No kidding! I was looking at Airbnb's in Estes Park and the stay itself cost only 200 or 300, but the cleaning fees were 400 bucks! Not even close to being worth it.
@@Originalman144 A lot of hotels have washing machines for guests now. Look for that when you book. There was one hotel that didn't even charge a fee to use the guest laundry, you just had to bring your own detergent. Moving forward I think I would use an Airbnb to cook as during my NE road trip I did miss having home cooked meal/kitchen.
We're heading back to hotels because the &%$* places are not clean. Owner lives in St. Louis. House in Virginia. Hard to know who is really cleaning your house.
@@adamczamanske7227 Thats not correct. If either the host or guest leaves a review the other party has 14 days to submit their own review. If they do not review, the comments from the other party is ALWAYS posted.
I absolutely agree with you! Currently everyone make up their reviews like a little fairytales... TI think the internet makes people dumm and superficial...
Hotels are now cheaper, just like some taxis are a better deal these days than Uber. AirBnB started out as a great, more affordable option but the owners have just gotten greedy with their exorbitant cleaning fees that often double to the price of the nightly stay.
I agree. When I did my NE road trip this past fall I priced Airbnb and Hotels. Hotels were actually cheaper for what they offer. I don't mind paying a little bit more for better security, parking, cleanliness, check-in/out times, ICE, and onsite staff. Airbnb prices have gone through the roof. All the hotels I stayed in were pretty decent.
This is why I stay at hotels. I recently went to Key West and stayed at a Hilton Hotel. Less expensive than Airbnb's etc. and if there is a problem there is someone to complain too and have the problem rectified.
I always stay in hotels. But they aren't always where you want to be, so these alternatives are really convenient. Also, sometimes we travel with friends and it's nice to share a common area.
Yup, also with the service fee plus the $100 dollar cleaning fee it doesn’t add up. Hotel is generally cheaper and no headache. And just got to the video where he is complaining about it :)
I once find out that the "2 bedrooms" were in fact an open space with 1 double bed in each corner. No one mentionned it in the 5* reviews. But I did 👌 Writting a review is helping other travellers see behind the nice pictures. Some owners respond very rudly to a negative comment (the facts), and that by itself should be a red flag!
Hahahaha. This is old school style Mark Wolters actually letting us know about real negatives. Woohoo. Love it. 👍 @3:30 Fast food napkins as a substitute for TP made me laugh. Mark with the pro’s pro tip! @8:45 Great AirBNB hosts always point you to the closest liquor store! 😀
I JUST booked my first VRBO in Nashville. The deciding factor in choosing a house was the cleaning fee. Some places were charging $500!!! And if I have to clean before I leave I may as well stay home. The fees have skyrocketed.
you have to think where that money is really going towards. i can understand if they hire a cleaning crew that charge, say, $30 an hour to clean a four bedroom home, 2 baths, etc. and maybe a landscaper to mow and such. since thats kind of my line of work im thinking ...probably not with these properties that are asking for it.
@@matty6878 yes, I just depends. Their are scammers, people who charge too much and so forth. There are of course those who charge reasonably, not over charging.
It is NOW Less expensive to book a nice 3 or 4 star hotel in many cities in Europe than an AirBNB! After my last disappointing experience I no longer use Air BNB. Thank you for posting. I also experienced an 8AM checkout.
Even if you don't have to move a muscle, it's already an outrage. Why isn't cleaning fee built into the price, just like with hotels? It's so deceptive, especially when the listings display the price WITHOUT cleaning fee.
I know. That's what blows my mind. If I walk in and it sparkles, I can at least say that my $300 cleaning fee was put to good use. But when I walk in and it looks like my kids did the cleaning I'm a bit at a loss
I don’t like the idea of cleaning someone else’s home on vacation and buying someone else cleaning supplies Hotels are so much better for these short stays .
Lately my frustration has been the cancelation policies. I understand they have bills to pay, but if you cancel within 3 weeks, you still owe the full amount. Um, no thanks.
We couldn’t get our money back on one Florida property because it was originally booked two years ago and the card expired. They offered to do a wire transfer but our bank doesn’t do wire transfers
@@annebartin834 I don't know what you are talking about. Hosts make their cancellation policies and some are super strict. Many hosts will not allow a guest to cancel after booking, even if they are trying to cancel well in advance. It's up to the host and their policies and yes, some of them are greedy and do not refund.
My experience with Airbnb has been very hit and miss. One thing that drives me nuts is when they cancel your reservation within a couple of days or weeks before you arrive which it could be very hard to find another rental. Another thing that drives me nuts is the quality of the beds in many of them as they often have worn out beds or beds with little padding, not real mattress and so on (although I have had multiple hotels lately including major chains as Hilton and IHG where the beds have been extremely worn out). The problem is you often have to take the reviews with a grain of salt because you read them and once you experience the place you wonder if the people stayed in the same place you did.
Wow! I found this so interesting. We have stayed in number of AirBNBs in Canada and the UK and (fingers crossed here!) have had many great experiences and just one "fair" experience. The places we have used are all "superhosted" properties, clean, and as advertised. Most of the times we have become return customers and friendly with our hosts. Our only fair/mediocre visit the space was still spotlessly clean, but there was a lack of a working tv, no fridge and no basic supplies. I remember there was a cute sign welcoming us and instructing us to enjoy the complimentary tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cookies etc...and there weren't any. LOL. The host was quick to respond and blamed her son for the lack of basics but didn't resolve the tv issue and apologized that they hadn't removed "fridge" from the listing. We did leave all this information in the public facing review plus the private, direct-to-host comments. I've never heard/experienced the huge cleaning fees, a host asking us to wash the linens before we left etc. Maybe because it's just the 2 of us so we're never booking somewhere for 6, 8, 10 etc. people. I always complete the review process in its entirety and read what others have wrote before booking for sure! We have quite a few booked this year, some as repeat customers, some new...I hope it all goes okay! I've double-checked and none have large cleaning fees. Whew!
