarian opposition to a (Depression era) over-regulated taxi industry. It was anti-capitalist, but at least the rates were predictable!

https://nyti.ms/2MUaqRc

The Silicon Valley bro's may not be your friends.

I'll recommend the Adina Hotels. The one bedroom includes a kitchen and a wash machine and they are located in Mitte close to most attractions.

There are legitimate apt rentals for vacations, rather than AirB&B which has destroyed inner cities.
Look up Ferien Wohnungen or look for hotels that offer kitchens, etc.

Suggest to choose hostels / hotels with common kitchen and laundromat, e.g. Meininger (few in town) or Schulz. Adina (3 different hotels) was named already but higher price class.

There is also a new Student hostel close to Alexa mall but I am not sure that they have kitchen. But in Berin food is very cheap, so eating out even a full week does not kill smaller budgets.

Status from last quarter: AirBnB is spporting illegal renting. 80% of offers are neither permitted nor registered by city authorities of Berlin. We see cases in which travelers end up without apartment (offer disappeared between booking and arrival) or in which travelers are visited by city authorities and asked to leave illegal apartment, in rare best case without a penalty.

So, protect yourself from nightmare experience and book hostels / hotels. They all are located in / near neighborhoods, so you will be close to locals instead of replacing a local.

Have a good journey.

--

Update editing: District Mitte has higher people budget for 2020 and they will increase number of inspectors checking abuse of living spaces by short-term renting to tourists.

Would any of this apply to Frankfurt? Any tips? I’m about to secure an Airbnb rental and don’t want to feel I’m not being a good steward of other’s interests.

Unlike most people, I'm not a fan of Airbnb. My first experience was my last.

I much prefer using Booking.com to search for apartments. Perhaps I'm naive, but I have much more trust in their listings than any other resource.

The last time I was in London I rented a studio in an apartment hotel. There was a kitchenette. There was no laundry in the apartment, but a huge laundry facility with multiple washers and dryers on the ground floor.

I'm sure Berlin must have similar purpose-built apartment hotels for business and leisure travelers. Sometimes they are called serviced apartments, sometimes aparthotels. One of the many advantages is that they are legit.

Yes, all of this applies to Frankfurt and any other city.
Find serviced apts. on www.hrs.com or use the city websites.

We’ve had really good luck booking apartments in booking.com. Prices quoted are all in.
Back in October during our Puglia trip, our three best places we stayed EVER were booked on booking .com.

I thought I posted my concerns about using AirB&B and the impact on local residents. I guess I didn’t hit submit. I will not use any rentals that imposes negatively on the locals. The link below lists cities in the US and European cities at the bottom.

http://insideairbnb.com/

I would not suggest using Airb&b in Berlin, certainly no option for me in Germany.

Interesting discussion of the new Berlin BnB law that regulates rather than bans short term rentals:
https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/03/berlin-airbnb-vacation-rental-regulation-law/556397/

But while few owner-occupiers may have been caught in the crossfire,
the real targets of the ban were professional landlords, who rented
out apartments full time as businesses, thus draining the available
housing supply in a city where apartments are hard to come by. The
overall feeling from advocates of anti-Airbnb legislation such as
Stephan Von Dassel, mayor of the central borough of Mitte, was that it
didn’t matter if the push to curb professional Airbnb landlords
affected some owner-occupiers. They’re a relatively small group in a
city where most people rent, and the anti-Airbnb crowd would accept
some of them as collateral damage if it meant improving the ability
for people on low incomes to secure housing of their own. The
inverse of this logic: It doesn’t really matter if owner-occupiers are
allowed to become Airbnb landlords if professional vacation rentals
have been slashed.

After all these helpful replies, I am considering staying at the Hotel Adina (full kitchen + in unit washer and dryer.) Unfortunately the Hotel Adina doesn't have a branch in Munich where we are planning to spend a week after being in Berlin. Does anyone have a recommendation for Apartment hotels like the Adina in Munich?