After 12 years of using Airbnb—from magical local stays to disappointing cash-grab rentals—I’ve seen the platform evolve. These days, it feels more like a gamble than a guarantee. Here is how the relationship has evolved and what I am choosing now.
Love at First Sight
My first stay with Airbnb was in February of 2013 in Brooklyn, New York. After one stay, I was convinced this was the way to travel. It was cheaper than a hotel, but with the comforts of home and came with a feeling of getting a glimpse into living like a local in that place and not just a tourist. The apartment we stayed in was a junior one-bedroom apartment in Williamsburg. It was obviously this guy’s primary residence. He was cool, there was a mural on the living room wall of a fox as a lady in a sexy backless top seductively looking over her shoulder among tropical flowers. We could peruse his book collection and walk out the door like a real local. We got a firsthand view into the life of living like a real hipster in Brooklyn. This did not compare to a hotel, we were LIVING in Brooklyn, and it cost less than a hotel. The success of the platform was no surprise.
Fast forward to 2018, I spent four months traveling solo through Europe and stayed in many Airbnb’s on that trip. My favorites were the homes that were actual homes. In Copenhagen, I was greeted at the train station and walked to the apartment by the girl that lived there. She walked me around her neighborhood and showed me where to get an affordable healthy lunch, where to have a fancy dinner, how to rent a bike, and a few local words I should know. I felt so comfortable and looked after, like someone really wanted me to enjoy their home and the city they loved. She even checked in on me during my stay to see if I needed anything. As a solo female traveler, it helped me feel safe and cared for. My experience was similar in Korcula, Croatia.
Around this time, Airbnb was also changing. With success like that, of course over time there were people trying to take advantage of the platform and profit from it. Some saw the opportunity to profit on creating rentals just for travelers and missed the amazing part of Airbnb that was living like a local. I was planning to spend five nights in London and was somehow living under a rock that I did not know the weekend I was going to be there was the same weekend Harry and Meghan were getting married. I booked an Airbnb less than two weeks before arriving (my first mistake). This was the first time I felt like I stayed in an Airbnb that was just trying to profit on the success of Airbnb and not actually create a valuable experience for travelers. The photos showed one large bed, but when I arrived there were two small twin beds. There was almost nothing in the kitchen, I could not even make coffee. I felt scammed. The point of staying in an Airbnb is to stay in a local home, but this was not a home. It was not even set up for short-term stays. This was literally set up last minute to cash in on tourists like me in town for the spectacle of a royal wedding.
Mixed Experiences
After this, I started having more mixed experiences at Airbnb over the years. They started becoming comparable in price to hotels, so it really started to be a gamble if it was worth it to stay in one that may or may not match the photos. There are now rentals that are run by larger companies that manage many Airbnbs, and no one actually lives in the units as a home. In 2023, I booked an Airbnb in Charleston, North Carolina with a friend and we specifically were looking for a place with a porch, because obviously we needed to enjoy wine on our porch in the South. The other big draw was that we were travelling for more than a week and wanted a place to be able to do laundry. The photos of the Airbnb we booked had a sunny porch, a lovely bright and sunny bedroom, and a cute living room and kitchen. When we arrived, we saw the “porch” was actually a tiny table placed under a stair at the entry. There was no “porch” to have our wine. The apartment was dark, the photos must have been edited to increase the brightness. On top of that, there was no hot water the first day. The rental company said they would come to check it out on our second day, leaving us with cold showers the first night. Being the nosy architect that I am, after a morning run I started looking around for the water heater to see if I could solve the issue since I did not want to take another cold shower. I was able to locate the electrical panel and saw the power to the water heater was turned off. I switched it on and solved the problem. When we messaged the host, it seemed like they thought we caused the issue. That day, the internet also stopped working. They did help us troubleshoot this in the evening, but hot water and internet are bare bones amenities that any accommodation in America should have. We asked for any sort of discount or something they could do to make up for the inconveniences. They never responded.
Will I Still Use Airbnb?
Is it even worth it to stay in an Airbnb anymore? Honestly, I think it is a gamble. I still do occasionally, but I will not book one without looking through the comments to find out what others are saying. It also depends on what you are looking for. Sometimes, the price for an Airbnb vs. a hotel can be comparable. In that case, you need to decide if you want some of the amenities that can come with an Airbnb like having a full kitchen or a washer and dryer. If you would rather have a guarantee of a comfortable bed, hot water, a predicable check-in, and a lobby bar, then you might be better off at a hotel. It doesn’t seem to be the case anymore where you can find an Airbnb for significantly less than a hotel, and it is a gamble if it will be as comfortable. On a recent trip to Paris, I was traveling with a friend and we each wanted our own bedroom. We were able to find an Airbnb that gave us each a little more privacy than a hotel would have for about the same price. Depending on what I want from my trip is now how I decide what kind of accommodation I want.
Trying Home Exchange
With all that said, I still miss the old days on Airbnb where you could stay in the home of someone who actually lives there and not just a vacation rental. I also miss when Airbnb was significantly less expensive than a hotel. In my never-ending search for my preferred way to travel and where to stay, I am trying out Home Exchange on an upcoming trip. I will write about that experience once I have a few exchanges under my belt. For now, I am not breaking up with Airbnb, but the relationship isn’t as serious as it used to be.
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