It is exciting to plan a vacation since it gives you the chance to travel and escape the routine of everyday life. Finding the ideal lodging is without a doubt one of the most important decisions to be made among many others. Traditional hotels have traditionally been the preferred option, but in recent years, a new competitor has emerged and completely changed the way we travel: Airbnb.
With its novel idea of matching tourists with hosts who give their houses, flats, or even spare rooms as accommodations, Airbnb has taken the world by storm and revolutionized the tourism business. Airbnb has swiftly become well-known for its sizable network and user-friendly website, providing a wide range of possibilities for all travelers. However, just like any other type of lodging for travelers, Airbnb has its share of pros and cons that must be taken into consideration before making a reservation.
We examine the pros and cons of utilizing Airbnb while on vacation in this thorough article so that you can decide for yourself what is best for your needs and preferences. We will look at Airbnb’s various aspects, from the advantages that have drawn millions of consumers to the dangers that can impair your holiday plans.
The Pros
They are great for families and groups
A hotel works just fine for lone travelers, couples, or groups of up to four people who do not mind sharing a room and beds. However, finding hotel rooms can be difficult if you are traveling with a large group or have young children. No parent wants to spend hours after their child goes to bed at 7:30 PM sitting in the dark, and you might not feel comfortable with older kids staying in their own hotel room just so that everyone in the large family can have a bed.
With an Airbnb, you may lease homes with numerous bedrooms and communal living spaces, giving everyone the space, they require under one roof. Airbnbs also make it possible for large families or groups to vacation together, such as when celebrating a grandma’s 100th birthday or getting together with old college friends for a week at the beach.
You get more space
Airbnbs are great since you often get more living space than a conventional hotel room, which is related to the point made above about having more sleeping rooms for more people. You will typically have access to a living space and a full kitchen at the very least. However, depending on where you go, you can also run into outdoor space, a pool, a game room, extra interior living areas, resort facilities, a rooftop, and more. An Airbnb could be a terrific choice if you want to unwind or enjoy your accommodations for an extended period.
Many airbnbs have a great aesthetic or unique features
Let us face it: basic hotel rooms might be a little boring. Why would you choose a square, uninteresting room with mass-produced artwork and a few unremarkable decorative accents when you can stay somewhere that appears to have been taken directly out of a magazine? It might feel like a great pleasure to stay there because many Airbnb owners have invested a lot of money and time in furnishing their homes to stand out from the competition.
Some hosts really go above and beyond
Many Airbnb hosts take great care in making sure that their visitors have an amazing stay (and, as a result, leave positive ratings). Their efforts can significantly improve your trip, especially when compared with the commercial aspect of many hotels front desk interactions.
You will be thrilled to find a nice gift basket with freshly ground coffee, champagne, s’mores ingredients, and a welcome card waiting for you when you arrived there.
You will feel more at home
The experience of staying in a home or apartment is very different from that of even the most charming boutique hotel. You are in a setting that has been designed to have all the comforts and touches of home.
It is good to be able to return home after a long day of visiting a new location, where you may relax on a couch, play a game with friends at a table, or prepare a snack in the kitchen. Aside from allowing you to experience local life and escape from the noise of tourist regions, Airbnbs are frequently found in residential areas.
The Cons
Airbnbs are no longer the cheaper option
When opposed to booking a hotel room, you would frequently save money in the early days of Airbnb—and sometimes significantly. This held, particularly for solo travelers and couples that just required or desired compact spaces, such as one-bedroom apartments.
Airbnb rates seem to have soared recently, and in most cases they have. Not only have the actual rental costs increased, but the extra costs are expensive. The price of your rental can nearly double the nightly rate due to service costs (paid to Airbnb), cleaning fees (determined by the owner), and local occupancy taxes and fees.
You will likely miss out on many amenities you would find in a hotel
Even with all that room, though, staying in a hotel has some advantages. To begin with, there is no housekeeping staff to replace towels, replenish paper products and toiletries, or clean up throughout your stay. The front desk employees, concierge, restaurant and/or bar, room service, and other services are also absent. A security system or cameras may be installed by the host (preferably just outside, but there are many accounts of visitors discovering them inside, too), but there is typically no security on the property.
Instead of only benefiting the one individual who owns the Airbnb (or all too frequently, the corporation that owns the Airbnb), staying in a hotel that employs front desk and housekeeping employees, a concierge, restaurant/bar workers, and other locals also helps the local economy.
The house rules can be more restrictive, and you might even get some chores
Each Airbnb host is authorized to establish the house rules for his or her own property because they are being rented out by private owners. A lot of them make sense, such as prohibiting smoking indoors and avoiding parties that can damage property or annoy the neighbors. However, some regulations, such as extremely strict check-in times, guidelines for what can and cannot be used in the flat, or even a ban on cooking lobsters, can become incredibly nit-picky and even plain inconvenient.
Similar to how it is polite to tidy up your hotel room a little before leaving (i.e., do not leave a mess behind), some Airbnbs go further by requiring a list of tasks to be finished before check-out. I have even seen complaints requesting that you vacuum, clean the toilet and/or shower, or wash the bedding. You might also need to take out the garbage, do the dishes, or strip the mattresses. You do not mind throwing a garbage bag in a trash can or bin.
You will not have to stress about being startled by a ton of house rules when you arrive at a hotel because they are much more basic.
Airbnbs are less regulated, and there could be some shady stuff going on
The hotel sector is highly regulated, and businesses must abide by specific criteria in order to continue operating. They are required to abide by stringent, consumer-protecting regulations regarding things like fire safety, insurance, hygiene, the absence of prejudice, and more.
While being mainly uncontrolled and unsupervised, Airbnbs are the opposite. Does the place you are at fulfill the minimum requirements for safety? Are the security cameras being used properly? Is the apartment tidy? Is the business even legal? There is no security against a host canceling your reservation at the last minute for no reason, which may truly put you in the lurch (for example, New York has severe restrictions about short-term rentals, making many Airbnb listings illegal).
Airbnb is negatively impacting housing markets in a major way
The most objectionable aspect of Airbnb, despite the rising costs, lack of regulation, and before-you-leave task lists, is the effect it is having on property markets, especially in urban areas. Locals are being priced out of their own neighborhoods in places like New York, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and others by wealthy investors who buy up available properties to use as short-term rentals. Furthermore, the rise of Airbnb has destroyed many rental markets and made it nearly hard for tenants to find inexpensive housing due to the fact that short-term rentals are typically far more profitable than long-term ones. Locals are frustrated and, in some cases, have openly turned against tourists in locations, which already struggle with heavy tourist populations.
Even if the property market is performing well, Airbnbs have given neighbors a lot of trouble since they have to cope with a steady stream of new strangers moving into their houses. Living next to or near an Airbnb may be a huge burden and cause a lot of community stress due to noise complaints and damaged property.
Conclusion
There are several pros and cons to utilizing Airbnb while on vacation, which you should carefully weigh before booking. The platform has unquestionable benefits, including a variety of lodging options, cost reductions, and engaging local experiences. However, potential downsides like ambiguous quality standards, constrained services, safety worries, and inconsistent legislation must be considered. You can decide whether Airbnb is the best option for your upcoming holiday by weighing these considerations against your unique travel preferences.
