High over Ireland
For a long time, I wasn’t a great fan of Airbnb. Whenever I looked for short or medium term housing, their prices were high and their fees numerous and excessive. We were always finding better deals elsewhere.
That changed on our ~4 month European tour. We stayed 77 nights in 20 different private apartments across 19 cities in 7 countries, with an average price inclusive of fees of ~$106/night. (We also spent 8 nights with friends, 16 nights in free hotels, and another 14 nights in paid hotels (average $104/night.) Average price for the whole trip was ~$84/night.
The private apartments found on Airbnb were incredible value compared to hotel options across Europe, with full use of a kitchen, a living space for lounging and computer time, and a bedroom for Jr’s naps, all in an ideal central location for easy walking and access to public transit.
We had a wide range of amazing experiences and a few that were lessons learned (more details below), but we would definitely choose Airbnb for future travel in Europe.
Airbnb
Prior to our European trip, we hadn’t used Airbnb extensively. For the most part listings we saw in Asia, the US, and Central America were ultra luxurious expat accommodations with price tags 2-3x higher than a high end hotel room or a long stay luxury apartment. There were way better deals to be had.
In Europe, we found the opposite. Even dumpy hotels were priced higher than great Airbnb apartments. European hotels also have weird per person pricing, and mid-range hotel rooms are often cramped and still showcasing 1950’s carpet.
But hotels do offer consistency, whereas Airbnb properties are as unique as their respective owners, with all of the pros and cons that entails. It also means a lot of Ikea furniture.
If you haven’t stayed with Airbnb before, you can get up to $35 off your first stay (we’ll also get $35.)
Sample the Merchandise
We like to come back to a clean home with plenty of space, a respectable kitchen, and a comfortable bed.
Here are some examples from a few of our favorite apartments:
A Great Place for Breakfast – Girona, Spain
Indoor / Outdoor Living – Firenze, Italy
A Touch of Red – Ireland
The Queen’s Room – Venice, Italy
The Heart of Rome
Not bad, eh?
Experiences, aka When Things Go Wrong
We had some incredible experiences and adventures as a result of our Airbnb stays. A great host is invaluable, substantially better than a hotel concierge.
Our host in Valencia, Spain suggested we have lunch at her favorite place in the whole city. She told us the name and gave us directions, but it took some effort to find it in a side alley. We looked for the place on Tripadvisor but had no lunch, and asked a couple people on the street but nobody had heard of it.
We were almost ready to give up but then we noticed the faded sign overgrown with ivy. That lunch may have been the best meal we had during our whole trip.
Later while in Napoli, Italy, our host asked us if we were planning to visit the ruins at Pompei. Naturally we were. It turned out he was an archaeologist of the Indiana Jones variety, and we scored free tickets and suggestions of how best to appreciate the massive site.
Not all was wonderful, however… when we walked into our apartment in Copenhagen for the first time, we almost choked. It smelled like an ashtray. We knew we couldn’t stay there, but weren’t really sure what to do and Airbnb’s online help system was terrible. I figured this was one of those times where money can solve problems, so we found another housing option and moved out. But once I hit the cancel button, Airbnb really came through, refunding several fees and the rest of our stay, plus giving a credit for future use.
In another instance, Airbnb really came through again… but this time for our unhappy host. Shortly after checking out, we got a message from her asking about the stain on the sofa. “What stain?”
We eventually figured out that Jr wasn’t ready to stop wearing a onesie. We had set him on the nice white sofa while we were packing, and he managed to loosen his diaper and pee all over a blanket and cushion. Now it looked like we tried to cover it up and bolt without claiming responsibility. We paid $200 for a new cushion, and also learned to avoid white sofas.
It is rare when customer service is done well, but Airbnb did just that.
Conclusions
We really enjoyed using Airbnb for our European tour, and it became our first choice for finding housing across multiple cities and countries.
We were able to get beautiful apartments in central locations with a kitchen, bedroom, and comfortable living space, for the same or less than a dingy hotel (~$106/night over 77 nights.)When things didn’t go perfectly, Airbnb’s customer service was helpful and supportive.
What do you think of Airbnb?
If you haven’t tried it, you can get up to $35 off your first stay.
