AirBnB

I love Airbnb. Just make sure there are at least several good reviews and the pictures are "verified". Also, if it does not state in the description, ask the host if linens are included and if you are expected to clean the apartment prior to leaving (if there is no cleaning fee listed). We got burned by this by a host in Southern France. We got there and she told us linens were 30 euros and we had to clean up before checking out. We were annoyed but we were tired and needed a place to stay. Her teenage son came by and barely inspected the place before our departure :P

Very good tip - thanks so much. I'll check with our host right away.
Any recs for an AirBnB spot in Florence?
Genie

Casa di Annusca is on Airbnb. We rented it through cross-pollinate.com and stayed there in October 2014 for 4 nights. It was very nice with a lovely dining room facing the garden. Delicious breakfast. The room on Airbnb is new since we were there. Fabio was an excellent host and very helpful. It is in the Oltrarno area which is quieter but an easy walk to everywhere.

Thanks a bunch!! I will check it out.

We used AirBnB for the first time for our trip to Venice and Italy last week. Very pleased with both and AirBnB has a toll-free number in case you run into problems. Plus, a bad review isn't something any host wants. Have a great trip!

Thanks Jennifer!

I'll second what Jennifer says about hosts not wanting bad reviews. I've been using airbnb since 2011 and had 15 different stays. I currently have 2 more stays booked for July in the US, and am looking for one in Paris for later on this year (and will be hunting for others as well in the South of France). And nothing changes my mind faster than a bad review. Especially somewhere like Paris or Rome or even Venice where you could have hundreds or thousands of places to choose from...if I see a few complaints about bad wifi or dirty bathrooms or cramped conditions, I'm going to move on to the next place on my wish list (currently have to whittle my Paris wish list down from 27 to a top 10).

We did do an airbnb in Venice last year - an apartment and enjoyed it.

When we were in Florence in 2012, we stayed...https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/677883 It is on the outskirts and we chose there because back then, her prices were about 2/3rd what they are now...so it was hard to pass up such a lovely place at $100 (Canadian) total for two nights. It was a less than 10 min walk to the bus, then prob 20 min into city center by bus. Very quiet and peaceful, place to park a car if you had one, and not too far a walk to catch the bus to Fiesole.

One more thing - make sure you read the descriptions really well...I was looking at one in Paris today that was really well priced, til I noticed that they wanted 50 euro cash when you showed up to cover the cost of cleaning! They said they did it that way to save on the fee airbnb charges (both an advantage for you and them)...but if someone failed to read the description, they'd have a rude surprise! This is the first time I noticed something like that, but it's always good to read everything in the listing!

I have 3 stays coming up soon with Airbnb. All the hosts have been very helpful, answered promptly, gave explicit directions to their homes. I did what others said and made sure there were plenty of good reviews, and were verified. And yes, watch out for the cleaning fees!