Same here. When it is just H and me the advantages of staying at a hotel outweigh that of Airbnb. But when we have had S, D and SIL with us it was better to get a 3 bedroom Airbnb rather than 3 hotel rooms. We liked the shared space (living room, dining area, kitchen) with a group.
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We always do VRBO in Hawaii because itās considerably cheaper and we can cook.
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We rent directly from the property management company in one condo building in Hawaii because it is generally cheaper than the comparable in quality nearby timeshare hotels (even through VRBO).
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If we are staying somewhere expensive for a week, we like to have a kitchen and more space, so rental other than a hotel, even if thereās a substantial cleaning fee, makes sense. If itās just a couple of days, I agree hotel can be cheaper, especially if itās just one couple.
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If all you need is a full size kitchen, you can also consider extended-stay hotels (such as Marriottās Residence Inn or Element, Hyatt House, Hiltonās Homewood Suites, IHGās Staybridge).
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Most Marriott and Westin Vacation Clubs also operate as full service hotels with condo amenities (full kitchen, W/D, spacious layout).
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I agree, I try to book those when Iām on vacation.
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In general, VRBO/Airbnb make more sense with extra people (where it can save renting two or three hotel rooms) and for longer stays (to spread out the fees and cleaning costs).
I think the VRBO/Airbnb owners charge super high cleaning fees for two reasons. 1) To make the ādaily rateā seem more affordable in online searches. Hotels sometimes do the same sort of thing by adding daily Resort Fee to each room once you check in. 2) Discourage short stays. Ownerās life is a lot easier with fewer/longer rentals. But hey, if somebody is desperate enough to do a two night rental and pay that cleaning fee they will make a big profit.
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Thereās a problem with VRBO and maybe AirBnB, they can cancel your booking. Iām tempted to book my next VRBO, but the prices are much lower than when I booked 2 years ago, maybe thereās a catch.
I donāt remember cleaning fees being that high before the pandemic. Like the resort/destination fees some hotels charge, the cleaning fees seem to be arbitrary (they vary a great deal from one property to another even within the same area). Airbnb needs to fix this issue so an apple-to-apple comparison can be made during the initial search (without opening the details page of each property).
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Good points about AirBnBs being cheaper for a larger group. I hadnāt thought of that. Iām hoping for a 5 person trip next year w/kids so thatās something to keep in mind. Right now itās spouse and I and hotels are cheaper (and the listed price - on moderate hotels - is closer to what you pay).
1NJParent - I feel like there were lower cleaning fees before the pandemic. Nothing over $100 that I can remember. The last AirBnB I looked at (moderate listed price) charged $175 for cleaning. Nah.
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Perhaps the travel discussion could move to a travel thread?
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I hear you, Marilyn! Itās funny though, a few people I know who are about to retire (or just have) have incorporated ārent a cottage for a monthā (via Air BnB or VRBO) as part of their transition to downsizing. I kind of like that idea b/c it gives me the thought of a limbo period before having to make more permanent decisions, lol. I will limit my AirBnB complaints here, though!! 
Yes, it did start out as a discussion of how to transition but veered off topic and didnāt veer back so I thought maybe a gentle nudge. I know there was a lot of discussion of cleaning fees in another thread; canāt remember where.
We were lucky because when we sold our old house to a developer, I was able to negotiate a six month post possession rent free contract. It gave us the luxury of time to hunt for our new house although we did get to a point where we thought we might have to rent in our new location. Luckily after getting outbid several times, we were able to get our bid accepted on this house. Possibly because our Realtor grew up with the sellerā¦
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Nice about the post-possession rent-free contract!! Iām always looking for options and flexibility in these areas ā I guess b/c I donāt exactly know what I want to do next (or when) so try to keep things fluid, lol. Any negotation tips?
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I wish I did have tips! The developer was one of the big guns in our upscale town in the western burbs of Chicago; heād come in second place in some competitive show filmed out of Los Angeles. He had several projects going at various stages so really just wanted to lock down our great location. He offered $5000 over our best offer. The town had long lead times for knock down and building permits and such, so not much he could do much for a few months anyway. Plus we sold in December so not the best time to build anyway. I guess he was happy with us staying, paying maintenance and property taxes, and allowing his surveyors on site. He did check out the house to see if it was suitable for short term rentals but honestly it was not in very good condition. I was hoping for three months but asked for six and hooray!
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Thanks for sharing your story. Love this idea of plans that includes some nice flexibility. Itās not always possible, but great bonus when you can get it.
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In a sellerās market, it is easy to negotiate these kinds of arrangements. Back in the 1999 sellerās market, we were able to get 3 months of rentback from our buyer while waiting for our new house to be finished. We did pay the buyer rent at his new monthly house payment because he wanted to lock his interest rate, so thatās a possibility.
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Nice how that worked out, Marilyn! And good to know that it might be an option in a sellerās market. Not sure if we will fall under the āsellerās marketā category if/when we decide to sell - but glad to know thatās something you can ask for (why not, right?)
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Curious for those who havenāt downsized or arenāt contemplating itā¦did you have a reason to keep your bigger house (or retire to a big one)?
Iāve been so sure Iām going (in second stage) to something smaller and more space efficient. Then lately have been looking at some big, gorgeous (far, far out of my price range!) houses that certain celebrities have purchased and also some lovely pix from folks on CC of their spacious homes. They look gorgeous and fun.
Financially downsizing makes sense (and I donāt have a huge, huge anticipated retirement budget!). Less maintenance does too. But Iām wondering if smaller is 100% the way to go?
PS Also, lately thinking about giving up my nice (medium biggish - 2600 sq ft) house is somehow making me kind of sad, when I look at smaller condos etc. lol. Houses in my neighborhood are selling (as everywhere) for very high prices so a future sale seems more of a possibility - if it made sense otherwiseā¦
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