I will also never rent a place that has no previous reviews. There are reasons that happens, especially if it's a rental that's been there for a while and has no reviews. And yes, I agree, always always always read the reviews!
Spot on, basically checks every box for things I’ve had to deal with. I went on a road trip earlier this year so I stopped in many different Airbnb’s and hotels. One thing that turns me away are people that have like 50,000 rules for their place. I get it, you don’t want to have terrible guests, but I want to relax and enjoy my stay not be told what, when, and where to do while I’m on vacation.
I'm so done with AirBRB & VRBO! I had such a terrible experience with a VRBO vacation rental in Orlando last Christmas. The house was in horrible disrepair and had so many issues. VRBO & the owner were so dismissive and didn't offer any help or refund our money. It was an awful stay. Never again. Hotels only going forward.
I always have been quite critical about companies as AirBnb. Tax fraud was first coming to my mind (and I have written that as a comment before beneath Wolter's videos [same with Uber and other tax fraud transport companies]). But here Wolter himself shows that many hosts are also cheating on other things as the cleaning fee. Stay in local hotels, not in AirBnb; AirBnb also takes living space from the locals. And everyonepretends to like locals, don't they?
I agree on the airbnb owners charging too much for the cleaning fees. I often find the hotels end up being cheaper mainly due to the cleaning fee plus other fees making the airbnb too expensive. The other thing I find annoying is that when you look for a place that accommodate 6 guests and you find out the cost of the place listed is for only 2 persons in the fine print. Anyone beyond 2 will be an extra daily charge. Again this ends up making the stay too expensive and is misleading in the cost they advertise for.
I almost couldn’t bring myself to click on this video because of the thumbnail and title LOL!!! But yeah - ughhhh - thank you for calling out all these that might happen to folks with vacation rentals! I’ve actually read online forums for Airbnb hosts about how much toilet paper they should provide (just so I’d know what was customary) and it should definitely be more than one 🤦🏻♀️
Excellent vid, thanks. For us it's plug-less bathrooms. Stayed one place that had a bath and couldn't use it for entire stay. Had to wash at basin. The same place was also not well cleaned and very uncommunicative.
I concur. I started using them less and less 3 years ago. Just too many hiccups, too much texting back and forth, too many times having to get Airbnb involved, the lack of supplies, and host issues. A real hassle. I’m not paying for more work on my vacation. Nope!
Pet peeve of mine: the host is actively living/ staying at the rental. I know it that isn’t fair, but there’s something unsettling to me about sleeping/ whatever in a place with an otherwise complete stranger. Especially if I’m going out and leaving stuff behind
It's not always bad. I stayed at an Airbnb in Boston once and the hosts were there (it was 3 men who lived there, in their 20s). The house was immaculate however, probably the fanciest room I have ever stayed in. The bathroom was absolutely spotless too. They hung out in the living room at night but they were so quiet I never even noticed. It's very possible to have hosts there and for the stay to still be good.
@@woltersworld we tried for August this year but every Airbnb we looked at was horrendously expensive. Contrary the hotels weren't exactly cheap but cheaper than Airbnb. So they've lost my our custom.
I stayed in one in New Orleans with my teenage daughter. My first clue we made a bad choice was in our conversation with the Lyft driver who was a retired cop. He took one look at the place and asked if we were sure we wanted to stay😅. He let me know it was not a safe neighborhood and that we shouldn’t walk around in the evening. Pictures did not match. In fact the place looked like a crack house with tall weeds in the front. Unpleasant place
It’s funny that Tybee Island kept getting brought up because when I went there it was a really great place a few months ago. Then again we didn’t use an Airbnb we went on vacation we went to Atlanta we saw everything there we had a few days left decided to go other places around Georgia we arrived at Tybee Island and parked overlooking the beach, it was a bright full moon so we looked out over the water as we walked out on the pier. Amazing powerful wind out there, we went to dinner at a cool seafood place behind the levy and just pulled out our phones did some quick searches and we just booked a hotel room on the beach it was great! Has a cool civil war fort nearby too.
Thank God we have had great experiences in all the Airbnbs that we have rented except for one in Virginia. When we got there it wasn’t very clean. We called the owner who lived in FL and she was apologetic and called the person who cleans the house. He came very quickly and cleaned it while we were there and did a good job. The owner was super nice and even gave us 2 free nights. Other than that, I’ve been lucky. Ive been really good at picking nice Airbnbs, thank God
And this is why I continue to live in Japan. I also run an airbnb house. The cleaning fee is something that airbnb MAKES you charge, at least in Japan they do. Wolter, you may stay in my Airbnb free of charge just outside of Tokyo if you would like. We actually have all items you may need for a family including detergent, utensils, towels, and cleaning supplies. Know that airbnb is a pain in the ass and they do control many of the rules not the home owner and they can create a disconnect between the customer and home owner. As a reminder, this is Japans airbnb system which can be different than other countries. Also, airbnb will not let you communicate directly with the customer, their employees do but the owner can see the messages (I know weird, and dumb). Eventually, they allow you to communicate to answer questions but not at first.
Great video, I hopefully will be booking my first Airbnb in about 2 years & I forgot about half of this stuff. It’s Switzerland, so I expecting everywhere will be very clean. It’s the specific rules of the property I’m worried about. Rules are a big deal in 🇨🇭 😱
I've yet to do an Airbnb, all our friends stay in them, mostly good experiences but recently my friend had a disgusting house. No one there to help, no fixing the issue, just bad time all around. Makes me nervous to risk things with no one too help if issues arise. Plus, cleaning on my vacation, no thanks! Lol
Wow this would make me never want to book an Airbnb, I stayed in a really nice one in San Diego and the only thing I didn't like about that was when I had trouble with the keycode instead of just coming outside they messaged me.....like you're right there in the house
Ha! Talking about Tybee Island and communication, we booked a place a month out. The host said they're busy, so don't message them until the day before. We did, but they didn't respond. The morning of our four hour drive to Tybee, they still didn't respond. The whole drive up, they didn't answer their phone or respond. (I start to look for hotels, because this was obviously going to fall through.) Finally, ten minutes away from the place, they call back. At that point, I just wanted to tell them to go scr*w themselves. Hotels are better.
