Airbnb in Review – Reasons NOT to trust Airbnb as a Traveler and Alternatives

Here is a list of all different property types on Airbnb:

• House
• Apartment
• Bed and breakfast
• Boutique hotel
• Bungalow
• Cabin
• Chalet
• Cottage
• Guest suite
• Guesthouse
• Hostel
• Hotel
• Loft
• Townhouse
• Villa

Under “Unique Homes” you can filter for the following too:

• Barn
• Boat
• Camper/RV
• Casa particular
• Cave
• Dome house
• Earth house
• Farm stay
• Houseboat
• Nature lodge
• Tent
• Tiny house
• Yurt

The unique homes filter is the one that let’s the platform stand out. You can seriously stay in a cave, rent a campervan, even a yurt.

You may have already noticed this.

Did you see in the listings above that you can also find hostels on Airbnb? In fact, many professional accommodations like resorts, hotels, guesthouses can be listed on Airbnb.

The great thing is, you can filter by property type. We just mention this again to make it clear: not all Airbnb listings are privately owned.

Good to know: We even know of hostels that can be found only on this platform. No Booking.com or Hostelworld.

It is fair to say, Airbnb platform is not the best page to find hostels. Not at all. It is not their core-business, obviously.

Better stop by and read our best-hostels-in-guides to actually find only hostel-type accommodation.

6. Airbnb first stay – How does it work?

We have airbnbed a lot! And we have experienced a lot of different accommodations, met different types of hosts etc.

When we entered our first Airbnb stay, we rented a room in a flat. We met the super-friendly host, and I actually wanted to pay in cash. The guy told me that the payment is done via Airbnb; no need to pay here. See, I did not even pay attention to this important detail.

So, here you go. Also Airbnb has a kind of guideline on how to enjoy your first Airbnb stay.

1. Search and use the smart filters

We already covered this in how to find accommodation on Airbnb.

2. Read the ratings & reviews

Faked reviews are quite unlikely. There is not really a point to fake reviews and listings, since the community will filter the black sheep out quickly. Obviously, pay extra attention with new listings without any reviews.

3. Get your questions answered

When having doubts, always ask. You can always send a private message to the host with the doubts you might have, and most of them reply quite fast.

4. Always communicate & pay on Airbnb (remember my own story above…)

5. Do a safety check and say hi to the host

Have a look around your room and see if everything is ok and safe.

Make sure to also you say hi to the host and chat a bit. This is always helpful. We always do this. It is quite easy to bond and sometimes the host is even interested in having a drink or dinner later

This happened a lot to us.Especially the private listings are usually not anonymous places you just sleep in.

Read our Airbnb story here.

6. Let the host know if something is wrong

Is something not working, something missing?

Maybe the host forgot the towel in your room?

Please talk to your host and fix the problem right away. No need to get grumpy and then leave a bad review afterwards. It is better for everyone if you just point out the small things.

7. Airbnb Coupon Code First Booking

The very first time booking you want to add the discount. The discount is applied automatically – as long as you make a booking of 65€ or more.

When getting to the payment page, there is a little box asking “apply discount code”. When you have referral credit, it will be applied automatically. However, you can tick the box to NOT apply the discount.

Why would you do that?

Maybe you want to save it. Maybe you are booking an accommodation with friends, and want the credit only for your own stays. Who knows. Point is, you can activate and deactivate the box. Pretty useful at times!

You see, it is very easy to claim your Airbnb credit.

7. Airbnb Payment – is it safe?

Airbnb is a very safe platform. We never had any single issue or problem.

And we are talking about several safety concerns.

For instance, Airbnb does not allow any discrimination.

They make this very clear. There has been incidents where hosts pointed out publicly they do not allow gay couples to stay here. This is against Airbnb rules and you can report them. This host will be removed from the platform directly.

Then, Airbnb also has a emergency-control if something happens with the apartment you are renting out. There has been the incident of an apartment in the USA. It was rented out to a couple. The hosts returned a few hours later to bring something back to the flat. As it turned out, the people renting the flat planned a sex party. This was against the host’s rules.

Airbnb immediately took care of the incident.

In terms of Payment, Airbnb is also safe.

