Airbnb Competitors

73 Comments

1. Try to update this sections of our site more often to enable researchers lay hold of recent feedbacks from your hosts and guests, you guys have to sensitize your clients of the significance of this potion of your site , so that your critics won’t take advantage of your business in future reviews. Researchers can be right to reason that your business has been worst hit by the Wuhan flu that has inflicted fatal wound on global economy. A word is enough for the wise…

2. As former hosts on Air b n b we say:

   Dropped Airb&b as soon as they became an advocate, not a business, by donating a half million bucks to a political movement. We had been using and continue to use Glampinghub.com as our booking agent. We cancelled our account with Air b n b months ago but continue to get booking inquiries from them. We ignore these inquiries. We were skeptical about their policy to collect our sales tax in the first place, and tell us they send it in to our state….BULL DINKY we say. We will collect our own state sales tax and send it in ourselves thank you Air b and B. Absolutely , as hosts, we DO NOT trust Air b n B,,, for more reasons than one.

3. This site is awesome!

   We support you and your efforts – our team has been hurt more times than not with Airbnb and we are beyond trying to make it work any longer. We had a damage claim north of $30K USD and were only paid out $21K USD. More recently, Airbnb had someone stay in our house for 8 nights – over $7K due to us – and now will not pay.

   If you need a rental in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, then please book direct:

   https://caboplatinum.com

   Let us know your site and we will be more than happy to support!

   Thanks for your hard work here Dan.

4. Would also suggest another site: http://www.BnBFinder.com
   It lists REAL bed and breakfasts, not the unlicensed, uninspected amateur kind.

5. wimdu no longer is a competitor to airbnb.

   In 2016 wimdu was sold to 9flats, then to novasol. They are closed since semptember 2018. They now are just a front end for booking.com

   I did not check all the other suggested alternatives yet – I’m afraid they are as outdated.

   airbnb killed most of their competitors. Nowadays they no longer have to care about them, nor their customers.

6. At least in some countries in Europe (Italy, Malta), we find (usually under the name of “guesthouse”), the same kind of proposal to what is proposed by airbnb in the usual hotel reservation websites (for example booking.com): Individual people tenting a room for tourists; for a price less than a hotel and similar to what is proposed in Airbnb.

7. I understand the importance of competition in the marketplace but I almost wish there weren’t so many competitors. Seems like your choices are you either go with the behemoth that is AirBnB or you have to register an account at the 10 different alternatives.

8. I signed up for a new rental platform, Houfy. https://www.houfy.com/ It states that it does not intend to charge hosts or guests a booking fee (current host Airbnb fee 3% & guest fees can be up to 20%). I don’t know that means no fees EVER or if at some point in the future they may begin charging. They are new so a bit bumpy but may be worth checking out.

9. We were hosts on VRBO for about 4 years and overall had a positive experience, until they started charging $499 per booking. They claim they provide 24/7 support. When I questioned them on what they provide, they explained that if a guest calls, they will call me so that I can resolve the issue. I live next door. They hijack your property and present themselves as a service provider when in fact, they host nothing more than a booking website. The host assumes all expenses, liability and work associated with the property. We took our home off VRBO a few years ago. I’ve looked into alternatives but they seem to all follow this model. Those who don’t really don’t have the traffic to keep our house booked. I’ve been booking it long-term furnished and every time I look into relisting short-term I come back to the same objection I had. They are actually making a lot more than I am by the time I pay the expenses. There is a maximum rate people will pay to rent my house and a $499 fee, though paid by the guest, really comes out of my pocket because it reduces the amount I can charge for rent.

   • Where are you posting your long term rental? This is what we are looking for, but got burned by Airbnb.

10. We were banned from AirBNB 4 years ago and were just recently let back in. But it was a pain to get back in and we will never look at the service the same again.

    We’ve written a blog post on competitors to airbnb (like this one!) on our site. There are SO many other options out there. We’ve travelled the world in the last four years and haven’t used airbnb once during our full time travel. 🙂

    https://www.visa-vis.com/visa-vis-travel-blog/airbnb-competitors-you-should-know-about

11. As far as competitors go, may I also recommend booking.com? I noticed on their website the other day that they now offer privately owned home rentals as well. I’ve never had any issue with them.

    Thanks!

    • We use booking.com a ton since starting full time travel 4 years ago (and being banned from airbnb). Highlighly recommend many of the options listed in this blog post (and on our blog)

      • Just out of curiosity, why were you banned from Air b and b? I have a love/hate relationship with them. 🙂

        • Hey! Sorry about the year delay in getting back to you about this!

          it’s a long story, of course. As all good ones are. 🙂

          We wrote about it on our site.

          https://www.visa-vis.com/visa-vis-travel-blog/how-we-were-banned-from-airbnb

12. I have been an Airbnb host for 18 months. I had a recent bad experience with guests and got very unsatisfactory responses from Airbnb support. It wasn’t major, but on principal I am now keen to channel less business through their platform. I don’t think their business should be rewarded for closing help tickets on me with no explanation. I also use HomeAway. I’ve seen the list of alternatives recommended on this site.
    I’m wondering if anyone has any thoughts on a DIY site you can build yourself using Shopify or the like and channeling customers through Instagram and facebook. I’ve built up quite a following on instagram through geotagging posts. Any ideas or suggested platforms would be greatly appreciated.

