If you had a choice between staying at a hotel or an airbnb, which one would you pick?

Dear Fellow Hosts,
If you were to travel and the price of an airbnb and a hotel room were comparable, would you stay at an airbnb?

Most certainly a BnB (or small hotel). I like some personal interaction. I don’t like the impersonality of big hotels.

@GutHend oddly, I’d prefer a hotel. I like the blandness of a hotel and knowing what to expect. I usually make a point of connecting with the front desk staff, and, if I’m staying for several days, meet the general manager as well. If I have a positive experience, I always write a note to the most senior person and express my appreciation for the services of specific hotel employees.

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I prefer an airbnb if a suitable one is available.

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Airbnb every time! I love the personal connection.

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AirBnb or regular Bnb; I detest the cookie-cutter approach to hotels and life!

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Hotel… one hundred percent. I don’t want to plan a trip abroad and get cancelled on!

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Just the spouse and me - a hotel. If it is a longer stay or other family members come along, then an AirBnB - but the entire place. I just can’t envision sharing a house with strangers.
(Edited for grammar!)

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Depends on the nature of the travel.
Vacation - AirBnb. I like to talk to local people and find out more about the area.
Business - hotel where the conference is taking place for the convenience of a room to pop in and out of in between sessions.

It’s depend what the hotel and airbnb offers.

Always Airbnb. I haven’t used a hotel since 2012.

If I want more privacy then I go for a whole property, but personally I love the company of living with another person even while on holiday. I’m not the sort to chat everyday but I like the sounds of someone going about their day… for me it’s relaxing and makes me feel at home.

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I almost always prefer to stay in a hotel when travelling myself.

I love to be an Airbnb host, sharing my home with strangers, but that’s because it is my home and I am setting the rules here. I do occasionally use an Airbnb when travelling, but this is certainly not my first choice.

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Coincidentally I ranted about this subject very recently. Rather than reiterate everything in this post, here’s the link. :slight_smile:

@jaquo - Nice evaluation of the difference (I’m a fast reader!)

I will point out that your statement that you are guaranteed privacy in a whole-home AIrBnB is not necessarily true.

Some of the whole homes, particularly in the Caribbean, come with staff that does go in every day (or at least most days) and takes care of the place. The open-air homes get dirty very quickly (no glass over the windows), the pools get dirty quickly, so the property must be maintained almost daily to stay ahead of the climate. Our place is an example of that. My house rules state that the staff may not be dismissed.

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As a family, we did our first “big” trip in 1997 and I found, the old fashioned way, whole space rentals throughout Europe. It is always my preference to rent an apartment or house with a fully functioning kitchen. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. The way one finds these places has certainly changed and with these changes have come higher costs, but it is still my preference.

For a one or two day conference, I will stay at the host hotel [or one located nearby] for the convenience factor. I eat meals with my colleagues, maybe go out for a drink or two. So much easier when you are right there.

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I haven’t had the chance to decide (all our travel has been limited to seeing family. Either Airbnb isn’t an option or we stay with them).

As long as I’ve got a kid in diapers, I’ll choose a hotel. (There will be messes and the furniture is sturdier and easier to clean)

But once all my kids are over 6, I plan on using Airbnb (if it’s an option).

I would stay at a hotel if it was a shared house thing.
I would stay at AirBnB if it was a stand alone private house.

I have respect for both spaces but would feel worse if I had some kind of accident at an AirBnB. Carpet soil etc.
Not to say it would be better at a hotel but less personal for the host that has to deal with it and get compensation etc.

(I’m drawing a blank…what’s an example of a hotel being a shared house?)

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Do you think she means a hostel type of place? Or shared bath, such as older hotels around the world?

Ahh so, you may be right! Two such older “shared” hotels immediately popped into my mind when you gave that description. One was in London and one in a small town in Switzerland (Grindenwald?).

Funny thing about the one in Switzerland, there was a large friendly-looking dog which was always seated just inside the front door of the Lobby, as if greeting the guests. We didn’t stop to pet it.

On our third night, we found out it was the owner’s former pet and he had had it taxidermied (stuffed and preserved).

Ick.

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