Airbnb vs Vrbo

[Dianthus]

Can anyone say if either is more reliable?

[KSera]

Unless things have changed, the difference for us is that the identity verification feels invasive with Airbnb. We haven’t used it in forever, so maybe they stopped doing that. Vrbo didn’t require any thing like that. 

[Frances]

We’ve generally used VRBO and have always been happy. I did notice last month when looking for a large house in CO for a family reunion that VRBO allowed cancellation with a full refund much closer to the reservation dates than AirBnb. For that reason alone, I stopped looking at options on AirBnb.

[whitestavern]

I’ve used both with no problems. I trust Airbnb more, though I can’t really say why! 

[Dmmetler]

We’ve done VRBO quite a bit. Many owners list on both. My only caveat is that I will never again book a property that does automatic bookings, because we once arrived for one only to discover that the owner hadn’t checked their account and didn’t know we’d booked. 

[Dianthus]

32 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

We’ve done VRBO quite a bit. Many owners list on both. My only caveat is that I will never again book a property that does automatic bookings, because we once arrived for one only to discover that the owner hadn’t checked their account and didn’t know we’d booked. 

How can you tell if there are automatic bookings?

[Dmmetler]

13 minutes ago, Spirea said:

How can you tell if there are automatic bookings?

It will say in the listing, and you won’t have to wait to be confirmed, etc. it seemed like a good idea at the time, but when the owner has to actually accept the booking, you know they’ve seen it! 

[teachermom2834]

1 hour ago, Dmmetler said:

We’ve done VRBO quite a bit. Many owners list on both. My only caveat is that I will never again book a property that does automatic bookings, because we once arrived for one only to discover that the owner hadn’t checked their account and didn’t know we’d booked. 

Oh my gosh. I’m a worrier and now I have one more thing to add to my list of things to worry about that I hadn’t yet thought up! 

[Starr]

We use Airbnb without any problems. Some area seem to have more of one than another. The cancelation policy depends on the property. I’m in one right now and the host messaged me about the code to the door before we arrived . I read all the recent reviews to get a little more information. The sweetest thing happened. We are at my mom’s funeral and our bnb host brought over a basket of home made delicious cornbread, honey and flowers with a card . 

[Ali in OR]

12 minutes ago, Starr said:

We use Airbnb without any problems. Some area seem to have more of one than another. The cancelation policy depends on the property. I’m in one right now and the host messaged me about the code to the door before we arrived . I read all the recent reviews to get a little more information. The sweetest thing happened. We are at my mom’s funeral and our bnb host brought over a basket of home made delicious cornbread, honey and flowers with a card . 

I'm sorry to hear about your mom. How lovely to get a little extra TLC at such a time!

[Harriet Vane]

We have used both and been happy with both for many years. We check both and just pick whichever location and price and amenities match what we're looking for.

[Faith-manor]

For anything we have looked at, VBRO had better cancellation policies than Airb.

We have a place in Arkansas already booked for the solar eclipse in 2024. It was exactly what we needed, and we didn't find anything on Airb that served the purpose as well.

[TravelingChris]

We have only used VRBO and been very happy w all of our rentals.   

The last rentals we were considering was in Feb 2020 for first weekend in March 2020.  The rentals were reasonably priced in Airbnb, but the  cleaning fees and other fees were more than the rentals and so we went w a historic house B&B right near downtown Montgomery, which we liked much more snd it's totsl price was less than the rentals snd we got s great location and teally good breakfasts.

[Red Dove]

My family used AirBnB exclusively for a year and a half.  We wanted to try VRBO, too, but the cost was consistently higher on there.  Most of our stays were a month long, though, so the service fees and cleaning fees were watered down at that length of stay.  Also, they typically gave a 50% discount for month long stays.  I like how you get a good feel for the property by reading the reviews, so you know what to expect.  We had great experiences renting through AirBnB.  So much so that I walked away from the experiences with the view that way more people than I thought would be are loving and kind.  I only had one less-than-great stay and that stay wasn’t even that bad.  

One note of caution:  It may be that my family had such good experiences because we checked the crime rate of the area, read the reviews of the property owner, and read the reviews that they gave to other people.  It gives you a good idea of what to expect. 

And for reference, we had 20+ stays.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Red Dove
Added reference

[Lisa]

We have used both without any problems.

