Air BnB vs Traditional Hotel

Where I live it’s illegal to rent our home for less than a 30 day lease within the city. Some people still try and do it, but they are rare.

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Jp1LSU

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-It can be any of the thigns you mentioned. I went on a solo trip a few years back and stayed in one where I basically went through one bedroom, into another, then up some stairs into an attic-like area that had 5 bunk beds in it. Granted I did that because it was dirt cheap. I've stayed in others where you literally have an entire house to yourself. You can pick what you want.
-Sometimes the host is there, sometimes you wont' ever see them. It's all in the listing details but sometimes they'll let you in and give you a key, sometimes they'll give you an entrypad number, etc. Just depends.
-Disregard the name, they aren't really "bed and breakfasts". I mean sure some of them may have superhosts that will cook for you or something but that's not really the point. The best way to describe it is regular folks that are renting out part or all of their home. Anythign more than that, check the listing details.

As for the last question, I think many people prefer it because it's often cheaper than a hotel. That's my reason anyway.

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On our European trips when we are traveling for 3 weeks, its nice to chill in the apartment and eat breakfast there in the morning.

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To piggy back on that, if on a long vacation having a washer/dryer (or just a washer and clothes line) is clutch with AirBnB’s.

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On our European trips when we are traveling for 3 weeks, its nice to chill in the apartment and eat breakfast there in the morning.

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I enjoy experiencing the community and love shopping the farmers markets and preparing meals when in Europe. Cost is also a benefit on extended stays.

We almost always use an airbnb on vacations. You can usually save a good bit and get extra amenities, like kitchen, washer/dryer, etc. It can also be great to find a place in a location where there may be no hotels - better neighborhood areas.

Rentals usually have fewer/no personal effects scattered about in the photos.

I’m typing this post from the breakfast table of an ABB—I can see the Pacific Ocean from both floors of a nice condo w/garage, all for less than a comparably located traditional b&b room or hotel. But I don’t choose ABB for price (and there are plenty of listed properties more expensive than hotels).....here’s my short list of why I’ve stayed in 1 hotel room in the last 3 years and at least a dozen ABBs:
—location: often, ABB properties are found in better/more interesting locations than typical hotels. Because they’re scattered around, rather than being restricted, as hotels are, to higher density locations, you get the feel of living in a place, rather than just visiting it. Those “locals only” pubs/restaurants/shops are going to be nearby, rather than across town, from you.
—interesting spaces/settings: hotel rooms, even in boutique places, are pretty generic. In the past 3 years, I’ve stayed in a fifth story tower once part of Bayeux’s defensive walls, an apartment w/wraparound balcony in Dublin overlooking a theater where Handel’s Messiah premiered, and a cool ground-floor flat in London built within the footprint of the old Marshalsea prison in London (see Dickens et al).
—space: especially in Europe & in major cities like Paris or London, hotel rooms can be minuscule. On an extended trip, it is nice to have someplace to sit other than the bed, a real full sized bathroom, and room to spread out.
—value: while the rental itself may not be cheaper than a hotel, I generally see it as a savings to have a kitchen to make simple meals. My spouse doesn’t particularly like waking up, getting dressed, and going out for breakfast, so it’s nice to have coffee & basic breakfast before getting dressed & heading out for the day. Cheaper, too.
—amenities: I usually stay in ABBs with full kitchens, dishwashers, and at least washer (clothes dryers are less common in Europe). This allows me to pack pretty lightly and wash as needed, in the evenings or early mornings. Saves $$ on hotel laundry or time schlepping to the laundromat.
—connection to a place: having a kitchen means you’ll go shopping for food (my fave) and basic supplies....so you’ll be doing things that residents do, interacting with real people and navigating non-tourist dominated spaces. Those kinds of things are deeply interesting to me. Farmer’s markets, corner stores, the cafe by the bus stop with excellent cappuccino that looks like hell but is well known to the neighborhood—that’s why I travel. I don’t travel to sit in the lobby at yet another St Regis and be fawned upon by service employees—anyone with $$ can have that experience. I prefer unmediated, unvarnished actual social interaction.

Now, in some places, ABB means you need decent navigation & language skills, but aren’t those essential to travelers? Learn to read a map, learn basic conversational words in whatever local language applies, learn to separate the wheat from the chaff in the ABB (or FlipKey or VRBO) listings.

RE: limited short term rentals in some places, I understand the need for affordable housing, for safety standards, and for visitors to be respectful. But I don’t see how you can prevent people from renting spaces that they own. Some cultures/places have long traditions of cottage rentals/simple room rentals (like all over England, Ireland, & Scotland)—regular homeowners supplement their incomes by offering overnight stays. I think that much of the pushback against ABB has been fomented by hotels (I say just make those who rent their properties pay a small tax) and NIMBYists who abhor change.

I do both depending on prices and the location I want to stay. Sometimes I don't want to worry about anything and get a hotel. Other times I want to be more local and do an Airbnb.