AirBNB or similar - Thoughts?

[jimcav]

I've done airbnb 4 times. Idyllwild & Kernville (CA), St George UT, Flagstaff AZ. All were great. I just looked at the pics, location (using zoom in and street view with google maps as noted above), and with properties with good reviews and "super host" status. I had a great time at all 4. All 4 were planned to some extent around mtn biking, but the flagstaff location was in the old downtown area and truly within many good bars and restaurants and shops. Also allowed an easy side trip into Sedona one day. Kernville had a good brewery, decent pizza place, karaoke place, great rafting and trail of 100 giants (sequoias) was nearby. St George is near amazing mtn biking, near Zion Nat'l Park. Idyllwild is a tiny mtn town with nice hikes, easy side trip to palm springs.
I lived in Kitsap County, WA --great road riding up there, but go in May if you plan to be near the Puget Sound

[KonaSS]

When traveling with my family, wife and 2 teenage girls, we do Airbnb if we are going to stay more than 1 night as we need the space. Probably done 20 times now. House, condos, apartments. Generally as good as booking a hotel. Some are better than expected, some a bit worse. Just take your time, read reviews, look at location. As others have said, I generally only use experienced hosts who have established a track record with good reviews. New airbnb providers sometimes just leave out details or don't understand expectations.

[sk_tle]

Not sure how it is in the US but here in europe regulation laws made so that any serious Airbnb host has to pay taxes and offer services close to an hotel past a relatively low amount of renting days per year. There are still some people renting a room of their house which I did the last 2 years in Amsterdam and Copenhagen and is really nice to get recommendations outside of what you get from the tourist guides, but they have become the exception. Regulations made price getting higher and higher and are often similar to apartment hotels and regular hotels and you will get lower level of services. It is mostly nice if you don't want to be encumbered by service, you have no intention of using regular hotel services and wants something totally cold and impersonal. Nowadays you can basically rent from the app, get your keys in and out of a box with a security code and you will not even meet the owner. Totally opposite to the original concept which was close to couch surfing.

[Saab2000]

Not sure how it is in the US but here in europe regulation laws made so that any serious Airbnb host has to pay taxes and offer services close to an hotel past a relatively low amount of renting days per year. There are still some people renting a room of their house which I did the last 2 years in Amsterdam and Copenhagen and is really nice to get recommendations outside of what you get from the tourist guides, but they have become the exception. Regulations made price getting higher and higher and are often similar to apartment hotels and regular hotels and you will get lower level of services. It is mostly nice if you don't want to be encumbered by service, you have no intention of using regular hotel services and wants something totally cold and impersonal. Nowadays you can basically rent from the app, get your keys in and out of a box with a security code and you will not even meet the owner. Totally opposite to the original concept which was close to couch surfing.

Definitely not interested in couch surfing. Just interested in a safe, clean place to stay.

Some of the places I've seen appear to be a small cottage adjacent to the owner's place. I don't mind meeting an owner but if I do this trip it won't be with the intention of socializing with a property owner beyond normal interactions one might have. Unless the owner is a cyclist who knows the best roads!

As to taxes, they're definitely taxed and in some places the taxes in the final price aren't low. Not sure about the specifics and some may be different from city to city. Portland, Oregon, for example, seems to have pretty high taxation on these properties.

[Mabouya]

IMO the single most important thing Airbnb can offer is locations closer to good riding. If you're talking hotels, then that's usually close to busy business centers. Airbnb can sometimes give you a better chance of good riding right out the door.

Otherwise, if it's a question of saving, say, $25 / night at an Airbnb, I'm perfectly happy to settle on a "regular" hotel / motel, where you're more likely to know what you're going to get. (that doesn't mean you can't have surprises there too, but they happen less often, and if the problem is a constantly running toilet or a malfunctioning A/C unit, you know that can be fixed right away by switching to a different room)