U.S. Vacation Spots

[mooby]

Originally Posted by SunnySide

First time using airbnb. Its the offseason but just booked an oceanfront room in Myrtle Beach for like $39 a night.

is airbnb really that cheap? i think I changed the way I forever plan vacations.

My first time using Airbnb was in NYC 7 years ago, paid $30 a night to stay in the Bronx for 4 nights. I started traveling heavy 3 years ago and it's always been my go-to when I need to stay somewhere on the cheap.

Not sure if you prefer renting entire houses/apts. vs. just a room but for me the price means willing to accept compromises vs. renting a hotel room. For me the big one is sharing a bathroom. If I'm staying somewhere for several days, I like spread my toiletries out which I can't do in a shared bathroom.

Also I usually stock up on yogurt for a quick and a cheap breakfast in the morning and occasionally I've gone to the fridge to discover someone else ate it. Nitpicking on this one but it annoys me when it happens.

The other complaint I have is showing up to a place to discover the owner doesn't live there. I find when the owner lives there they tend to be very accessible and upfront about any needs or concerns you have. If the owner doesn't live there and is just renting all the rooms out on Airbnb then everything tends to be super cheap, i.e. flimsy mattresses that give me back pain, cheap towels, thin pillows that barely even qualify to be called a pillow. I hurt my back sleeping on a terrible mattress for 4 nights in Toronto last year.

TL;DR: Sometimes it's worth it, sometimes it ain't. I still use it all the time though, mainly in places where a 2 star motel can still be around $100 a night.