The whole time I was watching this I was saying RIGHT! RIGHT!! I have used AirB&B since they started and it's shocking the rise in fees now the fees cost more than the room. Also, I refuse to clean a place that is charging me a ridiculous cleaning WTH! Hotels and doing the same thing on priceline ect... with resort fees! I had a basic hotel in Columbia SC try to charge me a "resort fee" This all makes me miss the days of having a travel agent.
@@usernameisusername Not really just factual. Why choose from several bad options rather than wait for a time when better options are available? No one is forcing you take a holiday. Home is a great place to be.
When we stayed at our Airbnb we only got one towel each for 4 nights and WIFI didn't work. They would respond to us when we needed assistance. The place was clean which was a plus
Yeah, I have not found very many circumstances where the air bnb is better than a hotel. The only time it's been better is in places where hotels are hard to come by. It may be cost effective for large groups but that's about it.
Airbnb has gotten horrible. It was a great alternative to booking a hotel. But there’s so many rules and things we have to do, on top of higher rates. I notice that hotels are much cheaper and overall a better experience.
I have used Airbnb twice, both in Tokyo in 2017. They were great! At both times, the host was cleaning when I arrived. They were also quick to respond when I message them. I love Japan! But then, I usually travel alone so I normally stay in hostels or cheap hotels.
Three experiences - two great (Ruidoso, NM and Deer Lodge, MT), one not so great (will remain nameless). The great ones were everything the photo and reviews said they were and we were very happy. The not so great was worn, not so clean (even though they had a cleaning service), and needed a lot of minor repairs. This was the first time I was fooled by the reviews (mostly 5's). I think the issue was that the host always asked for 5's after the stay and some people complied. I think those with lesser ratings didn't bother. So, the take-away from this is always leave an honest review.
I don’t think that a host should ask for a 5 star rating, 5 stars rating should be earned, and cleaning fees should be reasonable $300 is extortionate, the host would not be paying the cleaner that much
Because demand is so incredibly high right now, many have little choice but to pay the outrageously high cleaning and “service” fees. I am hopeful that as the market gets back to semi-normal at some point, the fees will drop as supply and demand becomes somewhat more equal. For me, I will stay in a tent before a pay a giant, unearned cleaning fee. But our kids are grown so we have a bit more flexibility.
I stopped staying at Airbnbs a long time ago (except if I'm on a travel group and I'm not in charge of the plans). The cleaning fees, the inconvenient hours, the uncertainty with the listings, the sometimes very non-collaborative hosts... to save what? Maybe 5€ a night with respect to a hotel where I won't be inconvenienced by all this? If I wanted to do the dishes I'd have stayed home. Hotel all the way for me.
Hosts are so entitled on that app. It honestly makes me sick. They want top dollar but they can’t even clean the place properly? I was recently in a place in Mexico City with butt hair waiting for me on the toilet and smashed leftover cockroach corpses in the wall. Disgusting. Almost every host I have dealt with recently has been rude as well. They get vicious if you even inquire just a bit into the listing or if you have a problem. It used to be a place to snag a cheap apartment and hosts used to be grateful and friendly, now it has turned into too much of a profit driven place. Most are only in it for the money and are used to making a boatload for doing minimal work. Hotels for me from now on.
Had one that advertised free parking, but the "free" parking was actually free street parking in the residential area a mile away and was based on availability. The close parking was $30/day.
I never understood the whole air B&B. When I go on holiday I am not interested in staying in someone’s house I want a nice luxury hotel room with a pool and stuff
Stayed in a hotel recently as I don't think Air BnB refunded me for having to cancel last year due to the pandemic, but the thing is the hotel was really nice and at least it wasn't some ditz looking for some easy money who couldn't be bothered to show up when I arrived and that's just one incident.
We have 3 kids and take one vacation a year. I don't clean on vacation and i don't cook on vacation. We're very much a 2 hotel rooms with free breakfast family.We did airbnb once in clearwater-i was a nervous wreck that the kids would break the brik a brac in the place and the beds were a joke. Never again.
Mark tells it like it is in all his videos but especially this one. While we have had mostly great Airbnb’s (UK and Germany) but after a few subpar experiences and all the latest issues we will just stick to hotels these days. If i need TP or soap I just call the front desk and won’t be charged after the fact for electricity used
The number one thing with Airbnbs is the cleaning fee for sure. I booked an Airbnb last week in Corpus Christi and it was disgusting. Full of roaches, needed to be dusted, the bathtub wasn't clean. That solidified me just spending a little more ($20) to get a hotel room right off the water that was cleaner and more convenient.
Also, I always make sure to look at the google map of the property to see what is actually near and around. Not getting me with those hyped pictures. In fact, listings that include pictures of "what's near" before pics of the property, or more pics of that than the property, are always suspect. That lets me know that the property probably isn't quality.
I will never use Airbnb again after getting into a dispute with a "host" who kept me up most of the night. Although I had rented "the whole place," it was a cobbled together basement in-law and the loud hosts were over my head, running around, shouting, and playing video games into the night. Also, even though she'd been called a "super host," the place was filthy. I messaged the host and asked them to keep it down (how awkward is that?) and they didn't. I then messaged them that I'd be canceling my 2nd and 3rd nights. Her husband stupidly messaged me that they'd refund those nights... but then they strung me out for weeks until it was too late for me to post a negative review and refused to refund me. Airbnb did step in and get me my 2nd and 3rd nights back when they saw the messages and the photos I took. Horrible experience. I have traveled twice since and have booked real hotels where I'll be treated like a guest. I'll never go back to Airbnb.
This oughta have more views. Hotels seem to be better overall again. I never understood Ait B and Bs though. At least with hotels there is management that one can complain too and they have professional standards.
I don't like the rating system on Airbnb. We've always felt compelled to give a positive spin knowing that we're going to be reviewed as guests as well. A bad review for us as guests could affect a future hosts decision to accept a requested booking.