    • If customers have an issue with you as owner, where do they get help? As woman I wouldn’t be interested to be raped by an owner. At least on airbnb I can get help, support and I can go into the tribunal if needed. Too dangerous. I wouldn’t book on someone’s private site without outside rating

      • Airbnb will not help you if you are raped at one of their properties. They simply do not care about their guests or hosts. I was in downtown D.C. with a bait and switch property that had **no working locks** on the doors and no window coverings. The whole neighborhood could see all parts of the apartment at all times. Talk about being in a fish bowl. It’s like inviting trouble. On top of that, there was a construction crew working on the building. They were jack hammering so loud I couldn’t make phone calls. What’s more is they could easily see into the bedroom at all times. Very easy to tell that I was alone, like a sitting duck. I called Airbnb, they did nothing. Then when I left, lost my 2nd night b/c I wouldn’t stay there and following up with them, they passed me off to eleven different agents and supervisors. All they would tell me is that the “case was closed.” Airbnb does not care about your safety. There are plenty of other companies that do. Booking.com now offers privately owned rentals. Also, you can bet that ANY of the competitors listed on this page would be better than Airbnb. It’s literally the worst experience with any company I’ve ever had. They were condescending, abusive, hung up on me multiple times and lied to me repeatedly.

13. So glad you were able to discover the truth about Airbnb policies and warn others to their methods. They are definitely slickly boys. My experiences so far is that I have outplayed them. My house rules are super descriptive and Airbnb respects those rules mostly, however, my four or five times working through issues with them over 3 years had resulted in some very close calls. So far, we have won only because of the detailed house rules, if it was not for that, we would be out over 10,000 easily.

    • I was messed about by a Airbnb host and hackers, the address was wrong, the owner didn’t reply to my calls and the people at the apartment had not a clue who he was. I left and found some other host that were better, suddenly my apple laptop was hijacked, I couldn’t make any bookings, Airbnb told me their system had been frozen and nobody could book anything. I was stuck during peak season in a hostel where all the rooms were fully booked. Stuck in the street so I had to buy an emergency air line out of the country and all my plans were ruiend. The consequences of having my air bnb rentals messed over, caused something else to happen which ruiend the rest of my life.
      There after they canceled another rental messing up my life further, when I asked them politely if somebody else was behind all of this not affiliated with airbnb, they deleted my account permanently with all my positive references. To my disgust not only did that leave me stuck even further and homeless, after 5 years of not being able to use their service for no valid reason, Brian Chesky wife has been posting some personal attacking/stalking references in regards to me, even indicating in some that she has stolen personal photos
      https://twitter.com/elissapatel
      Apperantly her art career is possing for twitter ridiculing other women and stalking them, impersonating them is this normal ? and using her husbands clients details for references,
      while she is living a rich life insulting his clients, I have been homeless

14. I have yet to use air b and b. I am a landlord and have gone through evictions. I had an argument with a judge and told him that I spend my day having my hair and nails done and after lunch try to figure out who to evict. Hotels have certain rights. If you don’t pay, y ou can be locked out. A tenant or guest staying more than 30 days gets tenant rights in California and you have to evict them. Good luck. In San Francisco, tenants will be given free legal representative due to a law passed by voters this past May 2018. In Japan, on ever hotel door is a notice. If the hotel cancels your booking, they must provide taxi service and refer y ou to a similar accommodation and if need be, pay the additional charge if there is an excess over the canceled booking. I have only had one problem with a motel in Colorado. Its not worth telling here but the motel people were stupid and the headquarters was equally stupid in the dispute. Generally speaking AirB&B caught on with much success. I don’t like staying in a hootchie pootchie rental because the owner wants to make some money. I wonder how long this share rental will last. Its all part of changing times. Our only Salvation in California is a good earthquake. (I’ve got a trailer so eff you millennials).

15. If you Airbnb in Japan was cancelled like mine did!!!
    Check out bellow how to get your money back from Airbnb plus a small compensation, I got a 100$ Airbnb Experience voucher for future use.
    http://hotels-fairy.com/airbnb-in-japan-cancelled/

16. 2.95 billion sounds like a huge investment in the airbnb. are this money (ALL ) went on the airbnb technical platform building??
    the most valuable part of any business is a BRAND IMAGE, not a platform, but unfortunately, the airbnb management doesn’t care about it, otherwise – why we would get a lousy customer service if any service at all?

17. You recommend alternatives to airbnb on your website. But the sad truth is, they either offer the same apartmentss like airbnb for a far higher price!!!!!! Which is a shame.
    Or they offer a hand full of apartments in the middle of nowhere or a much lower standard for more money. So it shows that there is no good alternative for airbnb.
    That is the bad thing about companies that have a monopole.
    It is very hard or nearly impossible now for other companies to become as successfull like airbnb. Because they are so mighty already that most host and guests in the world do business with them.
    I would love to book somewhere else. Because I need apartments in different cities and countries for the next 2 years. And I hate airbnb for all the trouble I had with them.
    But I am not willing to pay more money for worse apartments.
    Also the websites of the so called competitors are sometimes so bad that they are useless. And WimDu for example is to stupid or not serious enough to tell you how many percent provision you pay them for an apartment.
    Sorry…but that is unacceptable. I don´t see the point to recommend here companies that are worse than airbnb and have less apartments. This is just a childish way of revenge then.
    Also it is unacceptable for me that the competitors, like booking.com for example don´t give me the possibility to book more than 30 days. Whereas at airbnb I got super discounts the longer I book. So why you hide all this facts on this website?
    And most of your recommended so called competitiors (they are not all a competition for airbnb) don´t even offer a 30 day option, and zero discount for longer stays. Another problem with booking.co is, that I search apartments and they show me hotels, private rooms and youth hostels. So I have to search through 2000 offers, which I didn´t even ask for.
    When I see all this unprofessionality I understand how airbnb could become as big and successful as it is now.
    It is very sad. And it makes me feel bad to be dependent by a company which I hate.
    But as long as the competitiors don´t have enough apartments, or much higher prices and customer unfriendly software on the websites, no long term stay discounts, no transparent pricing (like WimDu) what can travellers do?????????

