Air BnB

[fred]

Lots of the usual internet scare stories out there but has anyone personal experience and how did they find it ?

[BobH]

Pardon?

[Roland Perry]

In message , at

00:38:18 on Thu, 2 Jul 2015, fred remarked:

I've used it once and it was good. Turned out to be an upmarket professional B&B (rather than someone with a spare room, which I think is more common), and the proprietor had recently given up all other forms of advertising as they were getting sufficient business from the one site.

I have colleagues who travel the world for a living and swear by (not at) it.

[Adrian]

There might be a clue in the subject line.

I've never used it to find accommodation - or, rather, I have but there was nowhere available in the area I was looking at - but friends use it from the other side. They've had almost nothing but good experiences - the "almost" was one Austrian who recently left a massively picky negative review which bore little resemblance to reality.

[Bob Minchin]

Not used that one but over several years I've been 100% happy with a mixture of

and booking.com both in UK, and abroad for personal and business use. The booking has always gone through to the provider and without exception I've been expected on arrival- can't ask for much more really.

[Nightjar]

Only if you have some idea of what the subject line means.

[Tim Watts]

I would say: treat it like Amazon or ebay for lodgings - ie read the reviews.

If a place has like 2x 5-star reviews and nothing else, exercise caution. But it would be harder to fake 20+ reviews - and look for genuine responses: nothing is perfect - even a glowing review should have a negative point in, even if "it's a bit far to the station" or "flat's nice but there are men drinking outside every evening" (real response when I looked just now). You can't make stuff like that up - well not easily...

And remember, you are paying rock bottom rates, so there'll be no ABTA cover (etc). OTOH a good private host is likely to be better than even a good commercial operation.

[Davey]

But if you don't, then you will have nothing to contribute on the subject, so you can move right along.

[fred]

Received wisdom on the interweb is that because you have met the renter in person you are unlikely to slate him/her also because he has the option to review you as a guest. I don't really go with that.

Incidentally thay are not all rock bottom. There are prices for all tastes. Personally I'd be prepared to pay the equivalent of a good hotel on the basis I would get more room and have the opportunity to savour local produce home cooked.

[Tim Watts]

Nah - I have seen several crappy reviews. Even if the owner counters them, 2 or more crappy reviews saying the same thing = bad owner.

I have met the staff at the Telford Premier Inn attached restaurant. Didn't stop me from saying they cooked crap.

I see some very nice deals in Switzerland where a hotel costs a fortune. And these are for whole places, not just a room.

[F]

We were there a couple of weeks ago and I don't disagree.

[Roland Perry]

In message , at

04:42:04 >> >> > Lots of the usual internet scare stories out there but has anyone

It's not a lot different to eBay (where it's not uncommon to meet when goods are picked up).

Agreed. Where I stayed was priced around £100 a night I think. The location, plus ridiculous prices for classic hotels, is what swung it.

[michael adams]

While your own contribution on this subject has been precisely what exactly ?

Oh Fount of Wisdom and Enlightenement.

michael adams

...

[Adrian]

On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 10:19:27 +0100, Nightjar >>> Lots of the usual internet scare stories out there but has anyone

...whereas, say, "OVO Smart Meter" or "34mm waste" would be obvious to anybody at a glance?

[Adrian]

I've never been there, but I'd be gobsmacked if it was otherwise... On at least two grounds.

[Tim Watts]

C'mon - Telford isn't all bad ;-> Although technically this is more Newport.

Actually the siting of this particular Premier Inn was very pretty (by industrial estate standards) and fairly quiet.

[Nightjar]

On a DIY site, those probably ought to be meaningful to most contributors. OTOH, I looked at Air BnB as I thought it might be a question relating to compressed air lines and I was wondering what the BnB referred to.

[Adrian]

None of the three Premier Inns in Telford seem to match that description...?

[Tim Watts]

It's not the PI - it's the attached Three Fish place which has it's own reviews.

The PI is actually very decent and I would stay there again - except I would take my own breakfast...

[Davey]

Nothing. I have never stayed at the Telford Premier Inn, and have no plans to.

So what?