If you recall Airbnb (ABNB) 's launch in 2008 and its skyrocketing rise in the years that followed, you’ll also remember the discussions around how the vacation rental platform would “revolutionize” travel.
At the time, frustration with various resort and other junk fees charged by hotels was running high and the idea that one could stay in a local home and put the money not toward a global hotel chain but instead a local renting out their home for some extra money did appear revolutionary. Words like “authenticity” were often thrown around.
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A decade-and-a-half later, the tables could not have turned more rapidly. Even after enacting strict laws cracking down on short-term home rentals, cities like Barcelona are seeing a wave of protest around the spike in housing prices created, at least in part, by homeowners who see bigger gains in charging nightly rates to tourists rather than finding a long-term local tenant.
Online frustration with Airbnb is high but what of it?
And then there’s the fact that Airbnb is now the corporate behemoth it started out in protest of. Particularly on Meta (META) 's newest platform Threads, you can find countless screenshots of cleaning fees that in some cases amount to the price of several nights or extra charges for things that guests expect to be included.
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“Zero sympathy for anyone using Airbnb,” a Threads user named Pam wrote under a screenshot of house rules in which the owner expects guests to pay $6 to use the washing machine posted by TV host Jennifer Coffey. “We’ve known for years it’s displacing people and taking up rentals, we’ve known for years this kind of stuff happens.”
And in an ironic return to basics, you now see a wave of hotel praise that, for someone who’s been around for Airbnb’s early days, feels hilariously you-youngsters-think-you-discovered-gravity: In hotels someone cleans up for you! There are family-owned bed-and-breakfasts!
“Airbnb was the cheaper option and a cleaning fee seemed appropriate sometimes,” wrote Vancouver-based Threads user Alexandra. “But now I have to strip beds, turn the washing machine on, ensure every glass is dry and put back, plus pay a fee? GTFO. […In hotels] I can leave the towels on the floor, leave the bed and leave the bins with whatever [is] in them when I go and it’s fine.”
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Airbnb vs. hotel: Why are we even debating this?
While these comments reflect the growing frustration with and changing mood around vacation rental platforms, they rarely take into account just how much one’s experience can differ depending on circumstances. While visiting France’s Marseille this summer, I found that one could easily rent entire apartments for €70 ($77.56) per night in the downtown of the city while no three-star hotel was available for less than €100 per night. (I still ended up going with the hotel for amenities such as pool/breakfast/baggage storage.)
But while looking for options in London, I found the higher-than-a-hotel Airbnb prices described by many on Threads and understood why someone could look at them and think “what am I doing with this platform?”
With so much variability around the city you’re staying in, when you need to rent and the individual preferences that you have, the Airbnb vs. hotel debate feels as pointless as so many of the heated arguments to be found on the internet. People will continue to pick what works for them in given circumstances and, if frustration with Airbnb reaches the same level it did with hotels in the early 2010s, the platform will have to adapt to get our money once again.
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