AirBNB’s can also be a real problem for the local renters who actually live where the tourists want to go.
Airbnbs also encourage property owners to hold on to real estate for short-term rentals exacerbating the housing shortage in North America.
But, capitalism, right?
Don’t forget the hidden cams. That’s part of why we don’t use AirBNB.
Or the owners deciding to stay with you.
I’ve seen so many stories of this happening that it almost seems to be the norm.
Well wasn’t the whole point to temporarily rent empty rooms at first?
Pardon me, what?
I have no idea how I forgot one of the creepiest reasons, thank you.
Stopped using them once my girlfriend and I found a hidden camera.
Sueing was much more stressful than just getting a regular hotel. Never again.
That is sickening. How did you find the camera?
If that happened to me I am not sure I would ever leave my house again.Turn off the lights and use your phone camera and look for a dim light. They usually have an infrared bulb to see at night.
Not all phone cameras pick up the infrared. and not all spy cameras can see in the dark. So while doing this as a preventative measure is good, please don’t let it lull you into a false sense of security.
Most phone cameras have IR filters, indeed!
Almost no front-cams have IR filters, though. So if anyone reading this tries this, use your self-facing camera.
I have a habit of using a flashlight to go to the toilet in hotels or unfamiliar places, so I don’t stub my toe or other stupid stuff when doing the nightly toilet sleep walk.
So I grab the flashlight, point it around and notice a glint from the ceiling fan. The ceiling fan didn’t have an IR remote so it didn’t make sense and yup, sure enough it was a little lens that conveniently pointed towards the bed.
Fun thing: We actually signed a waiver that the house uses cameras, since there were a view regular ones on the perimeter for security, which seemed logical. That asshole really tried to play the “but you signed that you’re okay with being filmed” card.
Look for things that point to the bed or shower that don’t need to. Fire alarms, lights, and chargers are common options. Check Amazon for common options. Also try shining you phone flashlight on them, lenses will reflect well and must be exposed obviously. They may be tucked into holes, but they still have to see something.
It’s so funny how it’s all come full circle. I’m back to using hotels and taxi cabs now. How crazy I would have thought that sentence 10-15 yrs ago.
Have taxi cabs started embracing apps yet? The best thing about Uber/Lyft when they started was that you didn’t have to make an actual phone call to a company and request a cab and then be told to wait ~30 mins for one to show up.
I say this as a partier who used cabs weekly for over a decade.
That being said, agreed on the hotel. I only use Airbnbs for group trips where we’re all trying to stay together. If it’s my husband and I, I’ll rack up those Hilton Honors points while not needing to do anything pre-check out please (though we never leave the room gross. Trash is always left in the trashcans and the used towels are always in the bathroom specifically).
That I’m not sure. I think they have but it must be annoying if every different cab company has their own shitty app that is nowhere near as good as lyft. We mainly use them for airport runs, so it’s not really a big deal not having an app. Scheduling them in advance is fine with us, and they’re just waiting at the airport when we get home, so no need for an app or a call.
I remember when AirBNB was new and they were giving talsk at various tech conferences. The buzz and excitement for what it could ecome was great. The person presenting at the local PyCon I was at used it to get local accomodation for cheap.
Then the greedy landlords with multiple property-portfolios got involved and it turned into yet another money making gig for everyone and his auntie. It’s turned to shit as do so many things when the lust for money overtakes it.
Every startup trys billing themselves as a new, sexy tech company, even when they’re not. It looks good to venture capitalist investors. Uber is the same way. They’re a transport company, not the next google.
I hate AirBnBs because they make housing less available for everyone, but are they really that or as expensive as hotels now? I feel like hotels are probably still more expensive.
I agree, if it’s not cheaper than a hotel, is there really a point to them?
I mean you get appliances. A kitchen and whatnot. I think it’s more fun to cook yourself instead of eating out for instance.
Depends. When I’m visiting another country I like to try out the local cuisine there instead of cooking the same shit I cook at home all the time.
Hotels have kitchenettes in most touristy type areas. Usually just the basics of a pan a pot and a couple utensils. But you can pick up everything you need nearby or through delivery.
We’ve always had those. They’re called “serviced apartments”.
Missing the worst thing about AirBNB
Browsing AirBNB and finding a room for 30 dollars a night.
with a 400 dollar deposit
and a 500 dollar cleaning fee.
You know those motherfuckerrs don’t even do basic cleaning when a guest leaves, much less 500 dollars worth of cleaning.
I’ve never been charged a deposit for air bnb
They have AirBnB management companies that people can use to rent their places and those are fucking AWFUL.