18. No one has mentioned that Airbnb is active in occupied Palestine. It does business In the illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land, ignoring international law in collaboration with Israel. Dirty money.

    • Wonder if you are so fussy with all the Arab countries that do not care about human rights….Israel is the only democracy in Middle East with 20% Arabs in Israeli parliament. Palestine is the old name and nothing to do with now-called Palestinians by the way. What do you call “occupied Palestine”? Israel after Arab countries attacked her and lost the war? Israel even warned Jordan and told them that if they did not attack they would not attack and guess what these mor… did, based on Egypt’s advice…? They attacked….

    • I just found out that AirBnB is now boycotting “occupied Palestine”, and I have just deleted their app as a result.
      I don’t deal with anti-semetic companies.
      And FYI, I’m muslim who supports Israel. As per the Qoran, Allah have Israel to the jews. It’s just that 99% of muslims want jews dead so justify Palestinian suicide bombing.

19. Airbnb has become a disaster . We used the service many times over several years , but now its like dealing with North Korean government. One host decided she wanted to make a story to charge an extra $1,500 to clean her beach mobile home . Of course I responded no because we left the home in good shape. The next year I try to book and get :contact customer service ”

    After an hour they transfer to technical department and tell us to send an email . We sent the email in June and got a response in December !!!

    The email simply says your account has been closed without reason .

    My girl also had her account closed without reason . Today my daughter tried to use hers and she is also getting the “this property cannot be booked at this time , call customer service” I told her not to bother because there won’t be any response for six months .

    Thank god we have these great alternatives on this site.

20. This has got to be the most unprofessional company I have ever seen in my life! You block an account, no explanation and then end all correspondence after. Also after repeated reach outs to customer service and the same lame excuse that someone will be contacting you….you get a termination email saying you violated a TOS policy of which you have no knowledge. Hmmm…I guess I’ll be visiting the corporate office before months end to ask someone in person here in SF. I’d love to find the best outlet to bash these atrocious human beings and have their owners turn on them and ask for better management of their system. It is 100% no surprise that their business is run in California. I have seen some of the worst business practices in my life in this state, my only complaint of this beautiful state actually. Why would I choose to do business with such unprofessional and cowardly people? Greatest thing about america is the bigger you are, the harder you fall, thank you capitalism. And I would like to send the biggest Fuck you shout out to the entire team, staff, CEO, VP’s, investors and any ass clown affiliated with Airbnb for partnering with such a little Bitch of a company. Well a big bitch really. Thanks for the air time here people. Let me know when this is serious so I can pitch in on the attack. Cheers!

21. As many have mentioned before there are almost no differences between some platforms as they belong to one family. I used the service Dormis several times and I can say that I’m satisfied with the service they provide. You may get in touch with Host via chat on the site to learn all details of the booking, the description of accommodation is quite thorough though.

22. Homeaway VRBO is ***NOT*** a “Great Airbnb Competitors and Alternative”. They are worse than AirBNB by far. After using them for several years and appreciating the way we paid an annual fee and then got the entire amount renters paid, they were bought by Expedia and suddenly and without warning started charging 9% on top of our fee to renters, raising our rent far above the local rate. They are raking in the cash and their services are authoritarian, confusing, disruptive. Please, rather than encourage people, warn them against. They are the worst.

    • We totally had the same thing happen to us! After years of doing great business with VRBO they changed their “policies’ and just put us on their 9% “plan” where they hijacked reservations we already booked to charge us 7-9% and the guest 2-5% after we already paid for $1500 for the year and the reservation was made during our enrollment period. Essentially, charging us twice and the guest once. When we canceled all reservations with a detailed letter to guests about how to re-book and that their dates will be held for 1 week to give time for them to re-book, VRBO tried to “reclaim” almost $7000 from our business checking account that we were never paid. Luckily they sent us an accounting of the monies they thought we had been paid with “recapture” next to the name of the guest (guest we had never had nor been paid by) and the date they planned to take the money.
      We called many times to try and resolve the issue but VRBO thought that the credit card company (separate company from VRBO and in Germany if memory serves me right) had paid us when they didnt and did not really care that they hadnt. They were going on their record as gospel and did not care that there was zero proof we were paid a dime that they were claiming.
      Long story short, 90% of our guests rebooked. VRBO tried to “reclaim” the funds several times and I had to freeze the entire account to keep them from doing so. It was a good thing it was an account we did not use often. 1.5 years later, VRBO and or their credit card company sent us to collections for the nearly $7000 we were never paid.
      It was a collection company posing as a law firm. We were sure they never paid us and would never be able to prove it and called their bluff. The statute of limitations wore out and it all went away. It just took years.

23. i am not sure about the authenticity of the mentioned competitors to airbnb, since they all direct you to affiliate programs to the destination websites!
    i am sorry, but i dont trust affiliate links.

