12 Reasons Why I Hate AirBnB

I’ve used AirBnB a few times in the past, and I’ll be honest – and contrary to what this blog post is titled, I had a great experience. Ultimately though, AirBnB is not for me. I love hotel amenities, I love hotel reward programs and I have big issue with the safety issues surrounding AirBnBs. Give me a hotel or even a motel any day. Now, let’s get into the 12 reasons why I hate AirBnB!

1. Why I hate AirBnB: Safety concerns

By far, my biggest issue with AirBnb is that there are no standard safety measures. No one is inspecting these rentals! You are taking the word of the host (who is a complete stranger – remember that!) that they have installed smoke alarms, C02 detectors, locks, and cross your goddamn fingers there isn’t a hidden camera pointed on you in the bathroom.

My sister, my mom and I stayed in an AirBnB in Mammoth Lakes, California for a few nights. Our first night there, I had a terrible nightmare. I don’t know what brought this on, but I had a dream that the condo in which we were staying had a carbon monoxide leak, and everyone died except for me.

Now, this really did happen to a family vacationing in Mexico (though this happened well after our trip). This alone is enough to scare me away from AirBnb for good.

Apart from carbon monoxide detectors missing, there’s fire alarms, door and window locks, hidden cameras and god knows what lurking in that house you rented. Plus – you don’t know who else has the keys to this AirBnB. There’s nothing stopping that previous psycho guest to head out to the Home Depot and make an extra copy of the key.

Keycodes? Are they really changed after every guest? You don’t know that.

Bottom line, I want the peace of mind that I’m not staying in a death trap.

2. Why I hate AirBnB: Check in / Check Out hassle

If I’m staying at a hotel, I can arrive at any hour of the day. If I arrive before check in, the staff can hold my luggage and I can go out and explore. If I arrive at 1am, they’ll be someone at the front desk to help me.

Whereas, in an AirBnb, if the unit you rented doesn’t have keyless access, you’re going to have to arrange a meeting point with the host to get your key. Not to mention, there is no front desk agent to hold your luggage should you arrive early.

3. Why I hate AirBnB: Lack of a reward program

I’m a member of pretty much every hotel chain’s reward program. By doing so, it allows me to earn free nights. In fact, I stayed at Marriott hotels so much that I made their highest tier – Ambassador – which allows me to earn points faster, gives me access to free meals, room upgrades, lounges, early check in/late check out, among other benefits. Those free nights I earn allow me to stretch my travel budget.

4. Why I hate AirBnB: The elitism of AirBnB

“We’re staying in an AirBnb!” “We got this cool AirBnB” – those sentences are so common these days when someone is commenting on an upcoming or past trip. Look at me! I wouldn’t DARE stay a boring *gasp* chain hotel. I’m staying in an AIRBNB. I am better than the average traveler!

Screw that. Give me a Marriott with a fitness center and free breakfast any day.

So many travelers today want to get the “local” experience and think that by staying in a local’s home, they’ll accomplish that. But why should it matter? Whether you stay in an AirBnB or a hotel, you are still a tourist. You want to live like a local? Ok – get a job, do laundry, cook all your meals, vacuum the house, walk around in some residential neighborhood, and visit a city park and feed ducks. Meanwhile, I’ll go on and enjoy the anonymity of my hotel, I’ll go all in on being a tourist and having fun on my vacation, rather than worrying about how I’m so cool for NOT visiting *gasp* a popular attraction for which a location is known.

5. Why I hate AirBnB: Booking difficulties/cancellations

I find this so frustrating. In many cases, to book an AirBnB, you have to DM the property owner, write a message and explain why you should be graciously allowed to book their property. Then, they can decide if they want to rent to you.

If they decide they don’t like something about you, they can tell you no – by way of saying, “It’s already booked for those days” (despite the booking calendar saying otherwise).

Worse yet, you can have your AirBnB all booked, and then 24 hours before you’re ready to check in, get an email from the host cancelling your stay! And if you booked in a popular tourist area with limited lodging availability, good luck finding another place to stay.

A hotel won’t do that. If you have a room booked, you get the goddamn room. And if they oversold, they’ll send you to a nearby property. Good luck doing that with AirBnB.

6. Why I hate AirBnB: I don’t want to feel like I’m at home when I’m traveling

I want to feel like I’m on vacation. I don’t want to be in someone else’s house! I don’t want look at their clutter. I don’t want to do dishes, I don’t want to take out the trash, I’m not interested in stripping the bed — bottom line, I don’t want to deal with someone’s long list of ‘house rules’ and chores as I get settled.

7. It’s expensive

When I’ve priced out AirBnBs in the past, they’ve always been just as or MORE expensive than staying in a hotel, after you add up all the fees. You’ll see a listing, like $60/night. “Wow!” you think. “That’s a great deal.”

You go to book it and the price doubles. Wait, what?

Service fee and cleaning fee. That $60/night place is now $125/night. Might as well stay in a hotel and collect those points.

9. Why I hate AirBnB: No amenities

I love hotel amenities – part of the fun of going on vacation is to use the hotel amenities. I always try to book hotels with gyms, hot tubs and free breakfasts. I also love lounges, spas and fresh towels. You’re not going to get any of that with your AirBnB stay. If there’s a problem with something in my room, I can just call the front desk to summon the engineer, who will come up and fix it quickly. Whereas an AirBnB, if that toilet gets clogged, good luck getting it fixed in a timely manner.

I also like the hotel beds. Those AirBnB rentals? They’re not going to have top-of-the-line mattresses in those rooms. They’re going cheap to reduce their bottom line. Think Ikea, or worse.

10. Cleaning standards

I know what to expect at a hotel. A housekeeper will clean the room according to the hotel’s standards, and likely the housekeeping supervisor will give the room a once-over before it’s given the ‘all clear’ to be ready for another guest. If I arrive in a room and it’s not clean (and this has never happened to me and I typically stay in hotels over 100 nights a year), I can buzz the front desk and they’ll get it on it. I don’t know what the fuck is going on at an AirBnB. The host can charge whatever she wants for a cleaning fee, but there is no transparency on it. What did I get for my money? Did they really wash the sheets in between guests? You’ll never know.

11. Photos can lie

Anyone who’s ever sold a home, bought a home, or even looked at real estate photos knows this – a wide angle lens and photographing from the right angle can make a room look much bigger and better than what it really is. Check the AirBnB listings carefully because this is definitely done here, too.

12. Why I hate AirBnB: Nonsensical Review System

This really gets me pissed off. Guests who stay in an AirBnB seem to feel obligated to leave a “nice” review, and not criticize anything. The reviews you read on AirBnB.com are overly inflated, not to mention all the fake reviews. You stay at a hotel, you’re not going to have the proprietor hanging a review over your head, so you’re going to get objective information on what you’re getting into.

In summary, it bottoms down to expectations – at a hotel, I know what to except. I don’t like surprises, especially when I’m on a much-needed vacation. Although, I do admit that if you’re staying somewhere with a large group of people for a week or more, then yes, that Outer Banks beach house rental makes total sense. Personally, I typically don’t travel like that so it’s hotels all the way, baby!

Do you like staying at AirBnBs? Or are you more of a hotel person? Let me know in the comments!