You are not talking about Airbnb here. You are saying a whole industry which existed well before hotels, before Airbnb and will exist after Airbnb is not a good fit for you.
I was speaking specifically of AirBnb because a clean, good reviewed room in a central location in any city comes almost at the same cost as a hotel room minus all the other things. Here is the thing, my wife and I did an around the world trip for an entire year and we did not stay once at an AirBnb. I checked AirBnb in every new country and every time it lost against a hotel or a hostel. Most AirBnbs were priced at the level of a hotel room, so if we wanted to splash out (after roughing it for a few weeks) then we booked a hotel for the price of an AirBnb and if we wanted something cheaper than a hotel then hostels beat AirBnb by miles every single time. Especially outside Europe many hostels were offering an unbeatable experience where you could get so much more comfort and value for little money than what the cheap AirBnbs had to offer. If during an entire year of travelling we didn't book an AirBnb once (despite trying) then this speaks for itself IMHO - at least from my point of view.
It sounds like you hired it for specific reasons, finding a low cost option quickly or treating yourself to _all the things_, and I don't think AirBnB tries to do those things well.
Try hiring hotels or hostels for large gatherings: bachelor/bachelorette parties, weddings, family vacations, etc. and I think it will be easier to see the difference. They compete more with vacation rentals, which seems old-fashioned since their online inventory always sucks.
I also think hotels are impersonal. As mentioned in this thread, they market themselves as "having a local experience" and I think that's been an effective message. I have gotten great recommendations from hosts on food, dining, and things not to do and I get to choose the location/theme of my stay too. Do I need to work? Am we relaxing for a couple days? The choose your own adventure aspect means that AirBnB is the starting place for all those searches, not hotels.
I also think there is a real lack of comparable options to hostels in the states so those could be similar jobs here (not abroad). I know of 1 hostel in my hometown near the airport (top 20 US city by pop).
I do agree that great hosts will push up prices to be comparable to hotels and the gap is closing steadily. I think you can still find great middle ground in most cities.
That industry was somewhat small before. For it, AirBnB was its Eternal September, as everyone and their dog suddenly became landlords of their (often rented!) home.
dustinmoris|5 years ago
everythingswan|5 years ago
Try hiring hotels or hostels for large gatherings: bachelor/bachelorette parties, weddings, family vacations, etc. and I think it will be easier to see the difference. They compete more with vacation rentals, which seems old-fashioned since their online inventory always sucks.
I also think hotels are impersonal. As mentioned in this thread, they market themselves as "having a local experience" and I think that's been an effective message. I have gotten great recommendations from hosts on food, dining, and things not to do and I get to choose the location/theme of my stay too. Do I need to work? Am we relaxing for a couple days? The choose your own adventure aspect means that AirBnB is the starting place for all those searches, not hotels.
I also think there is a real lack of comparable options to hostels in the states so those could be similar jobs here (not abroad). I know of 1 hostel in my hometown near the airport (top 20 US city by pop).
I do agree that great hosts will push up prices to be comparable to hotels and the gap is closing steadily. I think you can still find great middle ground in most cities.
TeMPOraL|5 years ago