Caribou Gear

Any experiences with Airbnb?

I've used it on family vacations in Maine, Wyoming and throughout several cities in Italy. In every case it worked out perfectly and was far better than staying in a hotel.
 
I usually use Airbnb and HomeAway. I have gone across the country 3 times using them and they have been great. Stay at places with good reviews as stated before and you will be fine. My brother and sister in law have numerous Airbnb houses in Nashville and their prices are always way cheaper then hotels and the places are awesome.
 
sitting in an airbnb right this second, everything is perfect. dog friendly to boot so great for this last minute vacation.
 
On a recent trip to Montana found an Apt building that had reserved 3 apartments for Air BNB. Price was reasonable-1/2 of a motel & was able to cook in the room, saving added costs for eating out. Positive experience.
 
We rent our little cabins out on AirBnB and it has been very successful. We started in June 2019 and had tons of fisherman and only a handful of hunters in the Fall. Too successful- it cuts into my hunting time and I end up house keeping a lot.
I have no experience staying at an AirBnB or a VRBO though.
 
Used an Air BnB cabin once when hunting out of state once that was dirt cheap. It was quite literally in the middle of nowhere, and I had to open and close a cattle gate when coming and going. The owner sent me directions that went something like “go 2 miles and take a left at the big tree, go another two and watch for the turn off by the little stump”

The fridge had a sandwich in it that had maybe been there since the previous winter, and there was only about 1/4 roll of toilet paper in there.

The price was right so I can’t complain too much, although I think the reviews weren’t very accurate. The place was kind of a dump, door didnt have a lock on it, couldn’t use the fridge cause of the stank, etc.
 
Since we have adult kids with spouses it has been way cheaper to rent a house that sleeps 8 than 4 hotels rooms. We have rented AirBnb's in Bozeman 3 times, Seattle, Kalispell, Nelson BC, Pray MT, Minneapolis, Drumheller AB, Paris France, Munich GE, Missoula, Spokane, San Diego, Portland and Kettle Falls Washington.

Here is my advice: Read the reviews, communicate with the host about both your and their expectations, rules, occupancy and any other pertinent info. Check with your insurance company if you have any coverage for things that may happen and make certain your hosts has adequate coverage. Many now have you sign a supplemental lease agreement which you NEED to read. Plan in advance of your stay and if possible contact past guests and ask them their impression and observations and whether they would stay again.

We have never had an issue that couldn't be resolved quickly and in a way both sides felt good.

We like having a house to ourselves and a place to gather and visit, also if one wants you can cook a meal or two or just sit around and play cards at the dinner table.

Nemont
 
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Just a follow up on my experience. It went well. The only issue we had was they utilized an app downloaded on your phone for the door locks and once we figured that operation out it was fine too. Positive experience that saved about $300 over a comparable hotel!
 
I stayed at Air BNB in Alaska for 5 days. It was like an "in-laws" suite that was attached to the hosts home. Good sized bedroom, private bath, and private entry. It was a good experience. Saved us some money versus the 1 hotel that was in town. The host was very upfront about everything and even left some snacks in the room for us.
 
We have used AirBnB for many stays and I would say 90% of them have been great.
As others have said, it comes down to the owners posting honest pictures and giving accurate descriptions.

Additionally, we rent out our lower unit on AirBnB (we have a duplex) and I would say 95% of guests are great. The other 5%, not so much.
 
Stay in them all the time. The only real issue I've ever encountered was the expensive extra fees they allow owners to charge so you need to check the rate and do the math if it's worth it. I won't stay in one that is shared.

Once in London my sister arrived 2 hours early and the owner made us pay a prorated rate for the extra time which was childish. In Iceland (before the huge tourism boom) we had the greatest hosts that gave us food and beer.
 
Echo what others have said. We frequently stay in Airbnb’s when we have to travel and we use it and VRBO as our rental platform for our cabin in Southern CO. I think the most important thing I have learned as a host is to clearly communicate my “rules” or expectations so that folks don’t take advantage of our place. In return, I always am sure to double check with the ones we stay at to confirm no extra fees for common items. In general, we have met some amazing hosts who definitely share some inside knowledge of areas we are new to as they are typically very proud of their setups and locations. I highly recommend this route over hotels.
 
Just be aware of some of the scams going on.
The bait and switch seems to be the most frequent.
You should be aware of the scams.
I have a group of friends looking at going in on a MT cabin and looking to short term rent when we are not there.
I have also heard that there is another Montana company out of Bozeman doing a similar short term rental business, but need to research them.
 
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