Hotel or Airbnb? Which is Better?

Imagine you are on a trip.  You have just visited the local sights and eaten at a restaurant that was recommended to you by the lady you met at the coffee shop.  You’ve been out all day and now it’s time to go back to your room to get some rest. But, where are you going?  Will you head to the hotel that had rave reviews and was number one on TripAdvisor?  Or will you walk to the gem of an apartment you found on Airbnb.  The answer depends on what you are looking for since there are advantages and disadvantages to both.  This guide can help you determine which is best for your next trip.

Advantages of a hotel stay:

Breakfast and other dining options.

In many hotels a breakfast is offered.  Sometimes this is included in the price, or it might cost a little extra.  If you’re in Europe and your hotel offers it, take it.  Eating in your hotel is a good chance to eat the same way the locals eat and it is fun to see how different it is from what you eat at home.   We eat differently on a trip than we do at home; at home we would probably eat eggs and oatmeal.  On a trip, we might have a cappuccino with bread and cheese spread or a croissant. In Italy especially, we look forward to these breakfasts–and cappuccino–and we miss them when we stay in an Airbnb.

Concierge or front desk attendant can answer questions quickly.

Maybe you want restaurant recommendations or need a taxi; just head down to the front desk to ask. You don’t have to wait for Airbnb host to reply to you. Although most hosts will be happy to answer questions, you cannot expect him/her to be available at all times.  It might take an hour or so for a host to respond (which is very reasonable).  In a hotel, if you need another blanket or the hot water isn’t working, you simply walk to the front desk and someone is usually able to help right away.

You know what to expect.

Hotels are consistent across brands. A Hilton is going to uphold the same standards in Tokyo, Japan as it will in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  Hotels are also required to uphold health and safety rules; so your room will have a certain amount of cleanliness (although we’ve all been to those rooms that we can’t figure out how it passed the health inspection).

Airbnb hotels (and hosts), can be quirky.  What didn’t show up in the listing is that the shower is tiny, the sofa is over a hot tub (true story), you have trouble figuring out the heat or the host is very particular. In Kyoto, we felt the need to be extra careful with everything in the apartment. Although we always try to leave the apartment better than we found it, it felt extra important at this apartment based on the correspondence with the host.

More amenities.

A big advantage of a hotel is maid service.  It’s nice to come back from a long day of sightseeing and find your bed made and the room tidied up.  Hotels can also have many other amenities.  If it’s important to you, it’s easy to find a hotel with a restaurant, bar or pool.

Earn free nights through loyalty programs.

In chain hotels, you can accumulate rewards points through hotel room stays. Then, use the accrued points for free rooms in the same brand.  This is something you can’t do with Airbnb (but, wouldn’t that be Great!)

Payment and cancellation policy is more relaxed.

With a hotel, you can book rooms without having to pay until you check in.  And usually you can cancel within 72 hours with no charge.  With Airbnb, you pay in full at the time of booking.  Airbnb holds the payment until you have checked into the room, at which time the host is paid. This means that you could be doling out the money months in advance. Also, each host has a different cancellation policy. Sometimes you can cancel within a week, other times it is strict and you cannot cancel. If this would be an issue for you, pay attention to the hosts cancellation policy for the apartment. 

Reviews are easy to find.

Whether it’s TripAdvisor, Expedia or a host of other sites, it is easy to find reviews for a hotel.  Even if the hotel is in an obscure location there will be reviews.  An Airbnb rental can be unknown if there are not a lot of reviews.  For Airbnb, we usually only go for the rooms that have 10+ reviews and we try to book with Superhosts (which means they have 5* ratings, communicate well and respond quickly).

Advantages of Airbnb:

More space to spread out.

As much fun as it is to travel with family, sometimes it’s nice to have space to spread out and have some time alone. In a hotel where everyone is in the same room, it’s lights out for everyone at the same time.  With an Airbnb rental, it’s nice for the kids to go to sleep in the bedroom while you stay up to unwind.

Small to full-size kitchen with refrigerator.

We like to keep a few things in the refrigerator like eggs, milk, juice, cheese and prosciutto from the local market. These things make a good snack throughout the day and can make a delicious picnic in the room.  We have also opted to cook dinner in the apartment using fresh local ingredients we bought at the local butcher, bakery and supermarket.

Laundry facilities.