I will never use AirBnB again. For my friends birthday, he wanted to go to Hawaii. I booked an AirBnB at the hotel he was at. A week before I was scheduled, the management company contact ed me and said the host cancelled, but not to worry, they had an equivalent room nearby!
So I get there, and their equivalent room was across the island over fifteen miles away (it’s Hawaii, so you must travel around the big mountain, not through it). No where near the original. I left and booked at the hotel. I contact AirBnB and their response was “Sucks to be you. We’ll ask them to waive the cleaning fee.” Like ??? Yes, of fucking course you will? I just stepped in. (Narrator voice: “They did not, in fact, waive the fee”) That was it; over $900 down the drain. Should I have validated that the company and I considered “nearby” the same thing? Yes. Should me thinking “nearby” meant the same hotel or a house within walking distance cost me over $900? No.
The idea that these Mom&Pop shops are selling AirBnB isn’t strictly true, and AirBnB is incentivized to bend over backwards and fuck over guests in favor of those middlemen management companies since they represent a large chunk of renters.
Because this really annoyed me recounting this, I actually looked at my email history. They DID NOT refund the ‘cleaning fee’ in full. Instead they offered me $75 off my ‘next adventure’ This is what AirBnB sent me:
Hi me,
This is Monica again the case manager here in Airbnb. I hope this will not be a bother for you.
While I am unable to offer you a full refund for your cleaning fee, under these circumstances, I would like to offer you a coupon of $75, half of the cleaning fee that was not refunded by your host to put towards your next Airbnb adventure as a token of our appreciation and in lieu of a refund.
I have not yet created this coupon, and would kindly ask that you reply to my email to confirm if you would be agreeable to this. As soon as I hear back from you, I will be more than happy to send you a code that will deduct $75 from your next Airbnb reservation!
So, I now post this story on every social media I can find when it reference Air BnB. Fuck them.
I feel like a credit card charge back would have been in order here, losing your AirBNB account be damned.
Yeah, I tried. The CC said it was in the AirBnB terms and conditions, which I accepted in using the service, so I had to deal with AirBnB.
Sounds like you need a better credit card provider.
I’ve never stayed in an Airbnb and I never will, but I’ve seen these management companies AirBnB-ing out hotel rooms in Vegas at places like the Rio. It’s the same price as going through the actual hotel. You still have to pay the resort fees. You still check in at the front desk.
I literally cannot understand wtf that’s about.
I’ve never stayed in an Airbnb and I never will, but I’ve seen these management companies AirBnB-ing out hotel rooms in Vegas at places like the Rio. It’s the same price as going through the actual hotel. You still have to pay the resort fees. You still check in at the front desk.
I literally cannot understand wtf that’s about.
my provincial government finally started cracking down on Airbnb’s this summer. can’t say I’m going to miss them
So far I haven’t had any bad experiences at an Airbnb, but I only ever rented them because they were cheaper than a hotel room, and I refused to get one that shares a space with the owner.
I just recently booked a hotel room because the Airbnb prices are through the roof. I can check in to the hotel at midnight if I want, and they actually serve free breakfast unlike an AirBedNBreakfast…
I prefer hotels too. Too many horror stories with airbnb.
Ever tried to leave some luggage behind at an airbnb to go explore before checkin time / after checkout time? Yea, good luck with that. That’s the primary reason I stopped using airbnb again.
I’m cool with old memes, but I’m not down with lemmy repost from last week.
If you think most the people here made the memes being posted, you must be young lol. More than one person in the world saves memes they relate too!
I’d don’t think that, nor did I imply that. I just saw this exact post here, is all.
Yeah, most of us are trying to get Lemmy user activity and get everyone we can over by helping make it look lived. Hard to know if you’re the first here as there’s a fad with old meme’s lately, last week was beans. Yep, cans of beans lol.
Ya I’m sorry. That’s understandable. And I appreciate that. I was being non serious and somewhat grumpy.
It’s alright, I know the grumpy feeling at the moment… I’m trying to stay busy at the moment with a nasty case of the flu lol. So I figured this might help migrate traffic away from Reddit. If you’ve got memes, go for it, too! As long as we up Lemmy traffic.
I’ve had fine experiences with Airbnb overall. Did have one host that wanted a copy of my driver’s license and I politely said I wouldn’t be doing that, and then a few weeks later he canceled my reservation at the last minute. Airbnb did reimburse me and I see he is no longer renting there.
Mostly it’s just staying in a house and the rare times I’ve met the hosts they’ve been nice normal people. YMMV of course but that’s true of hotels as well.
