Airbnb offers travelers the opportunity to stay in homes at a reasonable rate. Seems pretty simple, right? But then comes the rules, the cleaning fees, occasional spy camera, very weird decor choices, and general host madness. More and more people are starting to question whether Airbnb is actually a better alternative to hotels. Check out these tweets from people who disliked their Airbnbs and why they would opt for a hotel.
What’s your experience with Airbnb? Do you have a horror story to share? Let us know in the comments below!
I’m sure there must be some good ones, but with all the above and the stories of hidden cameras and stuff, I’d rather not.
I have never been a fan of nor do I trust “Gig Economy” accommodations – AirBNB, Lyft, Uber.
I was staying at an Airbnb once when halfway through a lovely romantic evening we were informed by a police officer that our Airbnb host had been killed in a hit and run. RIP Tim.
I had no idea that you were staying in someone’s home, Don’t touch half the stuff. Water the garden, and after paying over £1000 for a run down old persons bungalow charged £15 for a lamp that was broken when we got there. Awful experience. In fact the minute we got home my husband gave me his credit card and said book a proper holiday
I’ve always thought staying in a stranger’s private home is a terrible idea. So I’ve never done it and never will. My wife has done it a few times until she figured it out that after paying all the fees it’s cost considerably more than staying at Hilton Garden Inn. Just don’t ever take a Woods lamp to either.
We’ve had good experiences with Air BnB ourselves.
But we’ve only stayed at properties that were specifically set up as rental properties – in other words, we’ve never stayed in someone’s permanent residence.
I travel frequently with a group and much prefer AirBnB to hotels/resorts. I am also an AirBnB host (2 properties). So while I’m not an AirBnB stan, I am a fan. But God, these tweets were hilarious! Like tears from laughing so hard hilarious. 🤣🤣
staying in an Air B&B right now – a lovely little cottage in Solva, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Cheap, cheerful, no task lists, and in a beautiful little wooded river valley. Would choose this any day over a hotel!
I am an Airbnb host and have been for almost 5 years. I started ranting about the time of the 2016 election and my attitude towards the world had gotten very cynical.
This quote I’m about to say was my original quote created through my experience with Airbnb: “The folks that I have met through Airbnb have single-handedly restored my faith in humanity!”
I have met the most kind, gracious, caring, and wonderful people since I became a host.
Just to clarify things:
Each Airbnb host is their own entity.
They can write up the rules you must follow and consent prices anyway they want. And I mean “anyway they want!“
We get to run our page exactly the way we want.
That being said it’s important to completely and thoroughly read the hosts entire description of their place. Check on all of the fees. And read all of the past reviews because they are the things they will tell you what’s wrong with the place and the host.
Airbnb is simply the platform that handles the monetary transactions. That’s all.
In addition, all of the booking fees and the breakdown of cleaning fees and such are presented to the guest prior to them accepting the reservation and all of the costs.
It cannot change after the reservation has been booked Unless the host and the guest are in agreement on the changes.
Last but not least, it’s clearly evident that the people who utilize the Airbnb app above or completely and totally unaware of the actual dynamic of Airbnb and how it works prior to getting involved with the booking their stay.
As a host I always clarify what is expected out of the gas prior to their arrival and their departure prior to ever booking a reservation.
I’ve been doing this for five years and have a 5.0 star rating and I’ve been rated a super host the entire time.
I hope this clears up some of the negative feedback above.
I have an Air Bnb and from time to time rent Air Bnb. Like hotels there will always be a small percentage that don’t come close to your expectations. I carefully read comments and identify location before booking.
Dear whiny little “guests”
Yes you are expected to do the bare minimum ie start a load of towels, and load and start the dishwasher. Wah…. You did not buy the house ….. you rented it. Just like an apartment. And when you leave you don’t have to make it look like you were never there…just start a load of towels (after you finish washing all of your clothes. And you know you do yours before you leave) and start the dishwasher. So sorry this is so hard on you but if mommy and daddy didn’t make you clean your room it’s not my problem. So suck it up. These kind of rentals are so groups of family and friends can hang out and eat together without spending a fortune to eat out. Hung over or not, these are the rules. If this is still to much for you PLEASE stay at a hotel. We don’t want your kind here.
