Air Bnb vs Hotels

Apartment vs hotel kinda depends on a few things: how long will you be there? what is your budget (housing and food)? what are your interests? how many people are travelling? do you want/need laundry facilities?

Two or three nights in a hotel would be my choice. But if I'm going to be in a city for a week or two then I want an apartment in a neighborhood close to the historical center. In Rome that would be near the Piazza Navona. The benefits of an apartment, for me, is having more personal space than a hotel room can offer. It also offers the chance to cook a few meals, taking advantage of the tremendous fresh fruit and vegetables and sea food. A washing machine doesn't hurt, but don't count on there being a dryer. A fridge to keep some cold water, most welcome in the hot and humid summer months. Being in a neighborhood and discovering restaurants, shops, bars etc. that you might enjoy more than the touristy ones. If you stay more than a week, in most cases there is an extra cleaning and change of linen. Usually you can ask for more frequent housekeeping, at an additional fee.

Security concerns? I always use VRBO to search for apartments. Everyone has had an extremely secure main entrance to the building and an equally secure door to the apartment. It may take a day or two to get the keys straightened out. The VRBO apartment is completely yours. I'm not sure about Air BnB. Since I've never used their site I don't have anything to say.

My favorite hotels in Italy all have one thing in common: the owners and staff make me feel welcome, they greet me by name, and they give me the same room year after year after year. "Welcome home" really sounds good to me!

there will always be negative and positive responses to this sort of question. There are pros and cons for either. It looks like you have some family with you. It is uncommon to find hotel rooms that allow children to room for free, or even have much space for extra beds. I am not sure they have connecting rooms either; but you will want to make note of those things - if you are expecting to find them.
I am a solo traveler, and do similar - 2 nights in hotels, 3 or more in apartments....generally via AirBnB. The first time I learned about short let apartments was a coworker traveling to Rome in 2000. In 2002, AirBnB was around for my research for an Italian trip, but there were so many photos, it was too cumbersome for most computers at that time. So this is to say, apartment rentals have been common in Italy for over 2 decades. However, many cities have regulations about them, so it would be sensible to learn the city's rules and search out the listing's registration number for a legal let.
I have used AirBnB around the world over a number of years. I am hoping you have too. If not, be sure you learn how to make good choices. Email a question or two to the host before confirming a booking (to get their reply response and what they may have to say). If possible, choose a super host. Feel free to ask for the exact address and do a google street view of the address...and also to see if it suits your expected location. Know that European 1st floor is American 2nd floor and most places have small or no elevators. Ask exactly which rooms have AC (if listed). If it isn't listed, then don't assume there is any...and it is generally not central heating/ac, but a wall unit or an occelating fan, so ask. Hot water tanks are small. Reduce any long showers if everyone needs to shower at a similar time. Showers may also be super tiny, so any plus size folks may struggle. Loads of listings may have a bed in the livingroom, so not always proper bedrooms with doors - and privacy. Really focus on the photos...if possible, on a full PC to see the small details and ensure they look like you expect.
All that being said, I will be booking week and month apartments for my long winter stay in Italy. I have no worries about that.

Wonderful insight and considerations. Thank you. We are a family of 4, and our oldest adult child is autistic, so I generally like to book based on convenience ( food prep, locations). I have an air bnb booked in Rome and the owner has arranged a car for us from the airport. It is very centrally located. I also booked a magical Air bnb in Castellamarre di Stabia, but now I'm second guessing that location. I found another Air bnb in Chiaia (Naples), which looks lovely, convenient and actually less costly regarding traveling to and from Pompeii, the Archeological Museum and the train station. A lot to consdier.
Robert, would you share your favorite hotels in Florence and Venice?

The last few years, we’ve gotten apartments more than B&B’s, agriturismos, or hotels. Having a kitchen in the morning to make coffee, without having to get dressed to go for breakfast, is a major benefit. A dishwasher, and even more so, a clothes washer, is also really appreciated. Neighborhood locations are also usually more interesting than being in a hotel, particularly compared to a sterile, generic chain hotel where you could be anyplace in the world with the same surroundings. Price is usually better with an apartment, too. That said, sometimes a hotel is perfect, especially if you’re just staying for a night or two.

I’ve booked through Airbnb, but have preferred Vrbo.com, formerly VRBO, formerly Vacation Rentals by Owner. If you’re staying out in the country, not in a city, look into an agriturismo.

There was an outstanding outfit for apartments in Italy called Vacanze in Famiglia that we used twice, but sadly, I don’t think they survived the Pandemic.

I think we will stay in an agritourismo in Orvieto!

Krissy - we go to Naples annually and always stay at the same AirBnB in Chiaia. It's an outstanding location!

I was in Italy last fall for three weeks and used AirBnB exclusively in each city. They were all outstanding, both our hosts and the flats. I think it's important to read all reviews and choose carefully, but it's well worth the effort. My favorite was a charming flat in Venice near the Jewish Ghetto- wouldn't trade that experience for anything!

Go first to AirBnb because I believe they have the greatest number of listings. Read the description and if you find something interesting look for some fairly unique text in the description, like "tall ceilings in an eclectic style" and then google that phrase in the quotation marks. If the same unit is available on other platforms it should pop up. Then compare cost and policy for things like cancelation and choose where to rent it.

Also check out a half dozen apartments in a city and see if any of the listings show a registration number. If they do you can assume that the city requires apartments to be registered. If you find a listing in the same city with no registration number shown, then it probably isn't legally registered and you may want to skip that one.

