Pros and Cons: AirBnB vs. A Hotel

AirBnB has quickly become a popular name in most households. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s a service that allows you to rent out a home, a room within a home, or just more options in general than a hotel. Hotels have always been a quick go-to but with the rise of technology, other options such as AirBnB are quickly becoming the new popular choice. Although popular there are pros and cons to both an AirBnB and a hotel.

Pros and Cons: AirBnB vs. A Hotel

Knowing What You Get

With hotels, it’s usually pretty clear what you get and it’s often the same basic options. Either way, you know what to expect because with hotels, there are basic facts that have become the norm and are pretty simple to follow. With Airbnb, it’s not always clear what you’re getting. You have to rely on the lister’s description which can often times be thorough but more times than not, you’re wondering what all is included. Always be careful to check what the details are if it doesn’t say.

Options

Although hotels are the great “know what to expect” option, they only offer so many options outside the basics of every hotel. With Airbnb, you get to choose from a plethora of all kinds of different places. Plus, they have a large house selection which truly doesn’t cost any different than nicer hotels. This means you can feel more at home without sharing a building with tons of random people.

Safety

With hotels, there’s a certain amount of safety and security. For example, you are pretty confident that you can sleep securely, walk through the lobby without being attacked, etc. With AirBnB, all the places you can choose from aren’t owned by some big company where safety is guaranteed. Many of these homes or rooms are owned and listed on AirBnB by private owners. There have been some reports of video recorders being left in houses for owners to gain inappropriate content from visitors. Of course, these people were removed immediately as sellers on AirBnB but, this is the sort of thing that can happen. Although it’s not become a common occurrence, it’s still a con in comparison to a hotel.

Easy to Book

Both AirBnB and hotels are pretty easy to book. The AirBnB website is user-friendly and makes it pretty clear where your place is located. This will allow you to choose the best spot possible. It’s helpful that they offer a visual view of where it’s at right there on the site so it’s not a guessing game by looking at a map. Most hotel sites are pretty clear but they don’t often offer a visual of location, just an address. This is still useful but not as useful as the visual AirBnB offers.

Overall, both AirBnB and hotels are a great option, it just depends on what you’re looking for in your travel. If you prefer a home or new experience to a hotel, then AirBnB is a great option. If you like security in knowing what you’re getting and what to stick with the usual, then staying with the hotel is your best choice.

Which option would you choose?