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Comment by manishsharan | Hacker News Reader

Why is AirBnb still a thing ? Do people like doing chores while on a vacation ?

Airbnb is a thing because landlords pulled their long term rental units off the market and converted them into short terms at X times the old rate. Landlords love it because they make way more profit. Business travellers love it because they can stay in a nice trendy house or apartment instead of a hotel and they expense the trip anyway.

The people who don’t love it are the neighbours and anyone in the market for long term rentals.

And anyone in the market for a vacation that doesn't want to gamble on a terrible host.

Hotels might not be great, but they're way less of a gamble.

It only takes a vacation being completely ruined once or twice before you swear of AirBNB completely.

I just stayed at two AirBnBs. I'm not sure what "doing chores" means. Sure I had to tidy up a bit when I left, but I would do that regardless because I'm a decent human being. Even when I stay at a hotel I wipe down the sink and strip the bed before I leave.

In the meantime I had a condo next to the beach with a kitchen and beach toys in both locations for less than the hotel next door cost (which would not have a kitchen, meaning that I'd have to eat out every meal, which gets pricy with two kids).

"I don't understand why anyone ever uses AirBnB" is definitely a "tell me you don't have kids without telling me you don't have kids" kind of thing.

> Even when I stay at a hotel I wipe down the sink and strip the bed before I leave.

That's not normal.

Ok I guess I'm special then. It takes all of 20 seconds to wipe down the sink after I've picked up all my stuff, and maybe 10 seconds to strip the sheets. I mostly strip the sheets to make sure the next person gets a fresh set.

I've exclusively lived in hotels/corporate rentals for over 20 years and wipe the sinks/counters every day because I like clean sinks and counters.

and I strip the bed mainly in case one of my phones/chargers/earring is accidentally inside (beds make excellent auxiliary desks...)

as a surprising aside, during off-season housekeeping sometimes hate guests that are overly considerate, because they need the hours!

I think it is nice to have a kitchen if it’s more than a few days.

But the chores are a bit much sometimes

I highly recommend Hilton's Airbnb competitor Home2.

I just checked out the Home2 offerings near where I just stayed in an AirBnB. The prices are significantly higher and there are only three options (AirBnB had 25+).

So not quite there yet. :)

I really dislike AirBnB, but I don't think they've got anything to worry about with Hotel2. Even calling them a competitor seems like a massive stretch. Just poking around their site to see what's available in my area: $240/night gets you what is, well... a hotel room. Except that it has a couch and a microwave in it. Calling such a thing a "suite" makes me feel like Hilton is gaslighting me.

Personally I find social interactions with hotel employees far more exhausting than straightening up a bit.

I love hotels. I am not sure why Airbnb ever took off, other than price for large groups. Hotels you show up, you know you have a room because you booked with Hilton or whatever. They clean up the room after you leave for the day. They bring you stuff, carry luggage it’s great.

So far, I've found that using superhosts is a reliable way to get good results from AirBnB. I think a lot of the horror stories come from the original business model of crashing in Joe Sixpack's basement.

// social interactions with hotel employees far more exhausting

Jeez how much are you socializing with the employees that you find it exhausting?

Having traveled for years on Airbnb it's extremely rare I actually have to do any sort of "chores". At most throw some dishes in the dishwasher or strip the bed (but even then that's not the norm).

Because hotels really are as bad for purpose as they are expensive?

Because hotels charge 100x the rate per night, all else being equal?

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