24. I have not been ripped off yet on airbnb, but it is because I refuse to pay the extra 15%! Not only are you not covered, paying 15% to make a reservation is crazy expensive. I doubt most of the Airbnb hosts make 15% after paying for owning the place, cleaning, linens, electric, water, sewage, cable and internet and all airbnb does is take the reservation. Why does airbnb.com or other websites get so much money for just making a reservation? It doesn’t make sense! http://www.tripping.com is ok, but they also charge. I prefer websites like http://www.agrobnb.com, bbonline.com, bnbfinder.com and to a lessor extent bedandbreakfast.com. They are starting to charge as well or charge very high fees to advertise on their website. These websites don’t charge the consumer or the host anything to link up guest to lodging venue. Airbnb doesn’t give out the phone number or website because they want to charge 15%. I don’t understand why people willingly pay 15% extra or would prefer airbnb.com to make 15% instead of the money going directly to the host or the hotel. These other websites only take more established B&B’s and lodging venues so the chance of being ripped off is much lower and you don’t have to pay the extra 15%. Even tripadvisor is charging per reservation now. If consumers don’t start using the free websites, the hotels and B&B’s are going to have to raise their prices 15% to cover the extra 15-20% it costs to pay booking.com and airbnb.com.

25. Anybody intrested in putting AirBnb where they belong…out of business!

    At some point AirBnb’s novelty will wear out…and, they will be in the alley…picking their YOUNG noses!

    Their customer service for Hosts is “non-existent”! Additionally, their Level 10 community help “hosts” is a company hired by AirBnb to help with the workload of complaints from Hosts! How do you like that for ‘unbiased’ comments?

    BTW, I have for the asking…contact email addresses for TOP management…and, associated employees. As well as a major investor’s name and contact information. For privacy reasons…happy to provide this information to ONLY the administrator of this site. Until viable competition comes along…don’t want jeopardise my Host status. Thank you for understanding.

    • Hi Jerry,
      I’m a “Level10” in the airbnb host community (and a “superhost” whatever that means, and am not on the payroll, and in fact, I’ve called airbnb out many times in that forum for many of the issues posted on this site.
      When I asked I was told that the “levels” within the community pages was based upon the number of posts you make.
      However, there are “admins” who manage different parts of the community who monitor and respond and are paid.
      I have no idea what “admins” have to do to get that job or how much they are paid, and I wouldn’t want it because I’m not able to make lame excuses for a company that plain doesn’t care about hosts or guests…because they think they will always have more to replace us.

      NOT SO.

      I love being a host, and I would love to to find a platform that handles booking process with (actual) verified guests (including authentic ID verification and criminal background) and does what it promises well in a focused way and am willing to pay a fair percentage for those solid services… instead of another couple of dudes smoking dope on the living room couch who graduate to wanting to take over the world and make empty promises, as everyone else shoulders the cost and responsibility.

      Sounds like politics as usual…and it’s not very sustainable. Any hacker can take them down. Many have made some dents, and the lack of support and accountability points to “inside jobs” as they’ve absolved themselves of any responsibility for anything in their “Terms of Service” on the surface to shut all of us up…but it’s not legal, especially if we organize…which is exactly what they don’t want, because their bubble will burst, and hopefully lead to a far better hybrid with good solid, reasonable service.

      More overtly, if the system goes down, they’re toast, and savvy property owners are already choosing better options as airbnb moves into more and more 3rd world countries with fewer regulations, stars in their eyes…and economies that depend far more on “political cooperation” than in the US.

26. I can highly recommend Thankeyou.com. If you are a host you don’t pay any fees and you get instant payments when the guest books your home. You also don’t have to pay any penalties as a host if you have to cancel a booking. The customer support is also very good, you can chat with them and they reply fast on email. They are actually dedicated to the work they do, and they have this “hungry” feeling to succeed. The “negative” part is that they are newly launched, so there are not many listings on the site. But on the other side, that means less competition between other hosts. Highly recommendable to list on that site as an alternative.

    • Seems like your just like every jerk host; loves to cancel booking on your guests expense. And YOU don’t get a hassel. You should be penalized for canceling someone’s trip!!!!!!!!

27. My suggestion is – use an alternative to Airbnb. It is not a well run company – each man for himself with little oversight. People – both guest and host are at serious risk as per safety, security and your reputation! Anyone can say anything in the reviews without any recourse. This is a an controlled mess! I had 2 good experiences with Airbnb hosts that left me great reviews. Interesting that the ones that were great were accommodations just set up for this purpose. I think hosts moving out of their personal homes and leaving all their person stuff around is not a good idea. One bad experience with a run down accommodation that had a 5 star rating was enough. To make matters worse. The host left a very bad review about me that was unfounded and stays on my record for ever! NO MORE Airbnb for me. I do not work for VRBO – but they are great – always a great experience. Pay a bit more – but great a experience.

    • My experience of Airbnb is the same. I stayed at maybe eight properties which were lovely and the hosts gave me good reviews. I stayed at one that was dirty and horrible and the host hounded me with abusive messages after I sent him photos of it. He called me a liar online and said I’d spread garbage around his grotty apartment. It’s libel – and he didn’t appear to be stable. I eventually blocked him – but now have his rant against my profile. It made me realise that it’s unvetted, unsupported and exposes individuals on both side of the deal to risk.

28. You have no idea how much Kaos airbnb is causing in the world. Everyone will lose except for Airbnb because their fees are non refundable. They make money even if both the host and the guest are not happy. Then they hold back the money until you throw up your hands and give up.

