Why use Airbnb rentals – Plus our Airbnb photos around the world!
Here’s why an Airbnb rental is still our top choice for accommodations right now. Plus, we share our safety tips for using Airbnb during the Coronavirus pandemic.
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What is Airbnb?
Whether you’re looking for budget accommodations, hoping to stay with a local in a foreign place, or want more than a typical hotel can offer – like access to a kitchen or free bicycles – Airbnb rentals are all that and more.
We have used the site regularly since 2013 and are huge fans. We have stayed in private rooms in a host’s home for a night or two, rented apartments by the month, and shared accommodations with family and friends.
Updated: December 2020. Originally published: Spring 2017.
Is Airbnb safe for 2022 travel?
This question takes on a new dimension since 2020 for travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
First, we’ll cover why we consider Airbnb to be one of the safest accommodations options, after renting an RV, if you’re going to travel in 2022.
With Airbnb, you can book an entire guest house or apartment. This way, you can minimize your exposure to the virus, by keeping similar habits that you have at home. For example, you can cook at your Airbnb, ordering take out or curbside grocery pick up for meals.
Airbnb allows you to staycation. You can book your getaway within driving distance from home, or along the route of a socially distanced road trip. Staying near home is a great way to enjoy a change of scenery while avoiding crowds in airports.
Plus, you can avoid interactions with staff or other travelers, which you’d likely encounter at a hotel.
Of course, Airbnb rentals are individually owned, so they’ve worked on a way to make cleaning practices more standardized. New, stringent cleaning and sanitizing protocols for COVID-19, following CDC guidance, are now required in order to be listed on the platform (as of November 20, 2020).
Easy precautions to reduce your risk when renting an Airbnb in 2022
- Select a private home or apartment rather than a shared space
- Choose an Airbnb listing with the “Enhanced Clean” or “72 hour” badge
- Run utensils and dishware through the dishwasher upon arrival
- Disinfect countertops, doorknobs, faucets, and TV remotes upon arrival
General Airbnb security
Apart from COVID-19, some people have been skeptical of using Airbnb for vacation rentals because they’ve heard stories. In our experience, mishaps or poor experiences are extremely rare and often avoidable if you know how to use the platform.
The few times we’ve had an issue with a rental, Airbnb customer service has helped us resolve it.
Here’s why you can sleep soundly with Airbnb:
Guests and hosts alike must verify their identity with official forms of ID, so you know people are who they say they are.
Every time you rent a place on Airbnb, both parties review each other. You don’t see the other person’s feedback until you’ve both submitted reviews, so there’s no pressure to leave a positive review just so the other person will do the same.
You can see all of the past Airbnb reviews for any rental you’re interested in. That way you know if the property description is accurate and you get a sense for how the host interacts with guests.
Guests can communicate with potential hosts before and after making a booking. This is all done on Airbnb’s site, without exchanging any personal information or e-mail addresses until the booking is finalized.
All money transactions go through Airbnb, so the guest’s payment is guaranteed at the time of booking and the host receives the funds 24 hours after check in.
Customer service is big with Airbnb (we’ve actually toured their office in Portland, and it was amazing!). You can learn more about their efforts at their online trust and safety center.
Three key advantages to Airbnb vs. more traditional accommodations:
The opportunity to rent an entire home or apartment with a kitchen. For the same price as a hotel – and often cheaper – you can find fully furnished vacation rentals through Airbnb that allow you to cook some of your own meals. In places with a high cost of living (like Switzerland) you can save a lot of money by not having to eat out for every meal.
The opportunity to stay with locals. Some Airbnb listings are for entire homes or apartments, where the homeowner is not present. But others involve renting a room in a place where someone lives, and many of these homeowners excel at hosting. On one of our road trips, we rented rooms from three families in Canada – in Vancouver, Kelowna, and Quebec City. We had varying levels of interaction with our hosts but in every case, we got valuable insider knowledge about visiting the city (like how to see a free Cirque du Soleil show and which three hikes we could fit into one day).