FinCon 2016
In other news, we are headed to FinCon 2016 in San Diego from September 21 to 24. The conference is held at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina
, a beautiful hotel on the San Diego Bay.
But what better way to enjoy a few days hanging out with fellow financial geeks than to stay on a houseboat? Fortunately Airbnb has such a place.
We’ll be sharing this floating home with Fiery Millennial and Millennial Boss. If you happen to see us enjoying the sunset with a glass of wine in hand, please stop by and say Hello!
Floating at FinCon
Looks like you had an awesome trip, and those places look amazing!
We use Airbnb almost exclusively these days. There are so many incredible places we found at very reasonable prices. Some of our hosts were extraordinary, one couple took us rafting down the Colorado River and another host took us squid fishing in Nova Scotia. It makes it easy to really enjoy the local lifestyle.
Very cool. We’re in the middle of researching and planning a Europe trip for summer of 2017 and hoping to repeat your Airbnb successes. If you think it’s cost effective for 3 people, imagine what it’s like for 5 people! Booking a single 2-3 BR apartment is waaaay cheaper than booking 2 hotel rooms. And so much more space, amenities, your own kitchen, washer, dryer, couch, etc. It’s like renting the best suite in a mid-range hotel for the price of a regular hotel room in a mediocre place.
Any tips or tricks to help with finding/booking places? Did you book in city center or out more? Near subway/train lines? Any advantage to staying in one place for a week?
And how did you balance the time? 77 nights between 20 places sounds like 4 night stays on average. Did you ever stay just 1-2 nights in an airbnb?
I’m a big fan, and have enjoyed every stay we’ve made other than one really filthy place in Quebec City (result: airbnb refunded the stay incl. all fees AND gave us a $150 credit for the hassle).
We stayed anywhere from 1 to 7 nights in each apartment, which were mostly directly in the city center or tourist center.
The single night stays were all on our road trips (UK, Ireland), and the rest were a balance between our 90 day Schengen visa limit and our natural desire to stay in one place. Cities like Barcelona, Rome, and Florence, we stayed 7 days, which often provides a weekly discount. Smaller towns (e.g. Spain: Cordoba, Granada, Valencia, Girona) we stayed less.
We always looked at the most popular / most reviewed units, and if there was something we loved… we asked for a discount. If there was nothing we loved on the first few pages of listings, I looked for new apartments (those with few/no reviews) and asked for a discount. Asking for a discount is always a good idea.
Thanks. I rarely ask for a discount other than to see if they will waive the extra guest charges (which can add up quick with 5 of us).
We have stayed in two places that didn’t have any reviews at all and both were excellent. We talked with the owners a lot before booking and expressed our interest in finding a place that is very clean.
From a host’s perspective, asking for a discount is a big alarm bell as it makes the visitor a possible problem. It is the guests who want discounts who are the most demanding… I don’t know any experienced hosts who give discounts, but new ones are usually keen to have guests that they might, despite being underpriced to begin with. The price is the price. If you absolutely must ask for a discount, be prepared for being declined. Or pick a place you can afford! You picked the most popular places and asked them for a discount? You must have a great way of expressing yourselves and an excellent profile in order to get it.
> You must have a great way of expressing yourselves and an excellent profile
Thank you for noticing ;)
Hi. We use AirBnB and always ask for a discount for any stay longer 3 days. It’s not because we can’t afford it but asking for a discount is in our genes. :) I guess we get lucky since we get it more than half the time. It definitely must be harder to get it if a place is very popular or in high season. If we really want the place and don’t get the discount and they’re no competing options, we usually book it.
I’m on the same page as you, Mr. Enchumbao.
I would almost consider it a blessing to be turned down by a host chastising me for asking for a discount.
That’s terrific news since we plan on heading overseas in the next year or so. We’ve only stayed in one AirBNB in Florida and we had a great experience. This line really surprised me – “Even dumpy hotels were priced higher than great Airbnb apartments”. I wonder why that is and also how tough it is to get reservations for the great AirBNB’s! We’ll have to start looking well in advance! Have a great week in San Diego! I would definitely owe you a glass of wine for all the great information you have shared here over the years!