29. So this was my first solo experience with AirBNB… So let’s start from the beginning. I inquired about the property at 1607 Howell Highlands, I was specifically looking for a home with a pool and large enough for my family to stop by. Upon my inquiry I was charged immediately no response just booked. As I read the booking it stated that the pool would not be available which made me want to keep looking. So I called and spoke with Trisha as well as sent an email which I will forward. When speaking with Trisha I explained to her what I was looking for and if her property couldn’t accommodate I would like my money so I could continue to look because she has a strict refund policy even though I should not have been charged at that point.Trisha advised she would get back with me. When she called back she said that the pool would be ready but she didn’t know if it would be warm enough. (It was nice all week.) I was ok with that as long as we had the option. Fast forward to the day before my arrival. I spoke with Trisha she sent the lockbox info etc… The next day which was check in. Trisha called and asked what time would I be there because she still had people there that needed more time to leave, which was not a problem because I was arriving late. But if check out is at 11 but I was told 12 when I asked Trisha. On the way I advised Trisha I had an extra adult and Kid. She told me no problem she did not state it would be an additional charge in which I would have paid. I got to the property upon entering the house reeked of Dust and just smelled stuffy closed up. My kids as well as myself have really bad allergies, I was upset but at that point it was late. I started to leave and get a refund right then and go to a Hotel. But my cousin talked me out of it because at the least the linens were clean. So we opened the window and sparyed our allergen and lemongrass spray to get rid of the smell. The next morning we woke up stuffy and sneezing from all the dust and cob webs. After waking up on Tuesday from a ring on the door bell by an ATT guy. I met Trisha she met the kid’s our family chatted etc…. At that time it appeared she was cleaning the pool. That is also when I met Lucy the live in dog that is very jumpy, smelly with matted hair. For the most part Lucy was nice even tho I wasn’t expecting Lucy or Trisha to be living on the property during my stay. (I found that out driving down when I got my Itinerary and Trisha told me she would be living in the Garden House while we were there in which prior to she told me ahe would be in Chicago. At that point I felt uncomfortable.) Lucy bit one of the kids when he was out in the yard and tried to pet her. We started to make a police report but his mom said not to being the skin didn’t break.Lucy was sleeping on the balcony and following the kids inside the house. Something I was not expecting on my vacation after spending over $2400 to rent this place. Once she finished cleaning and scooping out the pool she said it was safe to swim. That was a lie. My daughter broke out in hives after swimming in the pool I have pictures and video. So after the first day of swimming they didn’t return in the pool. A waste because that was the main reason we picked her place. The next day the pool looked as if it was growing mold on the bottom I have pictures of that also. We hung out a couple days and Thursday a couple of my family members stop by to see us. Because they live over 45 mins from where we were. When Trisha stumbled in that night yes she seemed intoxicated on several occasions during our stay. She called me and said I could not have a party or event. I explained to her that was not the case my cuzin who lives in ATLANTA came by and they weren’t staying long. She proceeds to tell me that I should have met them else where, but if I was at a Hotel which would have cost me a 3rd of what I paid for this dust bucket of a home, I would not have had a issue with my family coming by, not stayin. In the mist of that someone was outside making a scene in which my Fiance and Trisha made them leave. Trisha called me and was very unprofessional loud and angry telling me I had to leave etc. I told her if I had to leave I wanted my money back for this house she shouldn’t be renting. It makes AIRBNB look like the Motel 6. The next morning she sent a email apologizing she also knock on the front door asking if we were cool because our conversation the night before ended in myself and Trisha shouting at each other and me wanting my money back. I told her I was good and at that point what was I going to do be stranded in Stone Mountain with my kids so I didn’t make an issue. That morning was when I also found out I would be sharing the property with yet more people. On Friday and Saturday again this made me upset and uncomfortable. I also asked her what time was check out she said 12pm and if I need more time to let her know. Sunday check out day came and I sent Trisha a message letting her know that we were packing up but I need to switch my rental because we didn’t have enough space. I didn’t get a response, nothing she didn’t say it will cost etc. Which I didn’t mind. While waiting on a response from her I called she didn’t answer. My daughter called me and said Trisha was there yelling and telling them our problems wasn’t hers which is true but I expected her to be a little more understanding and accommodating but she wasn’t. When I got back my kids and Fiance was standing in the driveway with their things. Which we took at least an hour because we were stuffing And stacking ,And Trisha was sitting parked down the street. So when you asked how was my experience very disappointing. I would like a refund of all my money except a cleaning fee. I will be TALK ING to my Lawyer about the health issues we indured staying in that house. I have to take my kids to the doctor today. My cousins son was throwing up after Tuesday in that nasty pool. I have several picture and all my email correspondences with Trisha. I am taking every outlet I can to share my experience and pursue to get my money back. So if AIRBNB does not refund my I will fight Trisha and you guys if need be. I will also be contacting my bank. I will attach the photos. I am not happy at all I I don’t think me or any of my family will bee using AirBNB ever again. When my family rented several cabins last summer for our Family reunion it was a great processional, and enjoyable stay. But this time was a nightmare.

    • Why stay at all? I would have left immediately, not endangering people’s health, then dealt with remuneration.

30. I’m a Superhost on Airbnb but Airbnb is not helping me when I experienced difficulties.

    1. Guest booked through Airbnb for two guests with check-in date Jan 1 and check-out date Jan 3, 2017. They told us they have two adults and two kids after confirming the booking. We was kind enough to waive the fee for the two kids, so that they didn’t have to alter the booking.

    2. They in fact brought in 16 people and had party all night long that disbursed our neighbors and alerted the community management.