Air BnB – Air bed and breakfast. You go there as a GUEST, not a resident. People don’t pay to do your chores. They’re your bloody chores. It’s meant to be a nice experience.
I’ve stayed in one ONCE and that scared me for life. I was eating my toast, looked up and saw the host with his hand down his pants, rubbing one out. I left very quickly. After the review that I left, he wouldn’t have had another booking ever again.
To the one who cleans up…Whoever left the above comment, your stupid. You don’t know what every host expects guests to do. I was charged in advance a 300 cleaning fee, and had to wash sheets, make beds , vacuum, dust, sweep , dishes and wash towels. So shut the hell up if you don’t know what your talking about.
I’m a Airbnb host. I’m waiting for an article quoting AIrbnb hosts about their worst guests. I stay in AIrbnbs too…and hotels. I have never been asked to do a chore list nor have ever seen a camera, even though I have one on my property. But it’s aimed at the driveway so I know when guests arrive and check out. And I only stay at airbnbs with low cleaning fees. I’m not sure why people are “suprised” by the cleaning fee right before they go to checkout….the fees are listed with each property you click. Way before you do the checkout process.
We have an Airbnb – it’s completely separate from our home and private for guests. We don’t charge a cleaning fee and I believe our guests appreciate that. Without exception they’ve left the place very clean and tidy on leaving. We’ve been a super host for more than a year but I’d say we have super guests!
As originally said by others, Airbnb started out cool – affordable -homey a win/win
Turned into snap up rental housing for uncool – greedy business causing rental housing shortages in many desirable towns, cities
How’s about leaving housing to house – hotels to traveling?
I just felt the need to leave a comment Airbnb travelers might find interesting.
I was an Airbnb cleaner for years…for many different people and locations weekly. I worked in areas like la Jolla, Pacific beach, ocean beach, oceanside, and downtown San Diego.
The first time I became aware of the cleaning fees they charge you all…I was amazed. The cleaning fees are not all going to the cleaners.
My belief is that the reason the hosts ask you to do chores is to make sure the actual cleaners spend less time cleaning…meaning less pay for the cleaners.
My pay the entire time was $20 an hour. And I would spend no more then 3 /4 hours cleaning a place….that’s me making $60-$80 for the job…yet they charge the vacationers $200-$300 for cleaning fees, the cleaners aren’t getting. Airbnb hosts ARE taking complete advantage and pocketing all the extra money.
Hosts are greedy, and sneaky, and taking advantage of both vacationers and cleaners. I got out of the whole mess a long time ago.
We were Air BnB hosts for 7+ years and NEVER asked our guests to take clean before they left, do dishes etc.
If these places were so bad I’m guessing they did not read the reviews on the place before booking. Fairly sure those complaining are not the only one this has happened to.
Parking unfortunately is a little complicated
VERY IMPORTANT IN ORDER TO AVOID GETTING TOWED.
Upon entering the property go straight my building will be the first building to the left (past the swimming pool area). Make the first left and my building will be to your left (Building 2). Go ahead and stop by the second set of stairs park at the fire zone (turn hazard lights on)if you need to unload luggage. My apartment will be on the 3rd floor apartment 234.
The door will be unlocked. You can simply walk in.
After you drop off your luggage, please head back to your car go straight, make the first right and go all the way to the back to the Visitor parking area. Back there you’ll find plenty of parking spots. If you don’t see any on one side keep going straight you’ll see some a little further up.
Make sure it says VISITOR PARKING, if it does not you run the risk of getting towed.
After finding a spot please let me know so that I can register your vehicle.
I do apologize for the inconvenience.
Our awful neighbors who constantly fought late into the night and had large dogs that had to be permanently kept inside because they kept trying to attack people tried to turn their extra room into a short-term rental. The first few times people booked them, we saw renters standing around the front door for sometimes 30+ minutes on the phone trying to get a hold of our neighbors so they could start their stay. It didn’t last long because the short-term rentals are illegal in our area, but it definitely makes me think twice about the kind of people who are trying to rent out extra rooms.
