Staying Away - Airbnb?

[Man Utd]

So how bad was the apartment?

Like a warthog had been living in it.

[Cirrus]

Makes Uber look like angels

I just dipped a toe in the AirBNB water, for a holiday in New England.

Firstly it doesn't look very cheap.

Secondly, whatever price they quote, you suddenly find they've added £150 for cleaning, admin, taxes etc.

So you suck it up and book (after a lengthy process of registering). Only the property just ignores you. They don't say "We don't like contractors" or whatever. They just ignore you. That wastes 24 hours before you can look somewhere else (remember: you've entered your details on a card transaction).

What can you do for 24 Hours? How about looking up reviews on the web? They're not good. Two major problems:

Problem 1: the property is nothing like what was portrayed. Might be filthy. Might be unfinished. You might find you're sharing with other people even though AirBNB said you had exclusive rights. The landlord might try and rape you. However if you walk away AirBNB will just let you sink.

Problem 2: if you try and cancel - according to the rules - you'll be lucky to get anything back. If you do get a refund within your lifetime it will be a fraction of what your thought. However if you are a host you just cancel on a whim. AirBNB really don't give a tulip that you are arriving in a foreign country in three days time and your accommodation has been removed for absolutely no sound reason.

Add to that, reports that AirBNB take a minimum of days to respond to you no matter how dire your circumstances, and you've got a pretty toxic business model.

I would recommend seeing what they've got and then looking via other routes to booking the same locations.

[Man Utd]

I just dipped a toe in the AirBNB water, for a holiday in New England.

Firstly it doesn't look very cheap.

Secondly, whatever price they quote, you suddenly find they've added £150 for cleaning, admin, taxes etc.

So you suck it up and book (after a lengthy process of registering). Only the property just ignores you. They don't say "We don't like contractors" or whatever. They just ignore you. That wastes 24 hours before you can look somewhere else (remember: you've entered your details on a card transaction).

What can you do for 24 Hours? How about looking up reviews on the web? They're not good. Two major problems:

Problem 1: the property is nothing like what was portrayed. Might be filthy. Might be unfinished. You might find you're sharing with other people even though AirBNB said you had exclusive rights. The landlord might try and rape you. However if you walk away AirBNB will just let you sink.

Problem 2: if you try and cancel - according to the rules - you'll be lucky to get anything back. If you do get a refund within your lifetime it will be a fraction of what your thought. However if you are a host you just cancel on a whim. AirBNB really don't give a tulip that you are arriving in a foreign country in three days time and your accommodation has been removed for absolutely no sound reason.

Add to that, reports that AirBNB take a minimum of days to respond to you no matter how dire your circumstances, and you've got a pretty toxic business model.

I would recommend seeing what they've got and then looking via other routes to booking the same locations.

Yes, totally all of this.

Haven't had the last minute cancellation thing at all but from all the reading I've been doing in relation to my own issue, I can see that it happens a lot. It's one thing after a long day in the office, totally another if you're in some strange foreign city and all the hotels are booked up and find yourself out on the streets. Imagine that after a long flight with a family in tow.

They will just leave you in the lurch and, as I just said, you will just get mealy mouthed platitudes from their call centre in the Philippines while nothing happens.

They just lie to you.

It's even more frustrating when the luxury pad you've booked turns out to be a dog kennel and some douchebag has taken all your money.

Like I said - they are supposed to block the release of the funds for 24 hours but , even if you cancel and raise an issue promptly, the funds still get released because it's an automated process and nobody does anything to block it - even when you are CLEARLY the victim of fraud and they hold the ID of the offending individual on record.

Basically they enable fraudsters and scammers. I just can't believe they are able to get away with this.

I will never use AirBnB again.

I'm sure there are plenty of you who will say that your experiences have been 100% positive & I would have said the same until Tuesday.

I'm sure 99% of bookings go totally smoothly but, like all these things, when it does go wrong you're screwed because it's totally unregulated.

They've taken my money and I want it back.

[LondonManc]

Like a warthog had been living in it.

FLC sends his apologies.

[Hobosapien]

It's a service allowing amateurs (including shysters and chancers) to rent out their places or spare rooms. If you want hotel level service pay for a hotel.

I would only consider using this for working away if I could first see what I was getting for my money, in person. So stay in a reputable b&b or hotel for the first week while working away from home and suss out the cheaper alternatives to make sure they're not cheaper for a reason you can't live with. That also includes some of the cheaper offerings on the likes of booking.com. Cheap can often mean grubby run down places that make your skin crawl.

If they won't let you have a look first then they likely have something to hide or can't be bothered and that will be a problem if things go wrong.

[Man Utd]

It's a service allowing amateurs (including shysters and chancers) to rent out their places or spare rooms. If you want hotel level service pay for a hotel.

I would only consider using this for working away if I could first see what I was getting for my money, in person. So stay in a reputable b&b or hotel for the first week while working away from home and suss out the cheaper alternatives to make sure they're not cheaper for a reason you can't live with. That also includes some of the cheaper offerings on the likes of booking.com. Cheap can often mean grubby run down places that make your skin crawl.

If they won't let you have a look first then they likely have something to hide or can't be bothered and that will be a problem if things go wrong.

The places I've been renting on AirBnB haven't been cheap. I always want something self contained so a minimum of £100 per night really.

Will stick with the serviced apartment model from now on either by going direct or through booking.com.

[HRHisaravingfelchlord]

booking.com.

hotels.com and every 10th night you get a free one is what I use

[Mordac]

What's the consensus on expensing the Thistle Hotel Heathrow? Anyone tried this?

Can't help you I'm afraid, I've never been that poor...

[vwdan]

I don't want to come across as defending AirBnB because I agree with most of the criticism above and I've got some real beef with this new model of "online" service companies who try their best to avoid dealing with you BUT as a counter-point, without doubt, my worst ever staying away experience was in a hotel.

I mean I eventually got my money back (not that it was easy), granted, but it still remains the only time I've ever actually upped and walked out from somewhere. I've certainly stayed in a few "meh" AirBnB's, but I've never felt I needed to leave. For that reason, I'm kind of less inclined to assume hotel better, AirBnB worse unless the hotel is one you know (I.e, a chain). Plus, the advantages of being able to cook etc are rather nice.

*And, TBH, I reckon I'd get my money back from AirBnB with little difficulty - companies have a way of bowing to my persuasive methods not to rip me off

I would only consider using this for working away if I could first see what I was getting for my money, in person. So stay in a reputable b&b or hotel for the first week while working away from home and suss out the cheaper alternatives to make sure they're not cheaper for a reason you can't live with.

This is always my way. I think it makes for a far less stressful start to a contract, anyway - pay a bit more for a decent hotel and suss it out when you get there. Especially if you're thinking longer term - you want to suss out transport routes, areas etc.

[Man Utd]

Well I got my money back - or at least I've just received an email from AirBnB with words to that effect.

Forget phoning their support centre until you're blue in the face - you won't get anywhere.

Social media.

Once I got someone I know at the BBC to retweet my excoriating review of their customer services, they bent over backwards to put it right.