We've wanted to light a couple of places up with an honest ( negative) review they deserved but can't the renters retaliate with negative ratings of the renter? How does that work?
Hosts and guests have 14 days to leave a review for each other. You can't see each other's reviews until you have both left one. After the 14 days, neither side can leave a review. Note that you can publicly respond to a review left for you and the host can publically respond to the review you left for them.
I was at an airbnb that was a 3rd story unit in a big condo building. On my third day, the owner called me saying that his friend who lived in the unit next door had locked himself out of his and could I please let him jump from the balcony in the rental unit to "his" unit next door. The way the locks worked in this building it is impossible to lock your seld out.
Airbnb gone wrong in Turks and Caicos 🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️... drove to Seven Stars Resort, they had rooms available, saved my vacation, had an amazing time there.
I've seen some places that include a stock photo of the area in their listing. I get the reasoning they use to justify it, "Stay here (and by that we mean here in this city, but we're in this city, so we count) and you'll have reasonable access to this great beach or this iconic landmark." It doesn't work though. An accommodation in Miami doesn't need to sell me on the idea that Miami in general is a great place to visit. The fact that I'm looking at their page in the first place indicates that I already know what the location has to offer and have already decided I want to stay in the area.
Great tips! I also always Google map and satellite view and check every real photo of the place I can because often the pics have those bait and switch kinds of things for sure.
just booked a place where the host said in their rental "they received a lower rating by one user, they are trying to get it up." so...hopefully that isn't a red flag lol
Personally I've found that Airbnb is almost never a better deal compared to hotels. If a hotel has a microwave and fridge you can still cook a decent enough meal and they're a fraction of the price of an airbnb.
Decibel level monitoring, monitoring the number of cars in the driveway, a laundry list of rules followed by the threat that stay can be terminated on the spot.
YUKKKKK!!! Glad I watched this video because I will never ever step inside an Air B&B....ewwww. By the way, what is the difference between an Air B&B and a B&B???😫
Oh, the toilet paper! In my opinion it should be standard that the airbnb should provide the basics for living there and it includes TP. I don't care about them coming over to clean while I'm there, I keep it tidy myself, but if I'm paying the cleaning fee I expect it to be clean and won't deep clean before I leave, F that. I might start the laundry but as a favour so they need to provide the supplies.
Everything you mentioned I've heard complaints about. However, more with US and Canadian locations and much less with European ones. However, Europeans don't seem to understand what a stocked kitchen is. Still, we like using them.
Airbnb also sucks when an apt or house is searchable and available but you have to hear back from the host before you can book. That is ridiculous! Why is it even in the search?!?! Abnb sucks! I will never use it again.
I had always positive experiences with airbnb, BUT there ist one important rule: read every comment!!! When you read one comment of 10, and in that one comment is mentioned that it was a little bit to warm or something or it was little bit to loud, then be sure, it is so :D
The Air B&B cleaning fees are making people head back to Hotels
No kidding! I was looking at Airbnb's in Estes Park and the stay itself cost only 200 or 300, but the cleaning fees were 400 bucks! Not even close to being worth it.
@@Originalman144 A lot of hotels have washing machines for guests now. Look for that when you book. There was one hotel that didn't even charge a fee to use the guest laundry, you just had to bring your own detergent. Moving forward I think I would use an Airbnb to cook as during my NE road trip I did miss having home cooked meal/kitchen.
We're heading back to hotels because the &%$* places are not clean. Owner lives in St. Louis. House in Virginia. Hard to know who is really cleaning your house.
This is why honest and brutal reviews are so important.
@@adamczamanske7227 Thats not correct. If either the host or guest leaves a review the other party has 14 days to submit their own review. If they do not review, the comments from the other party is ALWAYS posted.
@@jamesahrussell I just double checked my previous stays and you’re right
I absolutely agree with you! Currently everyone make up their reviews like a little fairytales... TI think the internet makes people dumm and superficial...
You won’t have honest reviews cause of retaliation
@@Phlegethon That's what I was thinking.
Hotels are now cheaper, just like some taxis are a better deal these days than Uber. AirBnB started out as a great, more affordable option but the owners have just gotten greedy with their exorbitant cleaning fees that often double to the price of the nightly stay.
I agree. This summer we are staying in mostly hotels. Probably 90% of the time.
The cleaning fees have gotten out of hand. Hotels do not have a perfect record with clean either.
I agree. When I did my NE road trip this past fall I priced Airbnb and Hotels. Hotels were actually cheaper for what they offer. I don't mind paying a little bit more for better security, parking, cleanliness, check-in/out times, ICE, and onsite staff. Airbnb prices have gone through the roof. All the hotels I stayed in were pretty decent.
@@localfocalkc they don't! But at least they don't tack on an extra $300 to clean
@@dec23 right ! When the prices were just a little more or almost the same...Airbnb was a no Brainer. Now, hotels and camping
This is why I stay at hotels. I recently went to Key West and stayed at a Hilton Hotel. Less expensive than Airbnb's etc. and if there is a problem there is someone to complain too and have the problem rectified.
I always stay in hotels. But they aren't always where you want to be, so these alternatives are really convenient. Also, sometimes we travel with friends and it's nice to share a common area.
I stay in hotels too, and after watching this I'll keep this policy.
Airhubs have a long way to go until they offer a comparable (but different) experience as a hotel.
Yeah, until I learn how to fight back against these things I won’t ever use airbnb
Yup, also with the service fee plus the $100 dollar cleaning fee it doesn’t add up. Hotel is generally cheaper and no headache.
And just got to the video where he is complaining about it :)
I once find out that the "2 bedrooms" were in fact an open space with 1 double bed in each corner. No one mentionned it in the 5* reviews. But I did 👌
Writting a review is helping other travellers see behind the nice pictures.
Some owners respond very rudly to a negative comment (the facts), and that by itself should be a red flag!
Hahahaha. This is old school style Mark Wolters actually letting us know about real negatives. Woohoo. Love it. 👍
@3:30 Fast food napkins as a substitute for TP made me laugh. Mark with the pro’s pro tip!
