Airbnb is a pretty cool flexible and affordable way to book places to stay in when you’re traveling but there are a few things you should keep in mind that’ll make your trip a bit less stressful and easier.
- Check the cancellation flexibility of the listing – On Airbnb you can set the flexibility of your cancellation policy of your listing. If your plans are tentative, but you’ve found a really good place that is usually booked, you can check the flexibility of the listing and book it ahead. That way you can secure the booking but not worry about committing to a certain place.
- ALWAYS read the reviews – Airbnb is based on reviews. Hence, the number one rule of booking through Airbnb is read the reviews. Sometimes the places are fairly new and don’t have many reviews or any reviews at all but you have to make a judgment call in those cases. But I recommend reading reviews for places that you don’t want to fall through.
- Create a wishlist – You can create wishlists on Airbnb and pool all the listings you like. This allows you to have a glance at them and compare them before booking. All the listings have unique things to offer, and each one can seem more tempting than the other. Creating a wishlist allows you to plan ahead and not crowd your chrome tab at the last minute. You can also invite the people you’re traveling with to your wishlist and ask their opinions on the listings and they can add new ones that they like too.
- Communicate with the host – You’re going to be in living in someone’s house, even better you’re going to be living in a local’s house. Airbnb hosts are mostly happy to give you a quick run through about the area that their house is in, what are the attractions near it, how easy it is to get to the place; you name it. Communication with the host is essential when you’re booking an Airbnb. The bonus about this is that when you get there, they’ll be more than happy to direct you around the area. And as a traveler, nothing is better than having a local on your side helping you out.
- Research about the area – It is always a good idea to research more about the area that the listing is in. You don’t want a good listing in a very dingy place. If it is a popular tourist city or area, you will find heaps of blogs and reviews about the place. And you can always ask your host about the area and crosscheck it with the reviews to estimate the honesty of their post.
Overall Airbnb is based on a network of trust and honest reviews by people like us traveling the world. Out of the 10-15 places I’ve booked on Airbnb, only one has been very disappointing. So the positive outcome is very high. I have had the best experience with Airbnb and I suggest people to take more risk and start trusting the internet more. 🙂
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Best of luck for your travels and I hope this post helped you out a bit.
Byzantine Adventures 