I can only imagine the comments and laughs if people talked about their bad experiences at hotels 😂. The Airbnb bad experiences would pale in comparison.
I’ve stayed in dozens of hotels and Airbnbs, and in my experience, the Airbnb’s are more consistently affordable, more convenient, better locations, safer, and overall a better experience. That may not be the case 100% of the time, but hotels tend to be overly expensive, add on lots of extra fees (just like some Airbnb hosts), and less convenient. We’ve stayed in some really cool places with Airbnb’s that you just couldn’t with a hotel. You just have to do your research and know what you’re looking for at an overnight stay – look at the pictures, read the description, read all the comments, research the location, etc., just as you would a hotel. It’s not rocket science.
The only reason we’d prefer a hotel is if it has a free (legit) breakfast and is just a single stop on a longer trip. For multi-day stays, Airbnb wins almost every time. Except maybe if you want a beachfront resort or something like that.
ALWAYS BOOK DIRECT!! SKIP AIRBNB AND VRBO. BOOK THUR AIRBNB AND THEN CANCEL AFTER YOU GET CONTACT INFO. YOU WILL SAVE TONS OF MONEY. HOST
I see the hotels are paying the media to keep people from booking airbnbs..lol…they must be feeling the loss. Expensive cookie cutter rooms with no amenities other than high price room service. I ONLY stay at Airbnbs now!
I rent our mother-in-law apartment out and I am very careful to ask the guest to read all of the information on the site before booking. 99% of the guests that I get are wonderful people but the 1% are people who do not like to do their dishes, follow the rules such as quiet hours starting at 11 AM pm, attempt to bring more guests then they book for and think that smoking in front of your house is normal and acceptable even though the place is a non-smoking booking. I definitely think staying in a hotel is an appropriate way to go on a business trip where are you need complete silence. Most rentals of any kind that share walls are not completely silent no matter where you go.
Airbnb has provided more housing in more different areas than there are hotels and that makes them somewhat useful, however, any guests who think loud parties or Leaving a huge mess in their rental are not going to be popular anywhere. Done
Good and bad experiences : good, rented a room from a young couple during a two day convention. Knowing I had an early started they surprised me with coffee and a shared breakfast. Bad: hosts somehow thought that we would be gone most of the time, we weren’t. Teenage son’s bedroom was directly above ours. No rugs on the floor above, and they worked on indoor construction projects into the evening. Offered us a $50 refund. They weren’t ready to host, didn’t know what they were doing, and booked with incomplete information. The ugly: had lots of rules they didn’t reveal until we got there., like cleaning, washing bedding and towels, etc. They gave us a great guest rating because ‘we followed all the rules’. In general, hosts need to understand that we are paying customers, not ‘guests ‘.
To those stereotyping all hosts and complaining about cleaning fees..
As an Airbnb host for 5+ years now, I personally do the cleaning to ensure it’s being done properly. It takes me at least 2 hours to get my property ready for my guests.
**I think the big misconception here is that people are assuming that the cleaning fee is to clean up AFTER you. It’s not, I see it as cleaning and setting up FOR you.
My Airbnb has back to back bookings for 6 months out the year, leaving a small window of time to clean and prepare for the next arrival.
If a guest ever did not want to pay the cleaning fee, I would be happy to not have to wake up after working all night or find someone to pay, to clean up after a guest check-out for THEIR check-in.
I would gladly let the next, anti-cleaning fee guests clean it themselves when they arrive, with fingers crossed that the previous guests didn’t leave it in the same shape they probably would. Now, I would of course leave the extra set of fresh linens for them, but if you think about what goes into preparing for you, it’s quite a lot.
I’m talking collecting, washing and drying all the hand and bath towels, sheets, quilts, couch covers, bath mats, restocking toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags, etc..scrubbing urine, pubes and poo stains off of the bathroom toilet, cleaning the bathroom sink, shower, refrigerator, kitchen sink, oven, stove, coffee machine, microwave, counters, tables…not to mention vacuuming and mopping. Everything it takes to get the property ready for them.
That’s what the cleaning fee is for, so I don’t see the issue with asking guests to at least wash their dirty dishes or take out any smelly trash.