@8:45 Great AirBNB hosts always point you to the closest liquor store! 😀
Sometimes I get inspired
@@woltersworld Finding more inspiration more often would be awesome. 😀
@@tosht2515 I dont think you want to find the same inspiration he is talking of
I JUST booked my first VRBO in Nashville. The deciding factor in choosing a house was the cleaning fee. Some places were charging $500!!! And if I have to clean before I leave I may as well stay home. The fees have skyrocketed.
you have to think where that money is really going towards. i can understand if they hire a cleaning crew that charge, say, $30 an hour to clean a four bedroom home, 2 baths, etc. and maybe a landscaper to mow and such.
since thats kind of my line of work im thinking ...probably not with these properties that are asking for it.
Yeah. The cleaning fees have gotten incredibly out of control. Not every rental but when they can add it. Sometimes they do.
@@matty6878 yes, I just depends. Their are scammers, people who charge too much and so forth. There are of course those who charge reasonably, not over charging.
It is NOW Less expensive to book a nice 3 or 4 star hotel in many cities in Europe than an AirBNB! After my last disappointing experience I no longer use Air BNB. Thank you for posting. I also experienced an 8AM checkout.
300$ and you still have to do the dishwasher and laundry? That’s absolutely insane.
For a $300 cleaning fee i'd expect to ralph behind every closet and bed and into any crevice and get zero questions afterwards :D
right? and thats only the fee. that money can surely land you at least a 3-star hotel with the basic amenities, maybe even one with a pool and spa.
Some places yes, but probably not in Key west
Even if you don't have to move a muscle, it's already an outrage.
Why isn't cleaning fee built into the price, just like with hotels?
It's so deceptive, especially when the listings display the price WITHOUT cleaning fee.
Crazy cleaning fees, lately! You are right, they are not clean when you come in!
I know. That's what blows my mind. If I walk in and it sparkles, I can at least say that my $300 cleaning fee was put to good use. But when I walk in and it looks like my kids did the cleaning I'm a bit at a loss
I don’t like the idea of cleaning someone else’s home on vacation and buying someone else cleaning supplies
Hotels are so much better for these short stays .
Yeah. We have transitioned back to more hotels if ot is only a couple nights
Lately my frustration has been the cancelation policies. I understand they have bills to pay, but if you cancel within 3 weeks, you still owe the full amount. Um, no thanks.
We couldn’t get our money back on one Florida property because it was originally booked two years ago and the card expired. They offered to do a wire transfer but our bank doesn’t do wire transfers
FYI, please don’t be upset with host about your money. They don’t get your money until after you have completed you visit.
@@annebartin834 I don't know what you are talking about. Hosts make their cancellation policies and some are super strict. Many hosts will not allow a guest to cancel after booking, even if they are trying to cancel well in advance. It's up to the host and their policies and yes, some of them are greedy and do not refund.
My experience with Airbnb has been very hit and miss. One thing that drives me nuts is when they cancel your reservation within a couple of days or weeks before you arrive which it could be very hard to find another rental. Another thing that drives me nuts is the quality of the beds in many of them as they often have worn out beds or beds with little padding, not real mattress and so on (although I have had multiple hotels lately including major chains as Hilton and IHG where the beds have been extremely worn out). The problem is you often have to take the reviews with a grain of salt because you read them and once you experience the place you wonder if the people stayed in the same place you did.
The beds! Very important point. I don't care if the decor is fantastic when the bedding is a mess.
Yes! The reviews are the most misleading I’ve ever seen!
$300 Cleaning Fee! No way in hell I would pay that. These type of accommodations are just not that attractive anymore.
Cleaning fees shouldn’t be more $75 to $100 for a rental period.
I agree, but it was the only place I could get so I was kind of SOL
Wow! I found this so interesting. We have stayed in number of AirBNBs in Canada and the UK and (fingers crossed here!) have had many great experiences and just one "fair" experience. The places we have used are all "superhosted" properties, clean, and as advertised. Most of the times we have become return customers and friendly with our hosts. Our only fair/mediocre visit the space was still spotlessly clean, but there was a lack of a working tv, no fridge and no basic supplies. I remember there was a cute sign welcoming us and instructing us to enjoy the complimentary tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cookies etc...and there weren't any. LOL. The host was quick to respond and blamed her son for the lack of basics but didn't resolve the tv issue and apologized that they hadn't removed "fridge" from the listing. We did leave all this information in the public facing review plus the private, direct-to-host comments. I've never heard/experienced the huge cleaning fees, a host asking us to wash the linens before we left etc. Maybe because it's just the 2 of us so we're never booking somewhere for 6, 8, 10 etc. people. I always complete the review process in its entirety and read what others have wrote before booking for sure! We have quite a few booked this year, some as repeat customers, some new...I hope it all goes okay! I've double-checked and none have large cleaning fees. Whew!
I will also never rent a place that has no previous reviews. There are reasons that happens, especially if it's a rental that's been there for a while and has no reviews. And yes, I agree, always always always read the reviews!
You have to clean the place, AND pay a cleaning fee? Man, no way.
Spot on, basically checks every box for things I’ve had to deal with. I went on a road trip earlier this year so I stopped in many different Airbnb’s and hotels. One thing that turns me away are people that have like 50,000 rules for their place. I get it, you don’t want to have terrible guests, but I want to relax and enjoy my stay not be told what, when, and where to do while I’m on vacation.
I'm so done with AirBRB & VRBO! I had such a terrible experience with a VRBO vacation rental in Orlando last Christmas. The house was in horrible disrepair and had so many issues. VRBO & the owner were so dismissive and didn't offer any help or refund our money. It was an awful stay. Never again. Hotels only going forward.
Same
I always have been quite critical about companies as AirBnb. Tax fraud was first coming to my mind (and I have written that as a comment before beneath Wolter's videos [same with Uber and other tax fraud transport companies]). But here Wolter himself shows that many hosts are also cheating on other things as the cleaning fee.
