Would you stay in a stranger’s apartment abroad?

Airbnb has completely revolutionised the way I travel! I’ve stayed in so many amazing flats and met lots of amazing people. Have had one or two hiccups along the way but nothing too dramatic. I find it much better value than hotels too – you can rent an entire flat for much less than a tiny hotel room. I love discovering a neighbourhood I otherwise wouldn’t have visited, seeing how ‘real’ people live and feeling like a local in a foreign city.

Absolutely not, notwithstanding tender of
good or valuable consideration… it’s my
private domain and it’s strictly off-limits
to total strangers even with an in
escrow payment up front.

Used to do it years ago as a student/ young adult – Found it cheap and interesting – Parents used to look after recipients of exchange – Would I do it at 82? No – I could not be bothered.

If you upload a photo onto facebook or a video onto youtube, you potentially share it with millions of strangers- surely that’s no less an intrusion into your life than someone paying to sleep in your flat when you’re away? I’ve stayed in a couple of apartments through the website which have been full of personal photos, books and albums etc. I didn’t feel like I was intruding, in fact it felt like I was getting to know someone- a priviledge, and a really positive experience.
I think in our throw-away society (and our global recession), modern attitudes to sharing possessions are changing. There’s a similar website through which someone can pay for, and rent your car for a day- they drive it round and drop it back outside your house when theyve finished.. Maybe it is a naive trust; I’m not sure how often the service is exploited/ items stolen, but I doubt the website would be so successful if this was happening a lot.
So yes, I would rent out my flat, and if someone wants to rifle through my smalls drawers, then fine. At least I’ll make some cash out of it.

My wife & I stayed in a lot of airbnb this last 3 years and overall it has been great. What is unique is that both the host and the guests review each other…. then the reviews go public, which is very useful for the host. However our last experience in Amsterdam didn’t work well and I posted negative comments like poor communication (2 months to reply to my query), smelly smoked up flat, wrong address, but it is of no use because the host hasn’t made comments in order to ovoid the review to be public. However he sent me an email that he would reimburse me. Fair enough but how do we warn future potential guests?

I am a regular user of AirB&B and have had some very cost effective experiences all over the World. Naturally you get what you pay for and this often depends upon the location. It is most important that as a user you build up a good profile of yourself, just like your credit rating it’s there to be seen. Being constructive in your posted critique is not a good idea, there are opportunities to inform your host privately of any items that you feel requiring addressing. This is an excellent method of home owners making fiscal gain from an asset not being used. and as most travellers really only need a safe comfortable bed with clean facilities then this is the best solution. Very few offer breakfast, although some do offer a Continental style with add lib tea / coffee and the opportunity to make it yourself. Don’t expect a TV in your room, but WiFi is the norm so you can watch what you like. My Daughter has a Maisonette in a popular South Coast location in the AirB&B scheme and earns about £1800 per calendar Month, not bad income, for changing the linen and general housework. She is very proud of her reviews and reacts to any comment and does make improvements based upon these observations.

It is interesting that in certain locations the income could far exceed the tax-free allowance under the Rent a Room scheme which allows you to earn up to £7,500 a year from letting out furnished accommodation in your home. With high-charge accommodation, the more weeks that the accommodation is let the lower the overall nett weekly return so some careful calculation is required to pick the optimum charge rate for the intended period of letting. With the highest rates and the longest letting periods it is probably still worthwhile after tax but in the middle there is some financial quicksand to negotiate. Single people who use this facility could also lose their entitlement to the single person council tax discount. Bearing in mind that the availability of the accommodation is in the public domain it is probably a good idea to declare it to the authorities at the outset.

I have just used AirBnB for several stops on a trip in Canada. Overall it was a positive experience, though it does pay to read the description carefully, for what it doesn’t say as well as what it does, and of course the review comments are very useful.

One major complaint I have though is the AirBnB practice of billing you in the the currency of your credit card.and applying a poor conversion rate and 3% conversion charge on top. This is compulsory (you used to be able to choose the currency you were billed in but this was removed recently). There is no way to be billed in local currency and take advantage of one of the credit cards that provide fee-free conversion.

Effectively this means that I was charged 4 to 5% on top of the advertised price. Does this break any trading standards rules? Surely it amounts to sharp practice at best and fraud at worst. Subject for a Which campaign?