We actually like that they take away the money-barrier between the guest and the host. You can arrive at a place, say hi, chat, relax – and the payment is done online without exchanging money in cash. This also removes any currency issues and such.

Did you know Airbnb gives a smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detector to their hosts for free? Hosts with an active listing can get a self-contained, battery powered combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector at no cost.

Read through all the safety and community standards here.

8. Pros and Cons of Airbnb

All that glisters is not gold. Airbnb has had and still has its issues, especially with local communities.

Airbnb and other platforms have been partially responsible for the increase of rent in certain cities like Barcelona and Berlin. It is also said, hosts earn black money through the platform, not paying legal taxes, renting illegal apartments.

On the other hand, Airbnb tackled the crazy rise of pricing for accommodation. Since there was less competition, many accommodations put up high prices – since people had less choice, travelers had to pay. So, in a way, Airbnb and other competitors made traveling in some areas and aspects more affordable.

Here is a quick, simple overview of pros and cons of Airbnb. This is by no means a full list.

Pros:

1. Aims for a more personal experience
2. the website and app is safe and fantastic to use
3. The app is off the chart

Cons:

1. Local communities can have issues with Airbnb rentals – e.g. increase of rental
2. Listing of illegal apartments without license possible
3. the extra fees are annoying – but fair in a way
4. Hosts can cancel your stay – without prior warning! Airbnb does not do anything against this
5. When a host does not accept 2 request, Airbnb threatens hosts to remove their listing and block them. As an owner, you are forced to rent – even to travelers you do not trust.
6. Airbnb Customer Service is HORRIBLE! This goes for both the service to hosts as well as travelers. Airbnb left travelers stranded after they had reservations but Airbnb itself cancelled.

There are reports of tech issues at Airbnb.com. Personally, we do not trust Airbnb reservations.

Here are some articles criticizing the movement and development of the so-called shared economy, and Airbnb in particular:

• The Guardian – Airbnb and the so-called sharing economy is hollowing out our cities
• Airbnb vs Berlin – Data comparison – they state that in Berlin there is “an average of 2.9 beds per flat” listed on Airbnb

9. Our Airbnb Story

We have stayed in several airbnb’s all over the world. From Vietnam to Maldives; from Cyprus to Ireland.

One of our favorite stays was in a room at a big lake house in Switzerland. We rented a car and were driving around Europe. We needed a stopover before arriving to Interlaken and found a beautiful room in a house near Neuchâtel lake.  The host was a lady around 50 years old and a friend of hers stayed for the night too. We arrived around 7pm and were hungry.

The room was gorgeous, the landscape and views from the balcony breath-taking. “Oh, the morning will be great to see all this in full sun shine”.

Anyways, we asked them if we can use the kitchen, which was no problem (we checked this before online!). They already had dinner, so there was no point of eating together.

Nevermind, we always bring a bottle of nice Spanish Red and White wine with us when we do Airbnb.

We invited the host and her friend for a glass of wine. They were so so happy.

It never happened to them that a guest wanted to spend time with them. On top of that the red wine would cost around 50€ in Switzerland.

It cost us 4€ – and it made 4 people happy!

What I am trying to say is, Airbnb can be quite a social experience. We like to look for places where we can meet the host and maybe spend time with him or her.

In a way, Airbnb can be your paid version of Couchsurfing.

10. Become an Airbnb Host – Rent out your Apartment/ room

The official statement goes like…

“No matter what kind of home or room you have to share, Airbnb makes it simple and secure to host travelers. You’re in full control of your availability, prices, house rules, and how you interact with guests.”

Do you want to start hosting your extra room or flat on Airbnb?

Do you run a hostel and want to be listed here too?

Sign up with this link to start hosting.

Airbnb is a great way to fill your beds or rent out your extra room at home.

Good to know: Airbnb will make you a proposal for the price per night you should sell your room. In the past these prices have been incredibly low. For instance, for Barcelona in August they suggested 20€ for a private room with good location.

Just to compare, one single bed in a dorm in a good hostel in Barcelona summer is around 25€ already.

Last but not least: Make sure you follow the law of your city and country when hosting. In many countries you need a license to rent out your full apartment. In other countries you can rent out your extra room up to a certain limit of time and money.

This is always different in each country. Please bare this in mind, play fair, and inform yourself.