    3. They littered and peed on the floor, that created odors and damaged the carpets that caused extra cleaning fee.

    4. They broke a pot lid handle, table lamp pendant, and a bowl.

    5. They stole some of our stuff including skincare products and medicine.

    6. We reported to Airbnb but the case got picked up more than 40 days later. And Airbnb just paid us $40 to cover the damage of the pot, the lamp, and the bowl. Airbnb rejected to compensate us on the price difference between 2 and 16 guests, or to provide guest’s identification for local police to help us getting the case resolved.

    Airbnb just doesn’t care about the hosts and the listed properties. All they care is the service fee they earn from the properties.

    • All the complaints (yours included) have nobody present to greet or when they are there. I have one room with a double bed and almost always been present when the guest(s) arrive. I too am a ‘Superhost’ but that just means you have a certain amount of guests over the year and the vast majority have given you 4 or 5 star ratings.
      Perhaps my expectations are not as high but the only complaint I have with their platform is the fact that they use Ireland to evade tax but that is common with many International operations.

    • Thats correct 10000%
      Been victim of this awful site past year
      Guests trashed my place and no matter how many evidence Airbnb refunded ZERO
      If you open a cas in resolution center guest can still review you and what Airbnb expect from guests who are being asked to face their mess and pay for damages
      Well simple answer guest will post a nasty review
      Then your Rating goes in hell
      AIRBNB way of dealing with issue :
      KICK OUT HOST FOR LIFE so they dont have to pay you for the mess
      Please spread the word and stay away from this company , IT PURE HELL

      • Thanks….been a host for airbnb….shitty people booked with me …..about 60-80% bullshit people….through bookings I have had much better experience….also I closed my airbnb account….I hate them, they cost me money time and patience

31. This is a weird site. It seems ‘hell’bent on criticising airbnb but the companies it endorses (get any money for that??) must also have problems. Its life. Ive been hosting for 2 years and guesting for a bit longer. Must be about 150 hosting experiences, 30 travelling experiences and never had any problems. It just requires a bit of savvy. Read between the lines, dont expect too much. I just find it a bit bizarre, sure there are people who have bad experiences of airbnb, Ive never met them personally and Ive met loads of people who use the site. If you dont like it dont use it. There are things I dont like about it but ultimately they give me a nice little side income that wouldnt be possible elsewhere and are the biggest in the game so provide the most paying guests. Apart from the company, its just people. You’ll always find people that dont match up to your expectations. Why the vendetta? You’re not going to get it to stop, so you must be getting something out of it. there are millions and millions of people who are quite happy with airbnb, someone’s story about loud neighbours in barcelona is not going to shatter anyone’s illusion of airbnb or indeed life.

    • I guess you work for AirBNB?
      Why are you against social media and sharing of experiences?
      I for one think this is the future. It goes both ways! And besides, this kind of site might just help AirBNB to become more responsible corporate citizens and surely that can’t be a bad thing.
      If you are not working for AirBNB and you don’t like to read negative feedback, then surely you have come to the wrong place or you are just bored?

      • Could. Not. Agree. More!!!

    • It’s not a weird site at all but very helpful, especially to new AirBnB hosts, but your post is weird and biased so I see why you stand accused of working for AirBnB.
      Of course it’s “‘hell’bent on criticising airbnb” for that’s its purpose and intent. Did you not see its URL airbnbhell? Rather obvious, isn’t it?

      I wish I found this site sooner as I’ve been a professional host for 40 odd years and it confirms my suspicions. When AirBnB arrived in Australia a few years ago I joined up. It added to my bookings but nothing out of the ordinary but I soon read troubling reports of it in our national newspapers. Then I found cause for concern in their T&C. I had no trouble with AirBnB but de-listed as more concerns were published in newspapers and media.

      It encourages illegal lets in many countries. It has caused stress in provision of long-term accommodation. It is irresponsible with our local by-laws regarding neighbourhood amenity. It is not a socially responsible site.

      I doubt this site gains any money from alternative booking sites listed as you allege but rather graciously offers alternative agencies which have more integrity.

32. You can also try http://www.agrobnb.com. They don’t charge the bnb or the consumer right now. They are small though. I think only California, ny, Florida and Virginia so far.

33. Hello, of all those sites that you mention as airbnb option, some possess a guarantee to the host as it has airbnb? Thank you

    • If I am understanding your question correctly – you are asking if other sites protect the HOSTS like Airbnb does with their Guarantee?
      Airbnb Host Guarantee is nothing but a ‘feel good’ farce. No monies are actually collected for the imaginary Damage Deposit. Trying to claim your damages are a total nightmare and Airbnb HOPES will become a waste of your time after awhile if they ignore you long enough. Their so-called Million Dollar Protection – well that may exist, however their Terms/Policies Agreement exists also – and it cancels out anything that the Million Dollar Policy would have had to pay for. So in the end~ if you are a HOST – you have nothing my friend, sorry…

      • If you read the Host Guarantee Policy entirely, you will see that not only is documentation required but they also don’t cover cash and securities, collectables, rare artwork, jewellery, pets or personal liability. They will not cover any loss or damage of property that is caused by wear and tear. The Host Guarantee also isn’t insurance. All of this I got from the Airbnb Help Center, which you would know about if you read it (I have provided the link to it below for your use).

        https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/279/what-is-the-airbnb-host-guarantee

34. Looking at Airbnb alternatives I came across Second Nest which concentrates on Central London apartments only. Not only do they advertise your property on their website they can also manage the whole customer experience if you wish them to.