The opportunity to stay in some one-of-a-kind places. Airbnb truly has a wide range of accommodations, so there is something for everyone. I’ve seen a peaceful backyard tent set up for $10 a night in Utah, a large boat house on the Seine in Paris, tree houses, fancy penthouses in major cities, and – of course – some traditional Bed and Breakfast set ups.
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A peek into our past Airbnb rentals
We’ve stayed in quite a few Airbnb rentals over the past four years, sometimes on our own, sometimes with others. This is not an exhaustive list, but it shows a good variety. We’ll start with a few of our favorites:
Treasure Beach, Jamaica – Our First Airbnb Stay
Our first Airbnb experience was actually during our Peace Corps service, the first time we participated in Jake’s Off-Road Triathlon in Treasure Beach, Jamaica. We rented a two bedroom apartment on the lower level of a lady’s beach-front home, which we shared with two other friends.
The accommodations were clean and simple (at that point, the hot shower was a luxury for us), but the back porch view was unbeatable. After the race, the homeowner pointed us to a great open-air breakfast spot, full of local characters. I think we paid $95 per night for the apartment, split among the four of us.
Montreal, Canada – Airbnb Townhouse for Family Vacation
Our next Airbnb stays were during a vacation to Montreal, Canada – a city that soon became our favorite in North America. Together with my parents, we rented a spacious, three-bedroom flat on the top floor of a townhouse. The location was quiet and charming, yet steps away from restaurants, boutique shops, a major metro station, and several Bixi bike-share hubs. We tried different restaurants once or twice a day, and the rest of our meals we cooked ourselves with fresh produce from the farmers markets and groceries from the supermarket a few blocks away. That apartment was around $200 per night.
Cuenca, Ecuador – Our First Six Week Digital Nomad Apartment Rental
Our first true “digital nomad” rental was a six-week stay in Cuenca, Ecuador, and it became one of our favorites. We picked out a spacious studio apartment on Airbnb after carefully going over reviews, messaging back and forth with the owner, and ensuring that the place would have good wifi.
Located in the heart of Cuenca’s beautiful old town, we loved being able to see cupolas from an old church out our window. We used the kitchen daily to cook breakfast and dinner with fresh produce from the market and pastries from the bakery across the street. Because we got a monthly discount, rent was less than $20 per night.
Hoi An, Vietnam – A Homestay To Treasure
Another favorite Airbnb of ours was Leaf Homestay in Hoi An. We chose it because they emphasize cross-cultural exchange in their listing and had a lot of great reviews. We stayed eleven days for less than $20 a night. This included a daily hot breakfast, bicycles, and good wifi. The homestay is run by a local family, some of whom live on the first floor, and the bed/bath suites are hotel room quality.
We loved this place so much, we returned annually for longer and longer stays and even featured the exchange we worked out with them in our book, Unconventional Budget Accommodations.
Copenhagen, Denmark – A Cheap Apartment In An Expensive City
While visiting some friends in Denmark, we found this small but well-furnished apartment in a really nice neighborhood of Copenhagen. The Airbnb host was a university student who normally lives in the flat himself but goes and stays with a friend whenever he gets a booking. It worked out great for us to have an affordable place to stay in an otherwise expensive city!
Brussels, Belgium – A Last Minute Airbnb Cancelation Fix
While passing through Brussels with my parents one summer, we actually had an Airbnb host cancel on us last minute. With just a day or two before arriving in the city, Airbnb helped us find another listing of equal value and made the rebooking process nice and easy for us. Our new rental apartment was perfect – super nice with a quiet balcony where we enjoyed meals outside as a family.
Bruges, Belgium – A Multi-Family Airbnb Stay
Another Airbnb rental we loved was thanks to our parents, aunt, and uncle. They shared a three bedroom home with us in beautiful Bruges, Belgium before we embarked on a week-long, self-guided bicycle tour. The location couldn’t have been better, with our living room overlooking one of the picturesque canals.