We pack light! So we often need to do laundry at least once during our travels.  Most Airbnb rentals have a washing machine.  They also usually have either a dryer or a place to hang clothes to dry.  You can see these listed in the Airbnb profile.

Hosts are helpful.

Many hosts will offer to call a taxi for you for your departure day.  We’ve also had hosts offer to call museums to reserve entrance tickets.  Read the reviews to see the comments about the hosts themselves.

Information about the apartment and local recommendations.

Some hosts will meet you at the apartment, let you in and show you how to work things like the washing machine, heat, etc. This is a good chance to ask question about their town:  what are their recommendations for good restaurants?  Where is the nearest supermarket?

If the host doesn’t meet you at check in, he or she will likely leave you a folder with useful information. It varies from host to host, but you can expect to find a combination of restaurant recommendations, maps, how to run appliances and heating and cooling.

You feel immersed in the culture.

It is hard to find a hotel in a residential neighborhood, but Airbnb’s are often nestled among the common housing areas. When staying here, you are living the way locals live; people living out their normal day-to-day lives are right next door in an apartment similar to yours.

You can make new friends.

As welcomed as you feel in a hotel, it is hard to have a connection with the people behind the desk.  With an Airbnb rental, a real connection can be made with the hosts.  You have much more contact with the hosts:  before the trip as you’re asking questions about the rental, during the stay when the host checks in on you and even afterwards as you are writing reviews for each other.

We first met our dear friends from Italy when we stayed in their Sorrento, Italy apartment through an Airbnb rental.  We’ve kept in touch with them over the years and still exchange stories and pictures of our kids.  On a subsequent trip to Italy, we made sure to spend time with them and we look forward to seeing them again soon.

Outdoor space, deck or patio.

It is easy to find an Airbnb rental with some sort of outdoor space, unlike many hotel rooms.  And the price usually doesn’t increase in an Airbnb rental like it does with a hotel. The outdoor spaces can be amazing.

Less expensive than a hotel.

You can almost always find an Airbnb rental cheaper than a hotel, and for more space.  This is especially true if you are traveling with a large family or group, where you would have to reserve multiple hotel rooms. For even more savings over a hotel, cook meals in your Airbnb rental.

Just like hotels, there are added fees on an Airbnb rental; so make sure you are comparing prices which include all the fees.

Great for large families or large groups traveling together.

For large families or groups, you can all stay in the same place instead of having to reserve multiple hotel rooms.  A search option of Airbnb lets you specify how many beds you require and how many people are in your party.  This will filter out all the small rentals.

With a hotel, you’re stuck with reserving multiple rooms unless you want to dish out big bucks for a suite.

Uniqueness of Accommodation

Do you dream of sleeping in a castle? Or a houseboat, a tree-house, a mountain cabin, a luxury villa…the list of unique places available on Airbnb goes on and on.  My favorite is an apartment with a view of water (preferably the Mediterranean Sea). You don’t have to settle for a sterile hotel room when you can stay in one of these characteristic homes.

Tips for using Airbnb:

• Read the reviews carefully.  If guests consistently leave reviews about how clean the apartment is or how nice and helpful the host is, you can be sure that you’ll experience the same.  Many guests don’t want to offend the host so they feel compelled to leave good reviews; but sometimes you can read between the lines to see things of interest.
• Try using Superhosts for the best experience.  These hosts have received consistent 5* ratings, are quick to answer questions, are reliable (0 cancellations) and are active (10+ stays/year).  If there are no Superhosts available, then look for the highest ratings and at least 10 reviews.
• Airbnb gives the option of booking a private room or the entire place.  The private room is of course, cheaper; but you will be sharing common areas with the owners.  If you want the entire place to yourself, be sure to click on “Home Type”, then “Entire Place.”

When we travel we generally try to fit in both a hotel stay and an Airbnb rental so that we can enjoy the benefits of both.  Usually, if we are staying in one location for only 2 nights, then we book a hotel.  If we are staying for 3 or more nights, then we book an Airbnb rental.

Our accommodation options have really increased with the addition of the Airbnb. When trying to decide which to stay in, use these points and factor in location, price and convenience.  If you do your research and read the reviews, you can find an amazing place to stay whether it is a hotel or Airbnb.

If you’d like to try Airbnb, use our affiliate link for $40 off your first stay.

What has been your favorite experience in a hotel or an Airbnb? Let us know in the comments.