On my first trip with airbnb…
6 January, 2011 § 3 Comments
Over the holidays I took a four day vacation with my girlfriend to New York City and used airbnb to book the trip. I had heard about airbnb through Hacker News and thought it sounded interesting. We stayed at “The Stuydio 2” in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, about a 25-minute subway ride from Manhattan.
At first we were a little apprehensive, but the end result was great. It can be very relaxing to stay in a hotel, but there are some things that are missed by the normal hotel stay.
First of all, we had a kitchen right in our apartment. Eating breakfast before we went out saved a lot of money and reduced some stress from our mornings.
The second perk was free parking. We were able to park right in front of the apartment for free as opposed to our previous stay in Long Island City where parking was $20/night.
The third perk (of many) is the feedback we recieved when we got home from our trip. Like eBay, airbnb allows travelers and their hosts to leave feedback for each other. I’m a big fan of getting feedback so that I can continously improve. I now have positive feedback attached to my name for my next stay, and I was able to give positive feedback to our host. This sharing of feedback is great for the whole community, and will allow a future host of mine to know that I am a clean and respectful guest.
Have you used airbnb, CouchSurfing, or any other similar website before? What were your experiences? How do you feel about traveler feedback?
JAWS 
Hey Hey Jared!
I never heard of airbnb before (I haven’t been reading Hacker News). So I guess word of mouth is how they are advertising for right now. Great to hear your trip went great! I haven’t used such a website where feedback is important. But I do like the idea of traveler’s feedback and would like to see this website and similar websites become more prevalent.
Yeah, for word of mouth they appear to be doing pretty good. There was an article about them in BusinessWeek about the site too. The funny thing is the lady mentioned in the article, Nichelle Morant, owns the apartment that we stayed in. It’s a small world!
Just started using Airbnb to rent out my guest room and it’s been phenomenal! And these are people who actually share my home – not just rent it out when I’m gone. I’ve had 2 great guests so far and love the idea of meeting travelers from around the world. I’m happy to show them my favorite spots and I can’t wait to use the service when I travel. So much cheaper than a hotel, and you’re right — having a kitchen and especially a washer/dryer when you travel is such a luxury and a money saver.