Quebec City – A Short Local Homestay
After a week with my parents in Montreal, Jedd and I drove out to Quebec City where we found a room, with fresh croissant breakfast, for $50 a night.
The family had an extra kitchen and three bedrooms in their basement which they rented out. So we met a few other travelers who also came through during our two night stay. Our hosts also explained to us how to see a free, outdoor Cirque du Soleil show, which ended up being a big highlight of our trip.
Vancouver (Richmond), BC – Another Short Local Homestay
On our one-month Rockies Road Trip, there were three nights we needed accommodations when we weren’t visiting friends or camping. First was a quick stop in Vancouver, BC. We wanted to visit an international summer night market in Richmond, just south of Vancouver, so we rented a room nearby in the home of a big Chinese family for $40. They gave us a code to the front door and directions to the market. After we checked out the following day, we visited our favorite spots in Vancouver and continued on our road trip. Easy.
Kelowna, BC – A New Friend Through Airbnb
We had heard good things about Kelowna, British Columbia, so we reserved an Airbnb in town on our way up to Banff. We stayed with a guy our age who we ended up having a lot in common with. He showed us where to bike along the lake and mapped out three hikes and a winery we could visit in one day. We had a great discussion over tea in the living room, and our host introduced Jedd to rooibos tea, which is now his favorite. Our room with shared bath was about $60 per night.
Osaka, Japan – Our Tiniest Airbnb Apartment Stay
One of our most memorable Airbnb stays was in Osaka, Japan. It was our first time in the country and our Japanese language skills were limited, so we wanted to make things as easy as possible. We flew into Osaka but needed to get further south by train the following day. We rented the cheapest place (with good reviews of the host) we could find within walking distance of the train station.
The owner e-mailed us codes to the apartment complex and he labeled everything inside in the room. Though incredibly tiny, it somehow had everything we needed, and was a fun introduction to Japan for only $35.
Otavalo, Ecuador – A Short Cozy Apartment Stay
At the end of our two-month visit to Ecuador, we went North to the popular little market town of Otavalo. We stayed a few nights in a little apartment at the center of town. The owner met us at the bus station and gave us a ride to his place. It had a little roof-top patio with a nice view and was easy walking distance to everything we wanted to see.
Hue, Vietnam – Another Short Homestay
Homestays accommodations are common in Vietnam, and they range from hotel-like businesses to true family homes. We found our homestay in Huế on Airbnb. The local owner rents out three separate bedrooms in his home and provides a breakfast in the shared courtyard each morning. His friend provides bicycle rentals and sells tours for guests – which can be convenient if that’s what you’re looking for. We like the river-side location but weren’t big fans of the mosquitos that came with it.
Chiang Mai, Thailand – Amazing Monthly Deal On Modern Airbnb Condo
After hearing so many good things about Chiang Mai, we decided to rent an apartment there for the whole month of November. For $387, we stayed in an upscale condo complex with gym, swimming pool, security, coin operated laundry, and good wifi. It was a bit far from the popular parts of town, so we rented a moped for the month ($80). There was a fancy mall within walking distance with a small supermarket and two food courts where we often got cheap Thai meals, baked goods, and lots of mango sticky rice!
It was nice to settle in for several weeks with a morning work out routine, making breakfasts in the mini kitchen, working at home or in a cafe, and then exploring Chiang Mai in our free time.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Nice Homestay, Strange Bathroom
While visiting a friend briefly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, we rented a room in a local family’s house for a couple nights. The private bed/bathroom had one of the most interested set ups we’ve ever seen. As Jedd is demonstrating above, there’s just a window separating the toilet and shower from the bed area!
Fortunately, it had a shower curtain so you actually did have more privacy. We didn’t spend much time in our room due to our schedule, but it met our needs and was very affordable ($12 per night).
Siem Reap, Cambodia – Open Air Homestay For Half Marathon
One of our more interesting Airbnb’s was one we shared with a friend when we did the Angkor Wat Half Marathon in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The host was also a tuk-tuk driver, so he picked us up from the bus when we arrived and took us around if we needed transportation.