Love your blog, and this post was very informative. But FYI, pee ruins ALL sofa cushions, not just white ones.
Naturally.
I’ll avoid white sofas nonetheless.
Thx for sharing your AirBNB experience with us. We never tried it before. After a bad experience from a friend, I was sceptical. Now, I just might give it a try.
Enjoy Fincon.
The houseboat for FinCon looks awesome, I’ll look sure to out for you at the event and try to say hi!
Yes, the Europeans are weird with their per person pricing in hotels. No wonder they have so few kids! We are planning a trip to Europe next year (France, Germany, maybe more countries) and will likely stay with family/friends most of the time. But we will definitely check out AirBnB for the places not covered by our connections. Thanks for sharing your honest opinion about the places and the customer service! Have fun in San Diego!
Houseboat! That sounds so fun! We used airbnb on our most recent trip to Italy and really enjoyed it as well! It was definitely cheaper than the hotels I could find.
I haven’t stayed at an Airbnb yet in the US because I haven’t found any value. But it sounds like most of the value is outside the US. We’re planning a 2017 Europe trip, so Airbnb will definitely be on the to-do list.
Lack of value is the same reason we haven’t used Airbnb in the US. No, I don’t want to pay more than a nice hotel plus a $50 “cleaning fee” for your dumpy apartment.
We also had great luck with Airbnb in Europe. It was almost always a better option than hotels.
That pretty much sums up my AirBnB experience too. Better accommodations for roughly the same price.
If you have a family, a kitchen and a washer/dryer is invaluable.
Have pretty good AirBnB experience so far but haven’t used them in Europe yet. Having a kitchen, washer, and dryer is so valuable for extended travel.
I have had one and only one experience with American AirBnB. Overpriced, not that great, hotels cheaper. Done, at least in the US. Might consider Europe, though. So far it’s overhyped IMHO.
How do you stay under 50k a year with 84/night just for accommodation?
Stay for months in parts of the world where accommodation costs less than $10/night. It averages out.
“But once I hit the cancel button, Airbnb really came through, refunding several fees and the rest of our stay, plus giving a credit for future use.”
Yup. My experience with AirBnB is the same. They have amazing customer service. Once time in Germany, I accidentally messed up a host’s washer (couldn’t read the german instructions), but AirBnB said that since we’ve been getting rave reviews and it was an accident, they would cover half the washer cost and give us a credit in US dollars. We ended up not having to pay anything out of pocket. I LOVE AirBNB.
So jealous that you’re going to be at FinCon! An entire conference full of FinGeeks? We wouldn’t want that? *sigh* we’ll have to plan our time better next year so we can go.
Have fun!
Hi Jeremy,
if you plan to come to Venice, we’ll be more than happy to host you in our Airbnb home for free!
Thanks for your inspirational posts.
Angelo
Grazie Angelo!
Thanks, this is extremely helpful and encouraging. I tried to make a reservation via Airbnb recently close to home and was turned off by the process. I’m glad to know it worked well for you. And what great luck you had with Pompeii!
What about the process turned you off?
We requested a reservation. 2 days later we received a rejection from Airbnb. The home was still showing up as available for the night we requested. I don’t know if someone booked it and the owner forgot to remove the listing or if he just outright rejected us. We had also sent an email introducing ourselves to which he never replied. Later I did some Google searching about why requests are turned down and found many forum comments about sprucing up your profile and adding more photos. To book a room? As one of the forum commenters said “I feel like I’m on a dating site”. We’re still open to it. This was for Asheville NC over Labor Day so maybe it was a combination of bad timing and an overly desirable fall location.
We take a “plenty of fish in the sea” approach to
datingbooking apartments. We’ll reach out to a handful and see what sticks. Many properties on Airbnb are people’s homes… no worries if they prefer to rent to someone else; there are a lot of great options.I’m disappointed in your recent articles. The aim is now to get comps and referrals rather than post useful content as in the past. This article is nothing more than a thinly veiled use of your readership to advertise airbnb.
Weak sauce bro.
Allow me to rephrase:
“I think you should write only posts that I approve of, and you should do it for free.”
Perhaps you would be happier with a blog where you have 100% control of the content. Yours.