35. airbnb has no respect for local laws, because airbnb does not abide by hospitality, tourism and tax laws other local players such as hotels, short term estate agents, and other short term operators have to abide with. It is ridiculous how regulators let this happen while knowing that it is a platform for illegal activity in many cities

    it is illegal and immoral to use billions of dollars of investor money (airbnb raised usd 2.95 billions!) to run business above the law. shame to silicon valley, airbnb and its investors

    • I’m an AirBnB host in Mexico (on here because I’m looking to find alternatives to AirBnB) and when guests book, a % is automatically taken to be paid as tax to the local state as per their tax laws. AirBnB has removed my responsibility to pay my taxes along with the ability to not pay it in my area at least. It may not be done worldwide at the moment, but with your complaint at least it appears they are improving?

36. I’ve travelled a lot and stayed at Airbnbs over the last few years and I love it. Have stayed in share houses and entire places and I find it just awesome. You get what you pay for so the more expensive places have been better of course, and if I’ve had to stay alone in a shared house i always go with places with many good reviews. This year we started renting our place while travelling and it was booked out 95% of the time and we had lovely guests. Such a good way to make money while the house is not in use. Payment always have been prompt. The only glitch is they overpaid me once. Paid same amount 3 times. And credited it back from future earnings.

    Only bad story I’ve ever heard was some friends renting their place over
    NYE to a girl with no feedback, she had a massive party. Airbnb were apparently really helpful and paid a substantial amount on top of the bond which worked out financially well for the hosts, minus the inconvenience of dealing with the clean up.

    This whole anti discrimination policy though is not great for hosts because you really need to be able to access the person potentially staying in your phone by the photo they choose to put up. It can say a lot. Anyway if you place is priced high enough, in most case it won’t attract thugs I think.

37. Yes, many sites belong to some larger companies but there are still some less known but worth sharing places. For instance, en.alterkeys.com,dormis.com, etc.

38. There isn’t as much variety as you think.
    Tripping.com, vrbo.com, vacationrentals.com and flipkey.com are ALL owned and operated by Homeaway.com

    • Incorrect. FlipKey is TripAdvisor. Which makes me doubt the rest of your claim, although i am not certain. It is true that most of the big platforms are owned between TripAdvisor, HomeAway, Expedia, Booking.com and AirBNB

39. I’ve searched through all of the above sights many, many times and so far airbnb have the best prices bar none. And great discounts if renting for a month or more. I have not rented anything yet as I normally do the “all inclusive” thing but since I plan on leaving for a full month, I will probably go with airbnb. I’m not one to share quarters so I will rent the entire home otherwise I’ll resort back to the all-inclusive thing. My son, however, traveled through the United Kingdom renting just a room and is now leaving for Asia using the same format. He’s had no problems whatsoever. Also, he books rooms for his “main stays” prior to leaving but books his other over nighters once he’s there. Not my cup of tea but it seems to work for him. That being said, I think that most of these sights seem quite reliable. At the end of the day we must do our due diligence by asking questions, reading the reviews and maybe a little investigation so to speak via social media. If the address is available, I use google map to check the place out. A plan “B” is also a must. Make sure you have ample funds to get yourself to safety if something goes awry or if you have a bad feeling about the place. Book a hotel room or if not possible, grab a cab and get yourself to the nearest airport. It’s not the best accommodation but most likely there will be high security, food, a place to rest and probably wi-fi so you’ll be able to use your devices to figure yourselves out. What a shame that we have to be ridiculously vigilant and overly cautious to treat ourselves to a nice vacation! Back in a day…a person’s word was all it took. Nonetheless I still believe that most people around the world are honorable and trustworthy. I hope that people continue to host and rent from all of these respectable sites. It’s a wonderful venue for all of us to visit the world, learn different cultures and meet wonderful people. Those are my two cents! Happy trails everyone!

40. I have hosted with airbnb about 5 years but have never been a guest. I very, very carefully screen my guests so no serious problems, just a couple of “entitled” guests a couple of times, but I see the potential for legal problems if someone were to stay over 30 days and refuse to leave, so I don’t allow more than 4 weeks (28 days). I am looking at alternatives to airbnb before I run into the “guest from hell!”Also if I were to travel in Europe, I would use one of their hosting services rather than one founded in SF-USA!

41. I have had a perfect record with Airbnb. They pay promtply — the next day of guest check in — and I have been their partner for over two years with not a single complaint! From my experience, they are the best!

    • They have terrible customer service, just wait until you have any type of problem and you will soon see!!!!!

      • I am agree with Nancy, every thing was great for me until my place got trashed, I filed a claim and they Banned me and did not pay. I had over 100 5 star reviews. They do not care.

42. Hi, I have similar experience with AirBnB. I have been hosting for more than a Year and have not experienced any issues at all. Lovely guests, all my reviews (more than 50) are great, payments were submitted on time, no damage, so nothing to complain about, till this week. BTW my flat is very nice and was not cheap at all, so nothing for backpackers or students….

    And “the hell” started. I have welcomed on last Sat our guest who has booked and oviously paid on 29.5.2016. He arrived on 27 Aug. This means AirBnB holds his money for almost 3 months.
    Everything went smooth.

