Airbnb – my experiences

Have you ever tried Airbnb when traveling? I have done that several times and I have to say that it been a success story every time. It has added an extra dimension to the trip that not a stay at any hotel could do. Of course it needs a bit of research to find the great places but if you put some effort into that I am sure you will have at least one extra story to tell friends and family when you get home.

What is Airbnb?

Airbnb is a property sharing business. If you have a place to rent out you can list it at Airbnb’s website so others can lend it when you are not there. Or if you have a spare room that you would like someone to use. Then you connect with the host, rent it and when you are done you write a review about the host and they rate you as a guest. But, you have to beware and read between the lines when looking into the comments since it is prohibited to leave bad comments about hosts or guests. Since the company operates on a global level in 65 000 cities worldwide there is no reason to worry. I personally think it is a great business idea and complement to traditional hotels. If you want to read more about Airbnb I recommend the open source of Wikipedia.

Why Airbnb?

Some places I travel to I really like to get to know from a local perspective then Airbnb is perfect. Also if you want to save a bit of your budget for other things then accommodation Airbnb can help you out with that even though you also can find top notch listings. Airbnb does not suit everyone. If you are not comfortable staying at someone else place or if you are not an experienced traveler I would not look into Airbnb. It is not that it is difficult to book, but if you have experience from living in another country it could be more stressful than relaxing.

My best Airbnb experience

My first was also my very best Airbnb experience although I have had other great ones aswell. Some years ago I went to Istanbul in Turkey for a long weekend with my Dutch friend. I arrived really early in the morning and guess what, the host met up with me at 4 am and guided me to the apartment from the airport bus. Then he offered to met up my friend when she arrived a few hours later so I could sleep. When we woke up around noon he asked if we wanted a guided tour in the neighborhood and of course we wanted that. The apartment we rented right next to Taksim square was also great.

Have you ever tried Airbnb? did you liked it or not? or do you want to try it out?

/ Pernilla sharing some thoughts about Airbnb