[Soror]

We've used AirBnB quite a bit. I think we used VRBO years ago but we've been using AirBnB almost exclusively since then. I just checked VRBO for some places for our current vaca but there were more listings with AirBnB. Cancellation policies are property dependent. WE just booked 3 different places for our nearly 3 week stay and got 2 of those 3 with cancellation until the day of the stay, the last one we liked so much we went ahead and booked it anyway. WE've never had any trouble. Like pp we read lots of reviews. Google streetview places etc. The biggest push for AirBnB for this vaca was that we could use our CC for pay yourself back and get 25% more for our points, which is like a 25% discount.

[Farrar]

I've used both a good bit.

I've never had anything weird with VRBO. But I've always used them for vacation areas, which is where they're more common. So then the parameters of what someone is looking for is a little more clear cut. Like, this is a "beach house" or a "mountain cabin" for Vacation with a capital V. I'm not sure if they've expanded such that they have the sort of more random spots the way Airbnb does.

With Airbnb... omg. I have so many stories. Most of them totally innocuous, but definitely read the reviews. And think about EVERYTHING. Like, are you sure you're not sharing this place with someone else? Are you sure they provide sheets? Are you sure there's somewhere to park? Are you sure about what the cancellation policy is? It says "three beds" but have you verified that each bed is a bed and not a sofa bed? Did you double check that there's wifi? That there are plates in the kitchen? That the kitchen has the things you think a kitchen should have, like an oven? Just... check it all. I'm out of town right now and we opted not to go for an Airbnb because the ones in this city are nearly all run by a single family who watch you while you're there and show up and yell at you if they decide you're breaking their rules. I'm telling you, Airbnb can be a weird world.

[MercyA]

I hate staying at hotels because (in spite of very good medication) I still have OCD. 🙂 And I've cleaned hotel rooms myself, so I know how much emphasis is given to appearance rather than actual cleanliness. 

How is the cleanliness of AirBnB and VRBO compared to hotels? I'm sure this can vary widely, just looking for general opinions. 

[MercyA]

@Starr, I'm so sorry for your loss. ❤️

[Frances]

9 hours ago, whitestavern said:

I’ve used both with no problems. I trust Airbnb more, though I can’t really say why! 

I’m exactly the opposite. We’ve been fine with both, but I trust VRBO more for no real reason.

[Frances]

5 minutes ago, MercyA said:

I hate staying at hotels because (in spite of very good medication) I still have OCD. 🙂 And I've cleaned hotel rooms myself, so I know how much emphasis is given to appearance rather than actual cleanliness. 

How is the cleanliness of AirBnB and VRBO compared to hotels? I'm sure this can vary widely, just looking for general opinions. 

Usually cleanliness will be mentioned in the reviews. So I would just focus on those where it’s mentioned or highly rated. Personally, we’ve never had any issues.

Generally, I just don’t like the sterile nature of hotels or the price. Plus, I far prefer to stay in walkable, residential areas (like where we live), rather than touristy areas, when we travel. And we get tired of eating every meal out. 

Edited March 12, 2022 by Frances

[shawthorne44]

51 minutes ago, MercyA said:

I hate staying at hotels because (in spite of very good medication) I still have OCD. 🙂 And I've cleaned hotel rooms myself, so I know how much emphasis is given to appearance rather than actual cleanliness. 

How is the cleanliness of AirBnB and VRBO compared to hotels? I'm sure this can vary widely, just looking for general opinions. 

 

I know what you mean about the appearance versus actual.    
With the houses/condos they've all been extremely clean.    As in I'd be willing to take a bath in the bathtub.    I used to travel for work and hotel stays half the year.   I wouldn't do that in a hotel unless the hotel was so new I was the first one in the room or this one family run hotel.   

We just spent two weeks at WDW in an VRBO Condo.   I felt sorry for the poor suckers in a hotel room.  

"And we get tired of eating every meal out. "   This was one reason I felt sorry for those in hotel rooms.  We did eat out, but when we wanted.   Sometimes it was preferred to just wander to the kitchen and grab a Reeses Klondike Bar.  

Edited March 12, 2022 by shawthorne44

[Dmmetler]

55 minutes ago, MercyA said:

I hate staying at hotels because (in spite of very good medication) I still have OCD. 🙂 And I've cleaned hotel rooms myself, so I know how much emphasis is given to appearance rather than actual cleanliness. 

How is the cleanliness of AirBnB and VRBO compared to hotels? I'm sure this can vary widely, just looking for general opinions. 