Stay in local hotels, not in AirBnb; AirBnb also takes living space from the locals. And everyonepretends to like locals, don't they?
Yup, they are problematic in so manybways and imo stopped being a "cheap" alternative
Wow I didn’t think of that, the locals have less housing available or less access to the increased funds for housing because of Airbnb.
I agree on the airbnb owners charging too much for the cleaning fees. I often find the hotels end up being cheaper mainly due to the cleaning fee plus other fees making the airbnb too expensive. The other thing I find annoying is that when you look for a place that accommodate 6 guests and you find out the cost of the place listed is for only 2 persons in the fine print. Anyone beyond 2 will be an extra daily charge. Again this ends up making the stay too expensive and is misleading in the cost they advertise for.
One of the beds advertised on Airbnb was actually a foam mattress topper with a sheet on it on the top bunk.
I almost couldn’t bring myself to click on this video because of the thumbnail and title LOL!!! But yeah - ughhhh - thank you for calling out all these that might happen to folks with vacation rentals! I’ve actually read online forums for Airbnb hosts about how much toilet paper they should provide (just so I’d know what was customary) and it should definitely be more than one 🤦🏻♀️
Excellent vid, thanks. For us it's plug-less bathrooms. Stayed one place that had a bath and couldn't use it for entire stay. Had to wash at basin. The same place was also not well cleaned and very uncommunicative.
I concur. I started using them less and less 3 years ago. Just too many hiccups, too much texting back and forth, too many times having to get Airbnb involved, the lack of supplies, and host issues. A real hassle. I’m not paying for more work on my vacation. Nope!
Honestly I have been put off Airbnb for pretty much these reasons. Not to mention there isn't really a significant cost saving a lot of the time.
Pet peeve of mine: the host is actively living/ staying at the rental. I know it that isn’t fair, but there’s something unsettling to me about sleeping/ whatever in a place with an otherwise complete stranger. Especially if I’m going out and leaving stuff behind
It's not always bad. I stayed at an Airbnb in Boston once and the hosts were there (it was 3 men who lived there, in their 20s). The house was immaculate however, probably the fanciest room I have ever stayed in. The bathroom was absolutely spotless too. They hung out in the living room at night but they were so quiet I never even noticed. It's very possible to have hosts there and for the stay to still be good.
I always carry bikelocks and baglocks to such places
Wait... there are times the hosts will BE in the place with you??? I have never seen or heard of that.
@@colinstu AirBNBs where you just get 1 room / 1 bed
Yes! I forgot about the host living in the home or next to it… super creepy vibe.
What is most annoying is when did Airbnb get more expensive than hotels???? It's ridiculous
Last year I started to notice. This year we are doing significantly more hotels
@@woltersworld we tried for August this year but every Airbnb we looked at was horrendously expensive. Contrary the hotels weren't exactly cheap but cheaper than Airbnb. So they've lost my our custom.
I hate it when you rent a house that sleeps 8-10, but only has one bathroom. 🤦♀️
I stayed in one in New Orleans with my teenage daughter. My first clue we made a bad choice was in our conversation with the Lyft driver who was a retired cop. He took one look at the place and asked if we were sure we wanted to stay😅. He let me know it was not a safe neighborhood and that we shouldn’t walk around in the evening. Pictures did not match. In fact the place looked like a crack house with tall weeds in the front. Unpleasant place
I couldn't agree more. Especially, the check-in and check-out times, I started looking at hotels again. Write reviews people.
It’s funny that Tybee Island kept getting brought up because when I went there it was a really great place a few months ago. Then again we didn’t use an Airbnb we went on vacation we went to Atlanta we saw everything there we had a few days left decided to go other places around Georgia we arrived at Tybee Island and parked overlooking the beach, it was a bright full moon so we looked out over the water as we walked out on the pier. Amazing powerful wind out there, we went to dinner at a cool seafood place behind the levy and just pulled out our phones did some quick searches and we just booked a hotel room on the beach it was great! Has a cool civil war fort nearby too.
Thank God we have had great experiences in all the Airbnbs that we have rented except for one in Virginia. When we got there it wasn’t very clean. We called the owner who lived in FL and she was apologetic and called the person who cleans the house. He came very quickly and cleaned it while we were there and did a good job. The owner was super nice and even gave us 2 free nights. Other than that, I’ve been lucky. Ive been really good at picking nice Airbnbs, thank God
And this is why I continue to live in Japan. I also run an airbnb house. The cleaning fee is something that airbnb MAKES you charge, at least in Japan they do. Wolter, you may stay in my Airbnb free of charge just outside of Tokyo if you would like. We actually have all items you may need for a family including detergent, utensils, towels, and cleaning supplies. Know that airbnb is a pain in the ass and they do control many of the rules not the home owner and they can create a disconnect between the customer and home owner. As a reminder, this is Japans airbnb system which can be different than other countries. Also, airbnb will not let you communicate directly with the customer, their employees do but the owner can see the messages (I know weird, and dumb). Eventually, they allow you to communicate to answer questions but not at first.
Damn that is mighty nice of you. 👍🏼
Great video, I hopefully will be booking my first Airbnb in about 2 years & I forgot about half of this stuff. It’s Switzerland, so I expecting everywhere will be very clean. It’s the specific rules of the property I’m worried about. Rules are a big deal in 🇨🇭 😱
Rather stay in a hotel/motel where there is staff to complain to immediately.
Excellent!! Love how you keep it real and honest. Invaluable. Merci.
I've yet to do an Airbnb, all our friends stay in them, mostly good experiences but recently my friend had a disgusting house. No one there to help, no fixing the issue, just bad time all around. Makes me nervous to risk things with no one too help if issues arise. Plus, cleaning on my vacation, no thanks! Lol
I love your videos! I appreciate the nice backgrounds and scenery on your videos!