    Then I have realised that on Tue (4th day) there is no payment submitted. Well, I have asked why. 1st contact was useless. One gentleman inform me that he has forwarted my message to a specialist who will get back to me.
    No one got back to me, so I have tried again. Contacted Help Centre again, used Twitter, Facebook. Few people contacted me with a general answer – we are investigating, thanks for your patience which is ongoing till today.
    My guest has been accused that he did not pay. Well, if he did not pay why AirBnB would not cancel his reservation? There was enough time for that.
    BTW my guest confirmed his payment to me and also AirBnB was informed, anyways.
    So nothing is solved yet.
    Other guest should arrive tomorrow, most probably I won’t let him in as I’m not a charity worker. Perhaps, they will wake up and send me the money;-).
    In the meanwhile I have read several articles online about this behaviour. Even Forbes mentioned this TRUST (their value) practice.
    I am wondering why they are doing so. I guess they must have enough money as there are milions of offers every day. Is this really worth it?

43. this website is just a treasury for the competitors of airbnb. even though I don’t mind aibnb as the idea – they hardly manage to hold such a huge “empire” flawlessly. I prefer renting out on small platforms, like dormis.com – they’re way more responsive and care for every single guest or host. maybe, things will change the same way as it happened with airbnb, I don’t know

44. Suiteness.com is also a great alternative for groups and families who rent out an entire apartment or home. It’s basically a website that lets you book high-end suites online. But the good part is, you can book suites with connecting rooms online – so if you book in advance, you end up saving a lot. So for example, if you’re traveling in a group of 6 for eg, and book around 3 months in advance, you might be able to snag a 5-star hotel suite for around $70-$100 per person per night. Of course, this alternative is only for people who book higher end Airbnb apartments – usually families who want separate bedrooms and living rooms. Greta group travel alternative basically.

45. I’m not sold on this whole concept. Out of 3 bookings, the first two were terrible, resulting in refunds, and the 3rd, an overpriced studio apaartment the chick was still living in (all her stuff was there, a liability honestly) without the modern conveniences of staying at humble a 2 star hotel.

    My biggest problem is consistency. Maybe if you’re a bohemian soul who enjoys the Forest Gump style of travel, then AirBnB is your box of chocolates. You just never know what you’re going to get.

    I on the other hand, need a consistent experience. I need to know there is a relatively clean, comfortable bed. I need to know I’m going to have towels, soap, toilet paper, etc that are standard issue items in almost any modern hotel. I don’t want to have to wonder if the items in a persons accommodation are for my use, or simply their stuff that’s off-limits. And I certainly don’t want to be accused of stealing or damaging a hosts personal items if they are subletting their home out.

    I like the common areas that many hotels provide. I like to change my view and venue between my room, the pool, the hotel lobby, lounge, etc. I don’t have that option with many ABnB accommodations. I like the security of having a chance of changing to another room if my accommodation is not clean or has a problem. I also enjoy the peace of mind in dealing with a hotelier by cancelling a reservation if no satisfactory room is available by getting a full refund rather than having to fight with ABnB and their policies that are designed to keep the money in their pocket rather than protect the guest.

    What I’ve found is that I can often find a safer, more consistent experience by booking a hotel room for LESS than I could through ABnB. I travel alone or with one other, so I don’t really need an pricey home or apartment accommodation. And, if I did, I’d rather go with one of the established providers of such accommodations such as VBRO. But honestly, if I need a homer accommodation, I’ll book a condo or suite hotel. I have the advantages of a hotel booking for the same price that many ABnB’ers are charging for their apartments.

    As for hosts, I don’t know your pain. When I listed rooms for rent on ABnB a few years ago, I started to see the potential problems for hosts with the service. As an experienced landlord, I also was painfully aware of the myriad legal predicaments I could find myself in, being stuck in a no-man’s land between a landlord and a hotelier. I saw the costs of constant cleaning and maintenance associate with very short-term rentals, without having the staff to keep up with the cleaning and maintenance. And, heaven forbid I had a bad guest who damaged my home, furnishings, or appliances, I’d be SOL with ABnB. At least as a landlord with a lease I’d have legal recourse to recover damages, and my insurance would cover certain damages With short-term guests I’d lose those protections and take on considerable risk. But ABnB would get their money regardless.

    So, all in all I’m not an ABnB fan, either as guest or host. When I travel I’ll stick with hostels, hotels, and longer-term rentals. I will not leave my fate in the hands of some code jockeys and Billionaire wannabees.

    • Nice.
      After losing $4,800 in New York over Christmas, I absolutely agree.
      I’ve described these people as something between greedy hippies and Somali Pirates although the later is probably closer to reality. The Airbnb spin talks about community and respect and sharing but in the end, it’s a commercial operation that offers no protection to either party.
      I’ve suggested that a Class Action might be interesting or perhaps I’m just struggling getting over the fact I’ve been ripped off.

46. My guests checked for a multi-month stay. After the first month, their credit card had insufficient funds for their stay so the guests were not billed. It took AirBnB 2 weeks to advise me that the payment did not go through.

    After 2 weeks, it said my guests checked out of their unit. Since the booking was non-refundable, I called Airbnb to ask what is happening. They first told me it was a computer glitch so I should not enter the unit – and they will get back to me the next day. They never called me back the next day, so I called them and was told the payment did not go through and even though the guests stayed for half of the month, I would not be paid.

    When I did enter the unit, it was destroyed. Cigarette burns in the couch (of a non-smoking unit), walls and closets kicked in, animal feces all over the floor, and missing items.

    So what did airbnb do to this point. Waste my time for 2 months with emails and calls and no results. Airbnb’s deposits, insurance, cancellation policy, room rules, all bullshit. When you are owed something, they simply buffer you from getting results unitl you cant waste any more time on it.