The last advice is trying to figure out where the apartment is truly located. Most of the platforms tend to be vague. On Airbnb you can work your way to a map that shows all the availability in a particular city. Interestingly that map shows the location much more accurately than is shown in an individual listing which generally only marks a neighborhood.

Sometimes you can go to google maps and put in the name of the apartment (most have catchy names) and it might show up. Otherwise it requires someone with a little knowledge of the city and some detective work. I've done this for a number of people looking to rent in Budapest. Sometimes a photo has a view out the window that gives a clue, sometimes a photo of the outside of the building gives a clue. i can figure it out 95% of the time. So post the ones you are interested in here and ask for help.

Or write the owner and skip any you dont get satisfactory responses to.

Occasionally a block or two makes a difference.

Short term rentals require more diligence, but it can pay off with a perfect stay.

I've booked airbnb apartments in Rome, Naples, Catania, Agrigento and Palermo between 2019 and 2022. For my last trip last month, I booked everything through booking.com - I like their platform in terms of providing good descriptions, exact location, and clear options for both refundable and non refundable bookings - also, I like that even though I reserve through booking.com, the reservation and all other communication is directly with the hotel. For this trip we stayed in an apartment in Florence for 6 nights (Novella House, it has both single rooms and apartments), an apartment in Venice 3 nights (the owner lives in the building and has one rental unit) and a regular hotel room in Rome 4 nights (Sonnino suites, trestavere). The 2 apartments had washing machines which was the big selling point for me since we packed very light.

All my previous AirBnB experiences were fine, I never had any disastrous booking, but I like the convenience of booking.com better and feel like there are less hidden fees.

@krissycahill, we took our two sons on a Big-3 trip for spring break in 2008. At the time, they were 20 and nearly 18 and both over 6'. Renting two hotel rooms was beyond our budget, and sharing one just wouldn't work for guys their size/age, so I started looking at apartment rentals. We were able to find apartments in Venice and Rome, and we found an AirBnB-type rental of an entire floor in a stone house about 20 minutes outside Florence. Each had a kitchen, two bedrooms, a living area, and a bathroom with shower, and each was less expensive than two rooms at a hotel. It was lovely to fix our own breakfasts in PJs (as mentioned above), make sandwiches for daily picnics, and enjoy a chilled bottle of wine in the evening. I know 2008 was a long time ago, but the benefits for a family still exist if you can find listings that fit your budget and chosen location. The excellent advice above on choosing from the list of options should net you a great choice. Happy travels!

Having said all that I said, I prefer hotels. I just like the comfort and being spoiled.

In 25 years of travel overseas, I have stayed in 5 different short term rentals. 3 booked through Hotels.com. Those there were very, very, just "okay" but they were accurately represented and I was only expecting "okay". All were in Croatia and on one trip. The other two I have stayed in were fabulous.

I shift between the two based on my needs. I’m currently traveling in Italy now for the first time, staying at a Rick Steve’s recommended hotel, but was at and AirBnB the past 2 days in another city, and will switch between the two again over the next few days based on needs, price, and convenience.

I can give you a few examples… I really wanted a location near the sights and that ended up being an AirBnB, and in the city I’m in now, the amenities of a hotel after several longs days on foot seemed better suited and made more sense because I needed the hotel to hold my luggage while killing time before traveling again. Sometimes location ended up being the final straw, so I went with one over the other.

The hotel I’m at now has great staff and service, and the accommodations are humble but really perfect for our needs, but it’s around a 15 min walk to anything of interest and not close enough to walk to the train station, so we’re using Uber ($$$) to fit more in. Overall, definitely more expensive but I don’t have to think about much of anything and am very comfortable and feel safe in very busy city. The wi-if is pretty terrible at this hotel, but I came prepared with printed reservations and don’t need to rely on the internet, so it ended up not being a big deal.

However, at the last AirBnB, we were right in the middle of the action, just a 4 min walk from majorly galleries/sites, and the wi-if was fast and perfect for late night lounging, but the shower had either a slow molton hot drip and spritz of water or an ice cold drip - we could never get it quite right and enjoyable. The hotel now serves breakfast (included) daily and removed the need to go out and spend more money and search for a meal every morning. My partner and I also have been sick, and the hotel staff has been kind enough to provide us hot water for tea over and over throughout the evenings while we recuperate, and the water pressure and temperature is perfect. Since this hotel is away from a lot of businesses, that’s been really nice, but at the AirBnB, we were surrounded by so much that we were able to easily find food and bring it back to the AirBnB to enjoy before hitting the streets for the day, but we always had to go out. The kitchen was small, had v little to cook with, no grocery stores were nearby, and generally little to no fridge space other than to hold takeout.

If I can find an AirBnB that has self check in, that’s my sweet spot. I’ll try to arrange check in at the time I need and don’t have to wait for anyone and can come and go as needed. The rest I just deal with.

Lastly, I’d say really just to be sure to double and triple check all the amenities and consider mixing it up as needed. If you really need something, you’ll learn to do without or find a way but it likely won’t be perfect and it’ll be ok. My partner and his daughter did not want to pack super light (I’m attempting to do laundry in the sink) and they ended up finding a local same day wash/fold laundry service because I didn’t book AirBnBs or hotels with laundry options (which is less common anyway) but they managed to find a solution,

Good luck!