I would be interested to hear why you focused solely on AirBnB and did not use any other accommodation sources like VRBO and HomeAway. Was it a price factor, choice factor, availability?
We had a fantastic experience last year with an inexpensive and very roomy cottage rental on banks of Loch Lomond with HomeAway.
I looked on VRBO and HomeAway when we first started our trip in Mexico 4 years ago, but found better options elsewhere… similar to my early experience with Airbnb. I should probably look into them again. Do you think one is better than the others?
I think many folks post their homes on both VRBO and HomeAway. We used the latter for a rental (we rented twice) in Florida keys in Islamorada and the week in Loch Lomond. Both were magnificent with great responsiveness from both owners. The fact we are Brirish really helped with the Loch Lomond trip planning and payments with that particular owner.
With VRBO, we rented in BigSky for a ski trip. We got a call about 3 months out from actually an agency that was handling the rental to say the owner was urgently selling and we could not rent. The good news was they found another home for us promptly and it was a MAJOR upgrade- slope side, hot tub, more bedrooms. Had a large dead animal head hanging on the wall which the kids loved, bizarrely.
Either site beats hotels and especially for us with two young boys aged 9 and 7. I am sure that is exactly what you found with AirBnB.
I’ve used AirBnB for a couple of business trips recently, with mixed results. New Orleans in May, host was outstanding, place was amazing, price was low, experience was smooth. Las Vegas in September was pretty much the polar opposite. Host didn’t send check in instructions and was uncommunicative, leaving us standing on a dusty street in front of a west-facing building in mid afternoon, and then was 40 minutes late checking us in, resulting in us almost missing a business dinner. The place was only sort of clean, and full of fourth hand furniture, some of which was broken.
It’s definitely a hit or miss experience.
When researching Airbnb accommodations in a city, I’ve compared it with VRBO and HomeAway, and found that many of the same places are listed on all three sites, with the same photos and prices, and even the same reviews. And as anecdata, my host at a lovely place I Airbnbd last year (in Mexico) told me he uses all three sites.
Yes I have had same experience rentals on Airbnb, Homeaway, VRBO & rental agencies with all calendars showing different availability. Some times a call to the owner results in lower price and prompt rental agreement.
That sounds like a way better deal than staying at the Sheraton. I wonder how many super frugal bloggers are gonna be slumming it to avoid the $400 hotel charge
Jeremy, What an amazing European slow tour you all must’ve had. The pictures look inviting. Accidents happen with kids and I remember steam cleaning carpets when my son was a toddler. Learned a lot about Airbnb from this post. Enjoy Fincon! I am unable to attend FinCon this year but hope to see you next year.
What do you think your savings have been over the course of the whole trip vs. staying in hotels? I have yet to try AirBNB but once we retire in 2024 travel is going to be a priority so I am sure it will come up. I also like the free breakfast at hotels, I usually get my waffle fix for the year :)
The Dreamers
I think on average we were looking at 25-40% off the hotel price for an Airbnb apartment. That buys a lot of waffles :)
We will often do breakfast at “home” since some eggs, bacon, veggies, and coffee are pretty easy to put together.
Do you have a track of total expenses incurred for this trip?
Broken down by major categories? Would be interested to hear that.
Yes, I’m crunching through those numbers.
Here is the full cost breakdown on our trip to Europe
https://gocurrycracker.com/cost-of-4-months-in-europe/
We have used AirBNB extensively in the the US and Europe. Our experience with AirBNB in Europe has been excellent. I never thought about asking for a discount, so that is for next time. Our experience with AirBNB (the properties, not the company) in the US has been mixed. The properties are not very clean on average, even when paying a steep “cleaning fee”. I don’t know why AirBNB is a much better value in Europe, but it is.
We carefully read all the reviews, because most guests are way too polite. I ignore any property with less than aggregate 5 star reviews. I also look for diplomatically worded complaints in the reviews. In my experience anything other than stellar reviews is bad news. The only exception I make is if there is one really rude or hostile review in an otherwise long list of very positive and SPECIFIC reviews. The more specific the review, the more valuable it is. You definitely learn how to read the reviews carefully.
