Have you heard about booking travel accommodation through Airbnb, but not quite sure what it is? I'm going to tell you all about it! Also make sure you watch the end of the video because I have a special discount off your first booking! So what is Airbnb? It's a website where travellers can book beds, rooms or full apartments in homes all around the world, each listing on the website is posted by a host that's offering up their place for you to stay in. The idea is that travelers get to stay in local homes for more local experience and the hosts get to share their home with like minded people while also making money. So how is staying at an Airbnb different from staying in a hotel or a hostel? Well Airbnb really harps on the fact that you get a more local experience You might find a place that's in an area that really just the locals live in but there aren't any hotels available, you also have option of choosing to just rent a bed or a private room in a home, so you're actually living with your host and oftentimes your hosts will be really welcoming and accommodating and will help you actually live like a local in the place that you're visiting. Also if you choose to rent an entire home or apartment you're going to feel more like you're staying in a home as opposed to just in a hotel room.
There also some really cool places that you can rent on Airbnb like there are 1,400 castles on the site at this moment, but they're also things like houseboats, clock towers and there's even a private island. What are the pros of staying in an Airbnb? One is that the hosts are super keen to give you the best experience so they'll often tell you the best places to go near your place, some hosts will leave hold binders worth of information for you to check out and there's lists of restaurants, how to take the public transportation, pretty much everything that you'll need to know. On the flipside if you also just want to be left alone they're happy to do that too. Two huge draws for me is that you can rent a place with a kitchen and a living room! When I'm traveling I don't always feel like going out for every meal so having that kitchen where I can at least prepare a little bit of something saves me money but also means I don't have to go out and find a place to eat every time I want to eat, a living room or a little living space is really good because it just separates you from the sleeping space a bit more and also means if you want to have like drinks before you go out you can do it comfortably there you don't have to just sit on beds or be squashing into a room, well actually just feel like you're at home.
And another huge plus is that you can actually save money, there are different ways that Airbnb's can be cost effective, whether it be that renting just a room in a home is cheaper than getting a hotel room or the fact that if you get a place with a kitchen you're going to save money on always going out, also if there's a group of you getting one big apartment can often be more cost effective than a bunch of hotel rooms.
What are the cons of staying in an airbnb? Some of the things that you're used to while staying in a hotel, you're not going to get with an airbnb, for example, you're not going to get someone who comes in and cleans every day, unless you arrange for that with the host and you're gonna have to pay extra for that, you also can't leave the place a complete mess like sometimes we all do when we're in a rush to check out in the morning you kind of have to leave it somewhat clean especially if you're living with the host, you'll probably not get breakfast included in your stay, although I've been in airbnb's before where they left like croissants. You'll also have to pay a booking fee to airbnb and a cleaning fee which sometimes adds up, so you need to make sure that you look at the fine print for that, also if something goes wrong at the property it's not as easy as just switching to another room, so you're gonna have to call the hosts and get them to sort it out, but they should be pretty quick to respond because they don't want a bad rating. And then there's always the safety element of it especially if you're going to be renting a room or just a bed, but airnb does everything that they can to try to keep both hosts and guests as safe as possible, they do verification checks, everybody has to have a complete and filled out profile, every host and every guest is rated after each stay. Personally I've always felt very safe in airbnb's I've stayed in, so hopefully you'll have a good experience too.
If you've never tried Airbnb before you can click the link down in the description box, that will get you thirty one dollars off of your first booking so you can try it out and let me know what you think! Next up make sure you watch my guide for 'How to find a book the perfect Airbnb'.