Wow this would make me never want to book an Airbnb, I stayed in a really nice one in San Diego and the only thing I didn't like about that was when I had trouble with the keycode instead of just coming outside they messaged me.....like you're right there in the house
Ha! Talking about Tybee Island and communication, we booked a place a month out. The host said they're busy, so don't message them until the day before. We did, but they didn't respond. The morning of our four hour drive to Tybee, they still didn't respond. The whole drive up, they didn't answer their phone or respond. (I start to look for hotels, because this was obviously going to fall through.) Finally, ten minutes away from the place, they call back. At that point, I just wanted to tell them to go scr*w themselves.
Hotels are better.
The whole time I was watching this I was saying RIGHT! RIGHT!! I have used AirB&B since they started and it's shocking the rise in fees now the fees cost more than the room. Also, I refuse to clean a place that is charging me a ridiculous cleaning WTH! Hotels and doing the same thing on priceline ect... with resort fees! I had a basic hotel in Columbia SC try to charge me a "resort fee" This all makes me miss the days of having a travel agent.
It really is annoying when they have like a ten page list on what the guest has to clean but then adds on a $300 cleaning fee.
Thanks for this vid, super helpful...but...why DID you book a place that charges you $300 cleaning fee for 3 days?? 🤔
Because sometimes it's the only option.☹
Only option. Sometimes I have to book last minute and when there are no options. There are no other options
@@woltersworld Stay at home is always an option.
@@dcarbs2979 salty
@@usernameisusername Not really just factual. Why choose from several bad options rather than wait for a time when better options are available? No one is forcing you take a holiday. Home is a great place to be.
Very strong start on this one
When we stayed at our Airbnb we only got one towel each for 4 nights and WIFI didn't work. They would respond to us when we needed assistance. The place was clean which was a plus
Yeah, I have not found very many circumstances where the air bnb is better than a hotel. The only time it's been better is in places where hotels are hard to come by. It may be cost effective for large groups but that's about it.
Thats why I like 5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Hotels.
Me too!
And that why I stay there when on holiday. I want luxury and not someone’s spare room for the same bloody price
Airbnbs are legit more expensive than hotels now and have more restrictions, so I wonder what the point is
Airbnb has gotten horrible. It was a great alternative to booking a hotel. But there’s so many rules and things we have to do, on top of higher rates. I notice that hotels are much cheaper and overall a better experience.
I have used Airbnb twice, both in Tokyo in 2017. They were great! At both times, the host was cleaning when I arrived. They were also quick to respond when I message them. I love Japan! But then, I usually travel alone so I normally stay in hostels or cheap hotels.
Three experiences - two great (Ruidoso, NM and Deer Lodge, MT), one not so great (will remain nameless). The great ones were everything the photo and reviews said they were and we were very happy. The not so great was worn, not so clean (even though they had a cleaning service), and needed a lot of minor repairs. This was the first time I was fooled by the reviews (mostly 5's). I think the issue was that the host always asked for 5's after the stay and some people complied. I think those with lesser ratings didn't bother. So, the take-away from this is always leave an honest review.
I don’t think that a host should ask for a 5 star rating, 5 stars rating should be earned, and cleaning fees should be reasonable $300 is extortionate, the host would not be paying the cleaner that much
Sounds a lot like an Amazon product.
Because demand is so incredibly high right now, many have little choice but to pay the outrageously high cleaning and “service” fees. I am hopeful that as the market gets back to semi-normal at some point, the fees will drop as supply and demand becomes somewhat more equal. For me, I will stay in a tent before a pay a giant, unearned cleaning fee. But our kids are grown so we have a bit more flexibility.
I stopped staying at Airbnbs a long time ago (except if I'm on a travel group and I'm not in charge of the plans). The cleaning fees, the inconvenient hours, the uncertainty with the listings, the sometimes very non-collaborative hosts... to save what? Maybe 5€ a night with respect to a hotel where I won't be inconvenienced by all this? If I wanted to do the dishes I'd have stayed home. Hotel all the way for me.
Hosts are so entitled on that app. It honestly makes me sick. They want top dollar but they can’t even clean the place properly? I was recently in a place in Mexico City with butt hair waiting for me on the toilet and smashed leftover cockroach corpses in the wall. Disgusting. Almost every host I have dealt with recently has been rude as well. They get vicious if you even inquire just a bit into the listing or if you have a problem. It used to be a place to snag a cheap apartment and hosts used to be grateful and friendly, now it has turned into too much of a profit driven place. Most are only in it for the money and are used to making a boatload for doing minimal work. Hotels for me from now on.
Had one that advertised free parking, but the "free" parking was actually free street parking in the residential area a mile away and was based on availability. The close parking was $30/day.
I never understood the whole air B&B. When I go on holiday I am not interested in staying in someone’s house I want a nice luxury hotel room with a pool and stuff
0:29 "Decidee we didn't need the visual for this one" 😁
If I'm paying a cleaning fee I expect someone else to clean it!
Stayed in a hotel recently as I don't think Air BnB refunded me for having to cancel last year due to the pandemic, but the thing is the hotel was really nice and at least it wasn't some ditz looking for some easy money who couldn't be bothered to show up when I arrived and that's just one incident.
Those types of experiences would ruin the trip for me. I will happily stay at hotels.
We have 3 kids and take one vacation a year. I don't clean on vacation and i don't cook on vacation. We're very much a 2 hotel rooms with free breakfast family.We did airbnb once in clearwater-i was a nervous wreck that the kids would break the brik a brac in the place and the beds were a joke. Never again.
I rather stay at a hotel or motel. Airb&b is not for me.
Mark tells it like it is in all his videos but especially this one. While we have had mostly great Airbnb’s (UK and Germany) but after a few subpar experiences and all the latest issues we will just stick to hotels these days. If i need TP or soap I just call the front desk and won’t be charged after the fact for electricity used
The number one thing with Airbnbs is the cleaning fee for sure. I booked an Airbnb last week in Corpus Christi and it was disgusting. Full of roaches, needed to be dusted, the bathtub wasn't clean. That solidified me just spending a little more ($20) to get a hotel room right off the water that was cleaner and more convenient.