My experience is usually very good. You're on your own when there, and you're expected to wash dishes, sweep floors, and take out trash at check out, but then they usually either have a professional maid service or come over and clean themselves. Now, you pay for that-often the equivalent of an extra night in fees. 

 

We've had a few where the property needed a bit of TLC as far as paint, carpet, etc, but they have all been very clean and neat. Some have been absolutely beautiful. (We rented one house in San Diego owned by a bi-coastal couple with an amazing garden and which was beautifully furnished, and another owned by a couple who bought houses, fixed them, staged them, and rented until they found a buyer. We've rented that one 3x because it's near the college L attends. 

[Dianthus]

Yes, I'm pretty concerned with general cleanliness, and also inspect hotel rooms for signs of bedbugs. Never found them but I don't like bugs in general and don't want something to go home with us. We wash everything when we arrive home but still... I try to tell myself there are fewer bedbugs because hotels have been so empty the past 2 years.

[Red Dove]

10 minutes ago, Spirea said:

Yes, I'm pretty concerned with general cleanliness, and also inspect hotel rooms for signs of bedbugs. Never found them but I don't like bugs in general and don't want something to go home with us. We wash everything when we arrive home but still... I try to tell myself there are fewer bedbugs because hotels have been so empty the past 2 years.

Ha ha ha!  I rented hotel rooms during the beginning and height of the pandemic.  The rooms were the DIRTIEST.  It was like the hotel workers were afraid of getting Covid so they just didn’t go in the rooms to clean them.  It was the same for cheap hotels and more expensive ones.  

[Dianthus]

30 minutes ago, Red Dove said:

Ha ha ha!  I rented hotel rooms during the beginning and height of the pandemic.  The rooms were the DIRTIEST.  It was like the hotel workers were afraid of getting Covid so they just didn’t go in the rooms to clean them.  It was the same for cheap hotels and more expensive ones.  

😟 probably staffing issues. Ugh. Didn't think of that.

Well, I always travel (precovid) with chlorox wipe and clean surfaces in hotels before we use anything. In a home rental, I'll have to wash all the dishes before we use them.

[Amy in NH]

Avoid VRBO.  I'll come back later to explain my opinion.

[Dianthus]

On 3/12/2022 at 3:53 PM, Amy in NH said:

Avoid VRBO.  I'll come back later to explain my opinion.

Why?

[Lady Florida.]

On 3/12/2022 at 7:53 PM, Amy in NH said:

Avoid VRBO.  I'll come back later to explain my opinion.

 

1 hour ago, Spirea said:

Why?

I'm curious too. We want to do a family trip to the Florida Keys this summer with the grandkids and I've been looking at both Airbnb and VRBO. 

[scholarly]

I use Airbnb for work and VRBO for personal travel and it's been fine with both. I have a slight personal preference for VRBO, but for no real reason but that I like it better. However, when I book for work, I'm booking in areas where a lot of people are coming to one area all at the same time and AIrbnb seems to have more options for that. A lot of people have their properties listed on both and I check the reviews for each property on both sites, if possible.

[Resilient]

VRBO has a better search engine for eliminating units that allow pets.  I have severe allergies and that makes it a no-go if the owner allows pets -- ever -- in the unit.  

Lots of owners list on both.

We have had one owner problem, when they cancelled our reservation rather late and I ended up paying more for a lesser unit because of the late notice.  They gave no reason, but I suspect it had to do with COVID worries (which made no sense in this particular unit--we had stayed there before and it was completely isolated from the owner...but whatever...). It's just the way it goes...but if they ever open up again, I won't rent from them...and the situation was not necessarily Airbnb's fault.  

[Resilient]

I want to add that one of them does a better job showing total costs than the other--sometimes the cleaning fee isn't as obvious as it should be...and while $150 cleaning fee might be reasonable for a week's stay, it can double the price of a weekend.  I want to know that in an obvious way.  

[KungFuPanda]

I was following a Twitter thread earlier this week. It was mostly funny, but the way cleaning fees can double and triple the booking price wasn’t very funny . . . and they leave a task list too? It’s driving people back to hotels. 
 

I’ve looked at wheelchair accessible places where they say things like “only a few steps.” It’s just too hard to figure out if they’re truly accessible. I gave up. 

[Frances]

26 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I was following a Twitter thread earlier this week. It was mostly funny, but the way cleaning fees can double and triple the booking price wasn’t very funny . . . and they leave a task list too? It’s driving people back to hotels. 
 

