Airbnb is adding cleaning fees to a new ‘total price’ of bookings in search results after people complained listings were misleading::Airbnb’s CEO said that he’s heard guests “loud and clear” that pricing on the platform isn’t transparent and “checkout tasks are a pain.”
I’ve been using hotels instead of Airbnb for a while now, and it’s most often cheaper or similar price, and better service.
Here AirBnB just isn’t really comparable to a hotel.
In a hotel you get a bed, bathroom, a tiny desk, tv chair, and microwave. When you pay more the room is functionally the same, just maybe in a better location or nicer lobby.
With short stay accommodation you get an actual dwelling. Even in a tiny studio apartment you have a full kitchen and an actual table.
Obviously if hotels & short stay were like for like then you would stay in a hotel if that were cheaper - but that’s just not the reality here. Short stay accom is dramatically more comfortable.
True, but if you wanted those things before AirBnB, they existed, they’re called aparthotels e.g.: https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/art-las-palmas.es.html?label=gen173bo-1DCAMYsQIoggJCGmxhcy1wYWxtYXMtZGUtZ3Jhbi1jYW5hcmlhSApYA2i7AYgBAZgBCrgBF8gBD9gBA-gBAfgBAogCAZgCAqgCA7gCp7PVpQbAAgHSAiRkYWQxZjI5NS1hMDBhLTQxMzYtOTI3OS1jNWM1OTczYjAxYWTYAgTgAgE
with a kitchen, washing machine, etc. Very common in touristy areas for decades.
The main difference between an AirBnB and a generalized hotel is that the former is supposed to be inhabited by the owner most of the year. The others are hotels pretending to be something else.
Here in Australia “bed and breakfast” set ups were common before AirBnB. Local councils would even put up street signage for you.
The common assertion in these threads is that “hotels are similarly priced” which is just not the case here if you’re comparing like for like.
In Australia $250 AUD (~$200 USD) in a major city will get you a proper studio apartment in privately owned short stay accommodation, or a smelly bed + toilet arrangement in a sketchy hotel with stains on the walls (literally).
I travel a lot for work and while you can find hotels which are cheaper than airBnB, there’s just no comparisson on the features provided.
That’s not always the case. In many places short stay accommodations have become like hotels. Many also have what’s more like half-kitchens - a small electric stove, a sink, microwave and kettle. That’s better than no kitchen at all, but it’s not like you can cook anything you want there.
Well yeah, but you can look at the listing and see what kitchen facilities are available?
In a hotel? Of course. There’s all those “extended stay” hotels and in some places they have weeklies, which you can rent for a night or a week or a month. But the point is, all the rooms are the same so you know exactly what you’re getting.
You don’t know what you’re getting when you stay in privately owned short stay accommodation ?
I’ve always found listings are far more descriptive than hotels.
I think the only thing keeping me to Air BnBs is the kitchen honestly
We always look for extended stay hotels for this reason, especially when traveling with my parents who would much rather heat up a home cooked meal vs fast food when traveling. Usually we can get 1 room instead of 2 since a lot of time the rooms are suites so my wife and I can take the sofa bed.
That’s why I love the hotel suites with kitchenettes. With the help of an electric roaster we were able to bring Thanksgiving to my step-son, who was away at school.
Aw that’s awesome! Yeah I should look for kitchenettes next time I travel!
Yeah, that’s no small thing for me.
If I’m away for a week working or on holiday I so much prefer being able to make my own meals. I have unusual dietary preferences, so restaurants just aren’t appealing for days at a time.
I can’t say it’s always available, but you might want to look for suites? I stayed in a hotel in Ocean City that had a full kitchen, and most timeshare resorts (that you can also rent) tend to have that too.
Oh that’s a good idea. I’ll def look for one of those next time. All I really would need is a small stove!
Same here. I’ve almost completely given up on Airbnb. The convenience of a hotel is also much higher than being either in someone’s home, or an ugly “cheapest stuff at Ikea” Airbnb.
Yep, it’s nice to be a customer and not be rated and reviewed based on how well you cleaned up after yourself. Also dislike how Airbnb is a different interaction with the host every time. Some hosts are nosey or overbearing. I prefer the hotel front desk and then to be an anonymous customer after that.
That is wildly different depending on location and number of guests
I have seen this too. From my experience mainly USA. For example 1 night in Destin FL $150, with $100 or $150 cleaning fee. Colorado is the highest I have seen with $200 cleaning fee.
Canada and Mexico $30 cleaning fee lol. It really depends on the location errrr country.
I see this on Reddit all the time and I chalked it up to a marketing campaign by hotels because it’s just so wrong, at least where I am.