Recently, an Airbnb host complained about their bookings being low over the last few months, and it opened a floodgate of comments from disgruntled former guests.
The Airbnbust is upon us #Airbnb
In mass, people began sharing all the reasons why they've stepped away from booking Airbnbs, including members of our own BuzzFeed Community. The reasonings ranged from overpriced cleaning fees to safety, low housing rates, and everything in between. Here's what they said:
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
1. "My husband and I just do hotels now. Airbnb hosts have gotten so ridiculous with their pricing and expectations, we may as well stay home. The last one we went to wanted an additional $5 per person for hot tub use and they had cameras in the back."
"No one used the hot tub while we were there, AT ALL, and a $40 hot tub usage charge showed up on the tab. Oh, my uncle was pissed and he fought it and won. They claimed someone 'sat on the stairs for three plus hours' and that justified the charge. WHAT THE FUCK?"
2. "A while ago I stayed at an Airbnb while at a work training. I dumped my stuff and headed to the training. It was medical, so as soon as I returned, I went to shower. That's when I noticed the camera in the bedroom that definitely captured both the bed and the shower."
3. "I live in a town that is a gateway to Yosemite. At the nearby lake, 75% of the homes are short-term rentals."
"In my town, we have over 300 short-term rentals. Businesses are suffering because they cannot find workers. With the price of gas, people don’t want to commute 40 miles, 80 miles round trip, for minimum wage. It’s a serious problem."
4. "I absolutely loved Airbnb Pre-COVID, and usually rented a room for myself while traveling around Europe. I met great hosts and neighbors, some of whom I keep in touch with to this day, and couldn't imagine switching back to a hotel room. Cut to this year when I wanted to rent out a place in Krakow, Poland, and 99% of the listings below 100€ were the same cookie-cutter studios Ikea threw up on."
"Most were all from the same host. Some of them are in 19th- or early 20th-century buildings, but you can't tell because every apartment was flipped to look the same. And all three places I rented before COVID have been taken off the website. That's 2022 Airbnb for you."
5. "Over the last few months, I noticed an uptick in groups of people wandering around in my rental community with suitcases, looking like major tourists. During the summer months, I couldn't use any of the community's amenities because people that I had never seen before were congregating in our gym, pool, grill area, etc."
"I pay $2,000 a month for a one-bedroom and could NEVER use our amenities. I asked the community what was up one day and they just said they didn't know. They were happy people were finally using amenities.
I went on VRBO and Airbnb and found one woman that had 12 LISTINGS in our community. 12 FUCKING LISTINGS!!! I was infuriated and went to the leasing office because that goes against our lease and they immediately canceled all of her leases."
6. "DEAR AIRBNB HOSTS, CHANGE YOUR KEY CODES!"
"One time, I had the prior week's renters casually enter while we were eating dinner because they had forgotten to 'grab their food and beer.'"
7. "I used to love Airbnb because I'd get a kitchen and I love to cook. But now the cost to stay has gone up so much and I don't feel as safe in them."
"Especially when it comes to leaving my personal items or confidential work stuff. I'm back to feeling better protected in a hotel."
8. "I felt super unsafe as a woman renting."
"I have been stalked online three times by the people I was renting from and ended up in a lot of sketchy situations."
9. "I used to almost exclusively stay at Airbnbs when I was a big traveler in the 2010s. Cheap, private, and a lot homier feeling than hotels. Now I’m being priced out of my coastal community partially because of them."
"Not that I can afford to travel anymore, but when I do it’s hotels only for me."
10. "Hotels charge so much for suites, so I turned to companies like Airbnb and VRBO to help a big family like mine. For the most part, our experiences have been good. But lately, especially since COVID became a thing, I’ve seen more cleaning fees."
"It wouldn’t be a problem if I had little to no cleaning to do myself. I don’t mind taking out our garbage or washing the dishes I use. I should not have to start a load of laundry, strip beds, vacuum, etc."
11. "I won’t use Airbnb. It’s disgusting to see empty apartments, condos, and cottages waiting for bookings while people are living in tents."
12. "I’ve always only used hotels, and I’ll stick with hotels. And all of the hotel cleaning and concierge services are included in the listed price."
"They often have restaurants attached so you don’t have to cook, and I’m not asked to clean up the room and still pay for a cleaning. And Airbnbs are often just as expensive as the hotels and you get less service for it.'"
13. "I hate the hidden fees. A house will be listed at like $500 a night for five bedrooms and then if you increase guests or pets it'll jump up."
14. "It was hard to enjoy our Airbnb cabin in the woods when the host was watching us on his outdoor cameras and reporting on things he didn’t like us doing."
"We stayed up late, drank, and used the fire pit late at night — none of which were against the policy. But he made me not want to go outside at all because we knew he’d be watching us."
15. "It used to be a good idea, especially if you wanted to take a trip with a large group, but now they demand too much AND add crazy rules. One place said no partying. I was trying to book for a bachelorette trip!"
–Gabe