11. Airbnb Experiences

Airbnb started out with accommodation rental. But this has changed already.

They added their so-called “airbnb experiences”.

Good to know: Our $35 Promo Code is also valid for Airbnb Experiences.

Here locals and tour agencies alike can list their tours, experiences like kayaking, concerts, wine tastings, you name it.

The list has so many cool things to do and activities like:

• Health and Wellness
• Concerts
• Social impact
• Surfing
• Entertainment
• Sports
• Nightlife
• Music
• Arts
• History
• Nature
• Food & Drink
• Classes & Workshops

So far we only tried out one Airbnb Experience. And unfortunately it was not the best.

We were under the impression, these activities are more local, more intimate, in smaller groups. We did “kayaking in Dubrovnik”.

Instead of a group of like 6-10 people, our group was 24 people. Now, that is not a lot, you might say.

But, here is the kicker: That’s not all of them! There were in fact more than 400 people doing their sunset kayaking, separated in different groups and with different guides.

It is no joke when we say we had to queue up with our Kayak to get back on land again.

So, while we had quite an underwhelming experience, the majority of activities seem much better. Friends of ours joined private guitar concerts on a roof top terrace in Barcelona, snorkeling trips in El Nido and more.

Our best recommendation: Ask beforehand how many people you should expect; to avoid a surprise like ours. Many experiences show also the maximum number of attendants.

Start exploring Airbnb experiences here.

Some other booking platforms for travel experiences worth considering:

• Tiqets.com
• Klook Travel in review

12. How does the Airbnb Coupon work?

Let us talk again about the discount. When you sign up with our referral link here, you will receive a sweet 35€ discount on your first stay.

This is an Airbnb discount code that works.

In the unlikely but possible case it does not work, please get in touch. We will send you another one right away.

Also, once you sign up, you will also receive your own referral code. This means YOU can send this code to your own friends, and let them save money and you receive more Airbnb credit.

How it works in three simple steps:

1. Send people you know an invite with €25 off a home booking of €65 or more and €9 off an experience of €43 or more.
2. Get €15 for every person who completes a stay and €8 for every person who goes on an experience.
3. Use the credit you earn to book your next trip on Airbnb.

Can you cash out the Airbnb credit?

No, you cannot. This referral code only allows you to accumulate credit you can only use on their own network, If you are frequent traveler, this is really like cash.

Bear in mind, your credit can expire. Airbnb will send you a reminder email before it expires. Usually the credit is valid for 1 year at least.

13. Get Your Own Airbnb Coupon Code

Did you know once you signed up, you actually avail your own referral code for Airbnb?

So, go ahead, share that one with your friends at home. You can earn money credit with Airbnb that way.

It is important to remember that you cannot earn money with the Airbnb referral. You cannot cash it out!

You “only” receive credit and can use it in accommodation and experiences.

How do I find my Airbnb referral code?

1. Log in and click on your profile icon in the top right-hand corner and select “Invite Friends”
   (it states “You have up to €18 to use toward your next booking. Invite people to earn more”)
2. Here you see your referral link in form of a simple URL like
3. You’ll then see options to copy and paste your referral link or share via email or on Facebook.

Important to know: Your referral credit is valid for 1 year until it expires.

14. Are some Promo Codes higher?

You may have come across website claiming a super high promo code value. Well, do not be too impressed by that. Truth be told, all promo codes have the same value. It only depends in which currency they are shown.

45$ seems much more than 40€, right!? Well, this is exactly the same. the only difference is that the user has set their currency to $.

Did you notice, we did not even say US Dollars? We could even share high 170$ promo codes, making someone think the value is incredibly high.

Well, it would be Hong Kong Dollars, or Singapore Dollars, or Australian Dollars.

Therefore, do not let them fool you. The value is the same the procedure is the same, the result is the same.

That might lead to a question: Can I apply an Airbnb Coupon Code for New Zealand when the other user is from Spain?

Yes, you can! There is no geographical limit. You can use it in Australia, Italy, Spain, Singapore, USA, you name it.

15. FAQ

Here you have some frequent asked questions that we receive a lot. Even though you have the full answer on the guide, it might be useful fo your to check these questions if you are in a hurry.

Any questions?

We would love to hear from you. Share your thoughts, opinion and questions in the comment section below.

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