Also, I always make sure to look at the google map of the property to see what is actually near and around. Not getting me with those hyped pictures. In fact, listings that include pictures of "what's near" before pics of the property, or more pics of that than the property, are always suspect. That lets me know that the property probably isn't quality.
I will never use Airbnb again after getting into a dispute with a "host" who kept me up most of the night. Although I had rented "the whole place," it was a cobbled together basement in-law and the loud hosts were over my head, running around, shouting, and playing video games into the night. Also, even though she'd been called a "super host," the place was filthy. I messaged the host and asked them to keep it down (how awkward is that?) and they didn't. I then messaged them that I'd be canceling my 2nd and 3rd nights. Her husband stupidly messaged me that they'd refund those nights... but then they strung me out for weeks until it was too late for me to post a negative review and refused to refund me. Airbnb did step in and get me my 2nd and 3rd nights back when they saw the messages and the photos I took. Horrible experience. I have traveled twice since and have booked real hotels where I'll be treated like a guest. I'll never go back to Airbnb.
Wow, that’s a really wonderful video, especially in these times. I hope you the best!!!!!
Thank you?
This oughta have more views. Hotels seem to be better overall again. I never understood Ait B and Bs though. At least with hotels there is management that one can complain too and they have professional standards.
I don't like the rating system on Airbnb. We've always felt compelled to give a positive spin knowing that we're going to be reviewed as guests as well. A bad review for us as guests could affect a future hosts decision to accept a requested booking.
What he said is still true about Airbnb 2 years later of the video
I gave up on Airbnb because of consistently uncomfortable beds! At least at a hotel I know what I’m going to get.
We've wanted to light a couple of places up with an honest ( negative) review they deserved but can't the renters retaliate with negative ratings of the renter? How does that work?
Hosts and guests have 14 days to leave a review for each other. You can't see each other's reviews until you have both left one. After the 14 days, neither side can leave a review. Note that you can publicly respond to a review left for you and the host can publically respond to the review you left for them.
@@1NikkiTate Thank you Nikki.
The huge cleaning fees stop me from doing Air B n B’s.
It's a pisstake, especially if there is a list of things you are expected to do anyway. It's a hotel every time
Funny how people would find any of this completely unacceptable if it was at a hotel. But because it's an airbnb, then it's okay and keeps continuing.
I was at an airbnb that was a 3rd story unit in a big condo building. On my third day, the owner called me saying that his friend who lived in the unit next door had locked himself out of his and could I please let him jump from the balcony in the rental unit to "his" unit next door. The way the locks worked in this building it is impossible to lock your seld out.
@05:24 did you hire Anchor Man as your editor?
Great video!
Airbnb gone wrong in Turks and Caicos 🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️... drove to Seven Stars Resort, they had rooms available, saved my vacation, had an amazing time there.
I was going to get an Air B&B in Vegas but it was a shared environment. I was to chicken. I found a web cam in one room. 😖
Great Video! You need to not book with Hosts that want you to clean their home. Step 1!!
I've seen some places that include a stock photo of the area in their listing. I get the reasoning they use to justify it, "Stay here (and by that we mean here in this city, but we're in this city, so we count) and you'll have reasonable access to this great beach or this iconic landmark." It doesn't work though. An accommodation in Miami doesn't need to sell me on the idea that Miami in general is a great place to visit. The fact that I'm looking at their page in the first place indicates that I already know what the location has to offer and have already decided I want to stay in the area.
Going on a vacation, then having to spend time cleaning? Absolutely not, guess I'll do as I've always done - stay at hotels.
You don’t clean up your trash and pick up towels at your hotels? Hope you tip well.
@@mrb152 You put the trash in the trash can. You don't have to collect all the trash and bring it to the dumpster. Big difference.
Great tips! I also always Google map and satellite view and check every real photo of the place I can because often the pics have those bait and switch kinds of things for sure.
Good idea.
just booked a place where the host said in their rental "they received a lower rating by one user, they are trying to get it up." so...hopefully that isn't a red flag lol
Personally I've found that Airbnb is almost never a better deal compared to hotels. If a hotel has a microwave and fridge you can still cook a decent enough meal and they're a fraction of the price of an airbnb.
Decibel level monitoring, monitoring the number of cars in the driveway, a laundry list of rules followed by the threat that stay can be terminated on the spot.
8:45 Amity Arkansas?
That's why there's a review function so you can call out host malpractice
Name some names, call them out right on your video, don't give them a break, they don't deserve it.
You’re 100 percent right. It’s ruthless, but the only way that the consumer will win in this type of environment.
@@ej1692 You can win by stop using them. If not you get what you get. 🤷🏾♀️ If more people stop using them I guess things would change.
My wife and I were nodding along with every single point.
frustrating isn't it :)
That's some good advice about Airbnb's, the last thing you wnt to be worrying about is sneaky hidden charges or dodgy deals!
YUKKKKK!!! Glad I watched this video because I will never ever step inside an Air B&B....ewwww. By the way, what is the difference between an Air B&B and a B&B???😫
Oh, the toilet paper! In my opinion it should be standard that the airbnb should provide the basics for living there and it includes TP. I don't care about them coming over to clean while I'm there, I keep it tidy myself, but if I'm paying the cleaning fee I expect it to be clean and won't deep clean before I leave, F that. I might start the laundry but as a favour so they need to provide the supplies.
AirBnB service fees are bad now too.
I literally got an ad for airbnb before this video
Hotels are top expensive,AMEN
Everything you mentioned I've heard complaints about. However, more with US and Canadian locations and much less with European ones. However, Europeans don't seem to understand what a stocked kitchen is. Still, we like using them.
Airbnb also sucks when an apt or house is searchable and available but you have to hear back from the host before you can book. That is ridiculous! Why is it even in the search?!?! Abnb sucks! I will never use it again.
I had always positive experiences with airbnb, BUT there ist one important rule: read every comment!!! When you read one comment of 10, and in that one comment is mentioned that it was a little bit to warm or something or it was little bit to loud, then be sure, it is so :D
Yes...Airbnb used to be a great value and convenient. No longer. Back to hotels.