I’ve looked at wheelchair accessible places where they say things like “only a few steps.” It’s just too hard to figure out if they’re truly accessible. I gave up. 

At least for VRBO, I’ve always had good look with messaging them owners about accessibility. We have an older dog that can only handle certain surfaces and limited steps.

The cleaning fees are hard to take for short stays. They aren’t nearly so bad for longer stays. I generally dislike hotels so much that we just camp if we are doing a short trip and use VRBO for longer trips.

[Harriet Vane]

25 minutes ago, Frances said:

At least for VRBO, I’ve always had good look with messaging them owners about accessibility. We have an older dog that can only handle certain surfaces and limited steps.

The cleaning fees are hard to take for short stays. They aren’t nearly so bad for longer stays. I generally dislike hotels so much that we just camp if we are doing a short trip and use VRBO for longer trips.

For both platforms, I have had great experiences messaging owners and getting candid replies. 

[Red Dove]

55 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

I was following a Twitter thread earlier this week. It was mostly funny, but the way cleaning fees can double and triple the booking price wasn’t very funny . . . and they leave a task list too? It’s driving people back to hotels. 
 

I’ve looked at wheelchair accessible places where they say things like “only a few steps.” It’s just too hard to figure out if they’re truly accessible. I gave up. 

I agree with that. If I were staying for only a couple days, I would stay at a hotel.  The cleaning fees make it not worth only a couple days for me.  And I also agree with the “task list”.  If I am only staying a day or two (or even 3), I want to wake up in the morning and leave, not have a list of chores I have to do before I leave.  

[Dianthus]

Hmm, I hate those kind of surprises. It's a 10-12 day stay. We want a kitchen so we can make our own meals.

[Harriet Vane]

13 hours ago, Red Dove said:

I agree with that. If I were staying for only a couple days, I would stay at a hotel.  The cleaning fees make it not worth only a couple days for me.  And I also agree with the “task list”.  If I am only staying a day or two (or even 3), I want to wake up in the morning and leave, not have a list of chores I have to do before I leave.  

I find the task list is almost always to simply wash my own dishes. I leave used towels on the floor just as I would at a hotel. Cleaning fees do vary widely--some properties charge a lot, but quite a few charge a nominal and reasonable one-time fee. I simply avoid the ones with exorbitant fees.

[shawthorne44]

I don't mind the task lists.    In fact, I asked for a list of things to do before I left on our last VRBO.   I want to check-in as early as possible, and check-out as late.   So, if I can start a load of dishes and even a load of towels before I leave I figure that is the other side of the coin since I am drastically shortening the time to clean the unit.   

[Amy in NH]

On 3/14/2022 at 11:41 AM, Spirea said:

Why?

On 3/14/2022 at 1:15 PM, Lady Florida. said:

I'm curious too.

Over the years, my sister's family (NM) and my family (NH) have vacationed together in different places around New England.  We agree on a rental house and split the fee.  I had always been the one to book a place in the past, and I'm pretty sure I had always used Airbnb but not 100% positive.  Last summer was the first time we had done this in a few years, due to Covid.  We looked at places on the coast of Maine and Cape Cod.  She decided to book it this time, and forwarded links from both Airbnb and VRBO. 

We settled on a VRBO, and she reserved it by paying the week's rental fee using her credit card.  Then she got an email from the owner that they had increased their price, but not updated the website.  She contacted VRBO about this bait-and-switch fee, waited on hold for more than an hour to speak with customer service, and they told her it was within their policies for an owner to raise the rental fee even after someone reserved a listing.  She asked them to please cancel our reservation, as we were not willing to pay the higher rental rate.  She was disconnected by VRBO customer service and had to wait on hold for over an hour again for VRBO to tell her the contract was between her and the owner, and she would have to request that the owner cancel the booking but that he was not obligated to do so.  It took multiple contacts over more than a week, and she was in the process of going through her credit card fraud department, for the guy to agree to cancel the reservation and refund her money.

I've only ever had (multiple) good experiences with Airbnb, but I'll never use VRBO again.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Amy in NH
to add: this was not an insubstantial amount of money for a place large enough for two familes!

[Dianthus]

I'm finding airbnb to be a cheaper (in some cases a couple hundred dollars) than the exact same listing on vrbo.

Weird. Unless that's to pay for the many vrbo ads I get on youtube.