You’re also 100% less likely to contribute to the local rent markets becoming wrecked if you stay in a hotel.
I’ve stayed at dozens of ~$80 a night motels in my day and never once has it been a negative experience. I check the room over with a UV light regardless, but I’ve never found anything. The service is always under paid burnouts so if you’re cool they’re cool. Plus the vibe is always this beautiful liminal emptyness that you can’t get anywhere else.
I’ve seen roaches, which was gross, but never any bedbugs thank Christ.
Roaches are easy to avoid picking up. When you travel, take a “kitchen” size garbage bag with you and if you land at a place that’s got roaches and it’s the only available option for the night, put your travel bag into the garbage bag and hang it off of the shower stall rod.
Bedbugs is a sleep in the car option OTOH… Yikes!
Tbh I’m a bit surprised how quickly Airb’n’b enshitified. It’s not even a competitor anymore imo.
Tbh ive booked no less than 8 airbnbs in the last 3 years and have always had zero issues in any of them. No ridiculous rules or deposits or anything, and a lot more privacy than getting a hotel. More importantly, always far cheaper than getting a hotel that isn’t questionably shitty
In that same span of time, Ive booked like 4 hotel rooms. One was a four star property that was great but stupid expensive. One was a “3 star” property that was shoddy as fuck, had bedbugs, and refused to give me a refund despite bringing one of the bugs to the front desk and politely declining to be put in another room. The other two hotels were decent but cost more than what they were worth compared to a STR. Hence I roll on with airbnbs
Why anyone would pay more for less space and less privacy I fail to understand
Just an FYI, since privacy seems to be a big concern for you… AirBnB used to allow hosts to hide cameras inside of their rented spaces. It was explicitly allowed in their renting rules, under the premise of allowing owners to enforce rules and collect evidence in case of excessive mess/damage/theft. They banned hidden cameras in 2024, but over half of rental owners still admit to using them, and about half of all guests still report finding one inside of their rented spaces if they bother to look.
Horror story from Germany: colleague from my former workplace was living a bit after away and always rented local AirBnB locations until she found several hidden cameras, including one in the bedroom. This was before the official ban, but I’m never going to use the platform again.
& the host quite likely committed a felony under German law.
Hostels are the best. Just give me a bed to crash and tomorrow morning I’ll be off again.
Last hostel I stayed at in Berlin (the one with the cool painted facade they were forced to change) the bathroom was so small I had to sit sideways on the toilet. Was still a fine room to be honest.
Part of the reason for the rise of AirBnB is that hotels suck too:
- “Your $225 per night hotel”, oh sorry, all those rooms are booked, we do still have these $250 per night rooms though…
- Oh, you didn’t want to be next to the ice machine and hear that crunch sound all night? There’s another room here but that will be $275…
- Not next to the elevators? Well, there’s this $300 room down the hall
- Yes, the room has a mini-fridge. Oh, we didn’t tell you but it’s 100% full of overpriced things, and if you touch one you bought it. No, there’s no way to put your own things in the fridge.
- Oh, you wanted to use the TV? Well, we have HotelTV and every time you turn it on it goes to the HotelTV channel, you can get all the local TV stations too. HDMI? No, sorry, we don’t have that feature.
- Of course we offer a free “continental breakfast”, it’s offered between 4:35 and 5:20 AM, and consists of reconstituted dehydrated eggs, malk, cereal, taste-free muffins, and pancakes. We’re out of pancakes.
- Internet? Of course we offer Internet. Just sign on to this captive portal and you can use Google. Send emails? You should be able to get to gmail… Play games? You mean like backgammon? I think we have a backgammon set in the back here. VPN? That sounds like hacking…
None it’s this is remotely true of the vast majority of hotels. I stay in hotels 30 to 40 nights a year and, yea, just no. Most of it’s the opposite. Oh this room is booked, here is a nicer room for the same cost. Oh we have plenty of rooms, here is a huge discount. A mini fridge, cool. Place to put your left overs. Very few have in room anymore, unless it’s like a Vegas resort. And even most of them don’t any more. And cost wise, your still high. I stay in Orange county near Laguna Beach multiple times a year. The last place I stayed was 155 a night, for a nice room 20 minutes from the beach. They upgraded me to a double room suite the last 2 nights for free because the toilet stuffed up. I stay in Montana regularly and the place there is 260 a night, but it a King suite with a hot tub in the room. So, worth it. Yea, there are times I slum it and pay 40 or 50 a night, and it isn’t great, but on average I think I pay around 125 a night in almost every state in the West. Hell last year I spent a week in Atlanta and it was 85 a night. Great place too.