The family home is found in a neighborhood with red dirt roads, not far from Angkor Wat. The host family, including a couple kids, sleep in the main room downstairs while the upstairs is reserved for guests. Almost the whole place is open air and the bathroom is in a separate building in the lush backyard. It was definitely a cool, unique experience for about $20 per night (plus about the same in tuk-tuk fees).
Merida, Mexico – Digital Nomad Weekly Airbnb Rentals
In Merida, we stayed in two places for a total of three weeks. Our first Airbnb was a basement apartment with a great location just a few blocks from the historic main square. It was simple but more than adequate for our needs. Internet wasn’t perfect but was decent enough, and the kitchen was great for preparing our breakfasts and dinners every day.
After a week, we had arranged to stay with Aries y Libra bed and breakfast for our remaining two weeks. We actually did an exchange with the owner so our stay was comped, but we did help update their listings on Airbnb. We love the style of the place and the friendly Dutch owner, though we will say that the noise from the street can get a bit loud (especially in the red double bed room).
Medellin, Colombia – Airbnb Apartment With No Reviews Yet
For our first visit to Medellin, we took a risk and booked a completely new Airbnb apartment before it had any reviews. Normally, we rely heavily on reviews but this one was a good deal and the owner was good about answering our questions before booking. He lives part of the year in Canada and part of the year in Medellin, so he recently bought this place for himself to live in. It’s a compact and modern 5th floor apartment with a bedroom loft. We actually really liked the set up, but there were a few quirks.
Westmoreland, Jamaica – Our Peace Corps Host Mom’s Airbnb!
For a truly off-the-beaten path experience in Jamaica, we can now recommend our former host mom’s place. This ground-floor apartment is where we lived while volunteering with Peace Corps from 2012-14, and we had the chance to stay again on our most recent visit back to the island.
Our host family are amazing people and you’ll be guests on their large, lush property with creek in the backyard. They live upstairs in the historic estate house but the Airbnb apartment is private, with its own separate entrance. If you want to experience a truly local seafood dinner, they’d be happy to arrange a visit to their friends in “India Town!”
Penang, Malaysia – Private Suite Next To Family Home
We stayed 11 days in beautiful Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. Around the outside of the host’s home, they had built four little bed-bath suites for guests. The son designed the guest rooms and managed the online communication but his recently retired parents enjoyed being involved in the daily operations.
We especially appreciated them giving us a ride to the local market, pointing out good places to eat along the way, and later treating us to a meal at their swim club.
Medellin, Colombia – Digital Nomad Monthly Apartment Rental
For our second stay in Medellin, we had figured out which part of the city we wanted to stay in for the month: between the quieter community of Envigado and walking distance to the buzzing Poblado district. This modern “penthouse” apartment was on a quiet tree-lined street just two blocks from a pair of nice supermarkets. The only downside was the windows weren’t sound-proof and there were often barking dogs.
Lisbon, Portugal – A “Shared” Apartment Sans Host
We lucked out with a cozy little apartment a short walk from the center of Lisbon. When searching Airbnb listings, I noticed the host had listed the same space twice – once as a private place to yourself and once as a shared apartment, which was cheaper. After messaging with the host, I learned that he would be out of town for almost our entire stay.
So we got the discounted rate, he stayed in the second bedroom for the first and the last night, and the rest of the month we had the place to ourselves. The view above is from one of our windows.
Queenstown, New Zealand – Shared Bath, Lots of Guests
We quickly learned that accommodations in New Zealand are really expensive. Even booking a private room with shared bath in the suburbs was outside of our budget, but it was the best we could do before our South Island road trip started. And it turned out fine.
We stayed five days in the home of an expat who worked full-time and did Airbnb on the side. We had some good conversations with a few of the guests that were cycling through her three extra bedrooms as we cooked our own meals in the kitchen.
We’d love to know about the AirBnB rentals you’ve stayed in. Do you have any favorites?
