Re:Airbnb Suffers Big Defeat in Jersey City
by zamfi on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @01:37AM
(#21460239)
For some people, the fact that it’s like a hotel (entire place to yourself) but a) in a residential neighborhood, and b) with a kitchen and other amenities of home that are usually missing or very expensive in a hotel (laundry, parking, etc.)
If an actual hotel is the superior option to you, then, sure.
Re:Airbnb Suffers Big Defeat in Jersey City
by em-bee on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @11:29AM
(#21464129)
exactly this. i'll take an airbnb serviced apartment over a hotel any time.
Re:Airbnb Suffers Big Defeat in Jersey City
by esotericn on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @03:20AM
(#21460634)
My best stays have all been shared with the host. It's a way to experience another culture. I've also rented my own flat on Airbnb.
"Couch surfing" is a weird way to put it, and so too is "random stranger". They're not random, you chose them, and you're generally in a bedroom.
Maybe this is a cultural thing? Middle class families having lodgers is super normal in the UK, I figured it was the same everywhere.
If I wanted a hotel, I'd book a hotel.
Re:Airbnb Suffers Big Defeat in Jersey City
by sinstein on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @05:31AM
(#21461253)
My current use case for AirBnB is when I travel in a group (4+ people) and we would like to stay together. Getting a 2 bedroom AirBnB with a working kitchen and maybe even a private pool is a great place to spend time with closed ones.
Re:Airbnb Suffers Big Defeat in Jersey City
by arrrg on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @03:28AM
(#21460663)
Hotels are superior if you don’t want to cook. That, to me, is the central advantage of AirBnB: you can get one with a kitchen. Otherwise I see no reason to use it and I’m also not opposed to alternatives because I can very well see the destructive effects it’s having.
We always want to cook when we go on vacation and that’s not doable in a hotel. So AirBnB it is, most of the time.
Fast forward to AirBnB becoming what it is today where the majority of users select “entire house” and it makes more sense.
The problem now is that they are essentially the same price as a cheap hotel, which for my money is the far superior option (the hotel), so we’re back to AirBnB making no sense to me again.
Perhaps I’m an outlier and the whole couch surfing market is that big, but it seems like AirBnB is balancing being a hotel (entire house) without really being a hotel. That’s a tricky spot to be in when regulators come knocking.