Photo Courtesy of Coeval Blanc St-Tropez
I used to use Airbnbs and VRBOs all the time when I traveled both locally and internationally. I had a few bad bookings with the home rental sites such as the wrong address was given, double booked and even not being let in because the “friend” was at the beach.. I have heard of much worse situations so I would consider myself lucky. Now, I will only use home rental sites if it is the last option or one of my suppliers has contracts with the home owners.
If you really want a home rental, I do have suppliers that work with home and villa rentals that are vetted so it’s not all lost just a smaller inventory to choose from.
LOCATION:
AIRBNBS:
Home rentals can have some unique locations and more private accommodations. If you are not renting a car, most if not all, transfer companies will not drop off or pick up to AIRBNBS. The addresses are not vetted as well as hotels are and they can be tricky to find. Due to liability reasons that is why the transfer companies will not drive to AIRBNB locations.
HOTELS:
Hotels are in almost every city and vary on the size. You can still receive the accommodations in unique locations such as the highlands of Scotland and remote areas of Iceland. The addresses are clear and the chances of the GPS finding the location is much higher than a random home. Because the address are vetted, most if not all, transfer companies and excursion companies that include transportation will pick up from hotels.
Photo Courtesy of Giraffe Manor (Lisa Saint)
AMENITIES:
AIRBNB:
Sometimes you can have an AIRBNB that has a pool, a good view or a hot tub but these are hot properties and are either more expensive or hard to come by. Normally you have an extra cleaning fee, have to put the sheets in the pile on the floor, take out the trash and I’ve even seen extra fees added for using the pool/hot tub. Most times, AirBnbs make you do more before you leave or you could end up in extra fines. Service amenities are usually very minimal if any, physical amenities vary per property.
HOTELS:
Hotels tend to have great views, room service, most have pools/hot tubs, laundry service, housekeeping, a front desk concierge, security, parking, work out areas, spa amenities, bathroom amenities, breakfast included and more. The biggest one for me is a lot of it is done by other people. I don’t have to worry about doing anything with the room or the pool or the trash. When my clients travel to hotels or villas or rentals, I use my relationships with the company to push for upgrades, decorating rooms for special occasions, added amenities, complimentary gifts and more. All my clients are VIP and I expect my suppliers/hotels/resorts to treat them as such. Why do more work on your relaxing vacation?
Photo Courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club
FOOD / DRINK:
AIRBNBS:
AirBnbs can have full kitchens to make meals which can be helpful for dietary restrictions or budget concerns. Parties or larger gatherings are typically not allowed at AirBnbs which can lead to fines or physical removal.
HOTELS:
If dietary restrictions or budgets are a concern, some hotels, villas or resorts do have partial to full kitchens. When I have stayed at AirBnbs with kitchens, I rarely even used the kitchen because I was experiencing the local cuisine. At hotels that offer room service, I can order food from the room service or easily have food delivered. Hotels have event spaces and restaurants that you can reserve to host parties or large gatherings.
Photo Courtesy of Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel
SECURITY:
AIRBNBS:
There have been concerns of AirBnb hosts hiding hidden cameras in their homes. They usually do not have plans in place for emergencies and security is low if non existent. I had an AIRBNB hide the house key in the outdoor pizza oven at night – anyone could have found the key plus we had to reach inside the pizza oven not knowing what animals could have been in there (it was an open stone pizza type oven and the property was secluded on a mountain in Italy).
HOTELS:
Most to all hotels and resorts have cameras, security guards and plans in place for emergencies. They have relationships with emergency personnel and practice protocols for emergencies.
Photo Courtesy of Thompson Nashville
VETTED SOURCES:
AIRBNB:
Home rental sites do not vet their home owners to the degree that hotels and resorts do. There is very little over site. If you are looking at reviews, homeowners can fake reviews. Reviews are not to be trusted on the internet for that reason.
HOTELS:
Hotels have laws, stipulations, codes and legalities that they have to operate by. There are contracts in place holding them up to a higher standard. If I have not personally gone to a hotel to try it out for clients, I have suppliers that have ‘boots on the ground’ that do that very thing. I also have thousands of other travel agents that communicate their clients’ and their own personal experience at hotels. The vast network that is my support system is trustworthy for hotel reviews.
Photo Courtesy of Brunelleschi Hotel
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG:
AIRBNB:
If you look closely to the fine print, AirBnb removes a lot of their liability so that when things go wrong, they are not responsible. They have a small support team however they are not as good to work with and rarely help people. If the host/home owner wants to help they can try but you fall at their mercy. The wording is tricky and there is a lot of fine print.
HOTELS:
Hotels and resorts have policies and procedures. When booking with Travel Agents, our suppliers have contracts and relationships with the hotels/resorts which help to protect and take care of Travel Agent clients. There have been a few times when my clients probably shouldn’t have received money back on their trip, however due to my relationships with my suppliers and the supplier’s relationships with the resorts, I was able to receive almost all, if not all, of their money back.
Photo Courtesy of Jade Mountain Resort
What are your thoughts? Will you stay in an AIRBNB or a Hotel/Resort/Villa for your next vacation?
Message me to start planning!