The other benefit of AirBNB is to have a kitchen, so you can avoid restaurants when you feel like cooking. We don’t cook Thanksgiving dinners but light meals and breakfast should be okay. Saves lots of money by avoiding eating out all the time.
Love reading about your travels. Thanks for the blog!
Some of these look really awesome. We used Air B&B for the first time on our recent trip to America and Canada. No problems at all. While a couple of places I wouldn’t necessarily recommend, they still suited our purposes fine. But, they were so expensive. It really surprised me. Glad to hear they’re a bit more affordable in Europe.
We like AirBNB in combination with our normal travel hacking with points. We’ll generally try to just use Marriott, Hilton, or whatever brand points as a first go, and then we’ll supplement with AirBNB afterwards. It’s also nice to kind of mix it up on a trip, and get both experiences. Sometimes I just want to check into a hotel and not be bothered by a host running through all the ins and outs of the apartment & city. Othertimes, I like the personal touch.
Overall, we’ve had great experiences with AirBNB…except for that one time in Paris. ;)
Yeah, we like the mix of hotels and apartments as well. Sometimes it is nice to have towel service at the pool.
I’ve never used AirBnB but I can’t wait to try it. I’ve read some really positive things but haven’t yet had the guts to pull the trigger. On top of that I haven’t found a really good deal in the states that made me say I need to do that over a hotel. However, next time I am in Europe I will definitely need to compare prices. Thanks for sharing.
Used AirBnB on a recent trip from Toronto to Quebec City. Mostly a good experience, and generally a good value for 3 people (2 bedrooms). One in Montreal was in a more questionable area than would have liked. Watch out for condos that are not authorized as short-term rentals. Had one res canceled for that reason and one “say you are our friends visiting” as a result of restrictions.
In the end, aren’t we all just friends visiting?
We had a reservation cancelled for a similar reason, and got a pretty sweet credit for it.
Good for you, glad you had a good time travelling Europe and that the AirBNB experience generally was very good. Love the house boat idea, great fun at the waterfront.
We’ve used Airbnb very successfully in Japan of all places. We went last March with a family group of seven for three weeks travelling around on a rail pass and paid between $10-20/night per person for fantastic places (one had one of the high end massage chairs) with three bedrooms minimum which is unheard of in Japan for hotel-style accommodation. We’ve already booked a one-month stay in Osaka next year for $1500 ($1142 US) Canadian (two bedroom whole house superhost) for four of us. We’ll use it as a base to explore Osaka/Kobe/Nara/Kyoto. Unfortunately it seems that Airbnb will get shut down in Japan for the most part so we’re taking advantage of it while we can as we are all fans of the food/aesthetic/anime/history. It is really more affordable right now than it has ever been given the low yen and Airbnb option.
Beaming with pride! I’m a manager of Customer Experience at Airbnb. :) I have been a lurker for so long on your blog but had to reach out. Thank you for shouting out the work we do. In fact, I owe stumbling into the world of FI to a guest I helped that had a bit of a problem during a Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting a few years ago…
Ha, that is awesome! It is really interesting all of the different ways that people learn about the FI movement. Thank you Annie.
In Australia a Google search ‘accomodation +”locality”‘ will show the whole range available ususally with prices and ratings. Add ‘self contained’ for home style accomodation. A two bedroom, bathroom, lounge / dining, kitchen, laundry, garage with pleasant surrounds costs less than a single bedroom USA hotel room on average; yet Australian wages are higher than USA. AirB&B offerings in USA are such poor value as to be not worth borthering to search for. Possibly AirB&B marketing in USA has piquied the broader public’s interest in home style touring accomodation.
I am so excited to have an upcoming trip to Greece in the works for Sept 2018 and our plan is to try out AirB&B. We’re in the planning stages at the moment. Our plan is to stay in Athens, but also stay a few days on a less touristy island, we’re thinking Crete. Also, figuring out the best Travel card to use… so much to do and so little time.
My wife and I are taking a year away from the US (and our careers) to travel the world. Some of the locations in Europe you have posted look great and we’ve stayed in many AirBnB’s across Central America so far. Unfortunately I cannot ‘click’ the AirBnBs you’ve showcased thought as I’m already active with AirBnB. Hopefully there’s a workaround. Follow our travels @theexitplans on IG!