Just respect the way you found the rental and all the cleaning that went into getting it ready for you and tidy up a bit after yourselves.
If you are coming to Atlanta GA and want an Airbnb in downtown Atlanta DO NOT stay at the Landmark. It is a highrise condominium. There are drugs being sold inside the building and outside. Prostitutes. Bugs. Guns. Limited parking…your car will be broken into or towed. Building stinks of pot. The mattresses for the Airbnb units are stored in a basement storage room…without being covered…bugs and rodents ugh. Hallways and carpet are filthy. Some Airbnb guests show up and their luggage is a garbage bag. Beware!!
Airbnb is not consistent with their places because there are no rules for the hosts and can leave the guests stranded when they with words decive you. Before it used to be good but now it has become that they can host you even in a mobile home with a plain room and nothing else to offer you. Airbnb is becoming more and more time to be replaced by another hosting service that really does checking of each host before allowing them to host. Caution with Airbnb because some places are very bad and expensive with their fees which are for a room outrageous and very expensive.
Hello,
I’ve been doing Airbnb for about three and a half years. While I’m home I host a private bedroom suite on the first floor and while I’m traveling I host the intire 3 bedroom townhouse. My ratings have been nearly excellent and the joy of hosting has added so much to my life.
The place is stylish, very clean and has high end appointments. I screen my potential guests as when I’m here on my own I want to feel safe and when I’m gone I’m intrusting someone with my home and things.
In my area a night stay is $360+ for a decent hotel. I charge $150 for an entire beautiful 3 story townhome with a fully stocked kitchen, living room, dining room area and string lit patio. I think there is a lot of value as it is a great price considering what’s offered.
I look for people that naturally wish to tell me a little about themselves and their plans and that seem like they will appreciate and care for the space. It’s such a joy to share when people feel that way. I can completely understand when someone does not wish to share who they are, what they are there for, or to take care of your home. A hotel would be a better fit for their needs.
When on my long trips and renting the whole house, I do ask that they water my plants and take out the garbage once a week (to keep the plants alive and the garbage from overflowing) and I’ve found by asking the simple task of running the dishwasher it seems to promote their taking better care of the property.
Everything is described up front and if it’s not something that the potential guest would like to do they can choose a place without those requirements.
I’m very greatful for Airbnb and the opportunity they have provided. 😊
I was an Airbnb host for several years. I rented out two bedrooms with shared bath in the home I lived in (master bedroom was on opposite side of the house).
This is what was included:
Full use of all of the entire house except the master. This also included my 1/4 acre back yard full of trees with a fire pit and a grill.
Mini fridge in the bedroom stocked with water, juice and soda. A small Keurig machine with complimentary coffee/tea pods (there were cups and sugar and creamer in the room).
A small microwave.
A basket with granola bars, microwave popcorn, and various other snacks like pretzels, chips, etc.
A basket of fresh baked muffins on the kitchen island.
Full breakfast on Saturday and Sunday upon request (the day before).
These were my “rules”:
No pets or anyone under 18.
If you eat in the bedroom, please throw away smelly remains (anything with a strong odor like onions or Chinese food, etc) into the kitchen garbage, not the bedroom garbage.
Be respectful of owner and other guests (I did not specify anything. We are all adults so I let them decide what that meant – I never really had any issues there.
You could use anything in the kitchen, just don’t eat my food.
That’s it. I didn’t charge cleaning fees. I didn’t expect guests to vacuum or dust or clean sheets, etc – this is odd to me in general because I want my house to be immaculate for my next guest so I would rather do it.
I wanted my guests’ experience to be like what I think a “bed and breakfast” should be like.
I only charged $50 per night.
I was fully booked up regularly with many return guests – only one bad review. A guest complained that the location wasn’t near where she wanted to go. That information was all included in my profile along with a map of the general area, she just didn’t read lol
I didn’t really have any crappy guest thankfully. I did however find a vibrator between the mattress after guests one time. I’m assuming they enjoyed their stay☺️
I was a super host and loved hosting. I had zero cleaning fees, zero chores, and no rules. 99% of the time, treating people like adults leaves them treating your space with respect.
