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Why We QUIT Staying at Airbnb! | Is There A Better Way To Stay?

Retirement Travelers
Retirement Travelers
🥈Expert
👁️ 700K views📅 3 years ago⏱️ 17:01

Key Moments

Editorial Summary

Travelers John and Bev explain why they transitioned from using Airbnb to staying in hotels during their international travels. After staying in 41 different Airbnb units during their first year of travel, they encountered numerous issues including high service and cleaning fees that made short term stays less economical than hotels. They highlight several problematic policies, such as the lack of a loyalty program and a cancellation policy that penalizes frequent travelers. The creators also discuss logistical frustrations like inaccurate location maps, misleading photos, inadequate kitchen amenities, and unreliable Wi-Fi. They recount specific negative experiences involving construction noise, pest infestations, and hosts who attempted to shift cancellation responsibilities onto guests. Ultimately, the couple concludes that hotels offer better value through amenities like breakfast, consistent Wi-Fi, and easier check in processes without the chores required by many rental units. They note that while Airbnb has implemented some improvements, such as showing total prices upfront and limiting cleaning requests, they find the predictability and service of hotels more suitable for their lifestyle.

Written by TripBacon from this video's transcript.

How This Review Compares

This review's score for World Traveller
No strong opinion
All-time creator consensus for World Traveller
No strong opinion

This review is in line with the all-time creator consensus.

What This Creator Said
Creator Warns AgainstFull Ship Review🥈Expert Creator
❤️ Best for CoupleVeteran Cruiser

Source: Our analysis of the creator's lived experience, based on what they said in this video.

Creator's Key Takeaways

we quit Airbnb we've been traveling abroad for almost two years now moving from City to City each week

we've had a wide variety of issues and frustrations, we decided that we had better options

we detail all the specific issues, that we think Airbnb needs to improve. These deal with fees, cleaning, misleading photos, lack of loyalty programs, bugs and much more

once we switched to hotels and we realized that we really weren't paying more for them we started to enjoy the journey more

Creator's Tips & Advice

Read reviews carefully before booking
Examine photos in detail to avoid misleading listings
Consider hotels for shorter stays to avoid high fees

🆕New to Cruising? This Creator Addresses:

Unexpected fees and costsCompare total costs with hotels, especially for short stays
Poor communication with hostsUse lock boxes instead of meeting hosts to avoid scheduling issues

Questions This Creator Answers

QWhy did the creators quit staying at Airbnb?
QWhat are the specific issues with Airbnb that led to the switch?
QHow do hotels compare to Airbnb for short-term stays?

Video content sourced from the creator's original upload. Watch on YouTube