Reasons Why I Fell Out of Love with Airbnb

I just finished writing my post on visiting Hobbiton in New Zealand. In that post, I briefly mentioned one of my favorite airbnb experiences. I stayed with a host there, a local woman named Alia. She was a recent widow and an empty nester, both her kids were away at college. She had plenty of spare room in her home and decided to try out airbnb for local female visitors.

My time at her home was like being with an older aunt, I spent almost a week there. She cooked breakfast in the morning, we would eat and she would drop me off at the bus stop on her way to work. In the evenings she’d pick me up at bus stop, even though it was not that far and I protested. At night, over several glass of red wine, I learned about all her life and also that she was actually Indian. I assumed by her long jet black hair that she was Maori, the native people of New Zealand. But, she was indeed Indian – whom are actually the third largest ethnic group there after Europeans and Natives.

I share that story, because that was one of my last good airbnb experiences.

I started using airbnb early on, when it was mostly rooms that were hosted by families. I’ve stayed with families with kids and pets. Families who took me out to dinner, acted as tour guides, gave me relationship and financial advice. Many even offered me the chance to come back and stay for free. Amazing experiences that I am forever grateful for.

And then something happened. Airbnb turned into a business for up new entrepreneurs.

Truthfully, it has always been a business. But ten years ago, I feel like it was primarily used by people like Alia, who was an empty nester with empty rooms. People who actually wanted to help tourists around their cities, share their knowledge and get to know new people. Even though the host benefited from the money back then as well, it just feels different now.

In recent years, people have started buying properties just for use as airbnbs. In the process charging rates that are close to and exceed local hotel prices. Don’t even get me started on the cleaning fees! And the rooms aren’t even that clean to begin with. And recently, many of the hosts are also asking you to remove the linens from the bed after leaving, seriously? Sometime it can be hard to reach the host and they’ve been known to cancel at the last minute. The check-in/check-out hours are unaccommodating. No security. In 2024, what is the benefit of staying in an airbnb?

I now only do airbnb for group trips. I switched to hotels exclusively and never looked back. Yes, hotels have their issues with cleanliness as well. But, for the most part you pay for what you get. And most hotel brands are pretty consistent no matter the location. Hotels overall offer more benefits than Airbnbs and in most cases you don’t really save money unless you’re traveling with a family and need a kitchen. From here on out, I’m team hotel. It’s sad because airbnb really influenced my early travel and contributed to my success. The American dream lives on.

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Do you still enjoy staying at airbnbs? Are you more of a hotel person? Does it depends? Let me know below!