Meeting the lovely, lovely people was a joy. Many hosts are definitely in it for the wrong reasons or with the wrong mindset.
It seems AirBnB missed the BnB part.
When was the last time you stayed in a ‘real’ bed & breakfast, and had to do the dishes, scrub the floors ?
I enjoyed it at first but definitely went back to hotels. My last 2 experiences were terrible. Had one give me a bad review for using the grill that a specifically asked permission to use because it was raining & I was the only guest that had a balcony so was still able to use it. Another gave me a bad review because we allegedly had too many people in our place. They were literally watching people dropping me & my friend off. Allegedly noise complaint from guest. We booked 2 of the 3 housing situations they had since it was an island stay & hung out with the guest at the third so we knew it was a lie especially since we were out most of the nights.
I am a new host. My first “whole house” guest charged his Tesla 24/7 (in violation of my rules/AirBnB policy) and risked starting a fire by using a small electric cord. He refused to take the dumpster to the curb that he agreed to, (he told my neighbor he was ‘just renting, not the owner’) for 10 weeks. He agreed to pay the electric as he was the “only registered guest”, but he had up to 4 other people staying at my home. He brought in a queen size inflatable mattress for extra “unregistered people.” His electric bill was $550. and he refused to pay it because it was too expensive. He left trash in the kitchen, unwashed dishes, turned the refrigerator and freezer to the coldest possible settings. He would leave for several days, but keep the A/C under 70 degrees during 98-105 temperatures. Because it was an Airbnb rental, the police won’t arrest him for theft (stealing electricity is the same as stealing gas for a car!) and even worse, AirBnB refuses to give me his home address so I can take him to Court. I have security cam video/photos with him giving out the smartlock code to at least 4 other people. I charge $30 for cleaning fees, but pay a lady $100 to clean the house.
Another “shared guest, Celina” from Edinburg, Texas put 2 1/2 rolls in the toilet and plugged it.(disgusting photo of the toilet I had to unplug!). She then complained about not having enough toilet paper. She complained about the kitchen too hot to cook in (remember the phrase ” can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen?”), I had to close my master bedroom, middle bedroom, kitchen and dining registers to pump enough cold air for her. With vents closed, we still were chilled and my wife had no problems cooking.
AirBnB guests often really suck!
I have a great guest now though for 31 days.
I’m a host and know many others. I believe hosts try much harder to provide a wonderful experience for guests along with more personalized service. I only ask guests to take their garbage out and do their own dishes which I don’t see as extensive chores. 8t is a home stay after all NOT a hotel. I’m in Florida and it helps keep creepy crawlies at bay. Guests can be a nightmare at times. I try really hard to anticipate needs but received as much as 3 stars taken off my reviews which affects the price I can charge and frequency I rent for 1. called at 2am because they couldn’t find a parking spot in the garage only to be told when I called back they found one.2. A complaint the bed was too high. 3 A request for cosmetic facial masks. Among others. As far as the clean fee as times a 1 night stay person is better for a hotel but longer stays are only charged 1 fee so end up with much better rates than hotels.
I property manage and provide cleaning services. You have to be out at a certain time because AirBnB requires you to adhere to a set strict cleaning rules. Those dishes? They add to the already down to the second time we have to do a complete sanitizing/cleaning/turnover. I have an entire deep clean to do. Every single time.
I had someone gripe about 1 cobweb that popped up on the deck, outside, after she had been there for 4 days. Lady- it happens. The trash is more to keep us safe (and you not embarrassed). Same for the dishes- but half the time I have to re-wash because people don’t know how to wash dishes.
3 hours to do all of the cleaning, property maintenance, touch ups, service hot tubs/pools, etc for my shortest time. Tomorrow, I have 5 turnovers and 10 to 4 is the window for 4 of them and 1 to 4 is the window for the last. I have 2 others for 10 to 2. It’s alot. If a guest damages something, it has to be seen to before the next check in.
Are some of the things they require, numb? Yep. But there’s alot that makes sense and trust me, we appreciate you adhering to the hosts rules. Because the turnovers are pretty involved 😳