The house next door, which has had a very odd history… bank robber, football team party house, prospective buyers doing work on the property before disappearing… anyway, current owner lives 500 miles away and supposedly wants to turn it into an Airbnb by 2024… hopefully it won’t be too bad. Can it be worse than the football players that supposedly had 26 people living there at one point? But the weird thing now is the workers do their work between 3-6am. It was pretty disconcerting the first time hearing voices back there at 3am.
We sold our south Florida house last year and the buyer turned it into an Airbnb. If we had known in advance we never would have sold to them!
The house was a 5/3 when we lived there and the buyer turned it into a 7/4 by turning our dining room and breakfast room into bedrooms (windowless!) and adding a bathroom. Our two car garage was converted into a huge game room with air hockey, pool table, skee ball and ping pong. They renovated the kitchen and all the bathrooms and installed new flooring. They’re charging anywhere from $500 to $2500 a night depending on time of year. 
Now it can house up to 16 people. Imagine how noisy the pool parties are – the pool is only about 25 feet from the neighbors on either side and in the rear. In fact, the neighbors on either side of us have sold their houses since we sold ours, in large part because they didn’t want to live next to an Airbnb. These vacation rentals have become a scourge in our neighborhood and it’s killing the family vibe of the area.
1 Like
We are happy we did a reverse: turned a VRBO into our personal abode (and no plans to move!). Apparently, the city adopted a law that every STVR needed to have a property manager living within 15 miles (or something like that), which tipped the scale for the sellers. Our neighbors said the parties held here were “epic.” I can’t imagine a party house in this quiet neighborhood… thank dogs this place became too expensive for anyone to even consider turning a property into a party house.
BTW, AirBNB started a crackdown on party houses… good luck with that!
2 Likes
Three years ago we had a really bad experience with an Air B&B that really turned us off to Air B&B. It’s weird, because it wasn’t the place itself. Here’s the story (we were in Maine–our daughter was doing summer theater at a town nearby.)
We got to the road where our Air B&B was located and it was blocked off; there were many police cars. A police officer stopped us and said, there had been "an incident"and told us to come back in 2-3 hours. We went off, checked out the nearby town, and stopped in a local coffee shop. When we returned, there were ambulances and it looked like there was blood on the road that people were cleaning up. This time, we were able to get out of the car before the officer came over and said–“you’re not getting in your Air B&B tonight!” He didn’t offer other information.
We went back to the coffee shop and called the owner. He accused us of “making up a story so we could get our money back.” He was a real jerk. One of the servers in the coffee shop overheard our conversation with the owner. She came over and told us that she talked to her boyfriend, who was an EMT. Apparently, the police tried to pull over a car on the interstate that was speeding–the driver wouldn’t stop and led the police on a chase. The driver pulled off the main highway, onto a local road and then turned into the street where our Air B&B was located. The driver got out of the car, opened the trunk, pulled out a gun, and shot himself. Apparently, he had killed his girlfriend earlier (her car was in the trunk). At this point, you couldn’t pay us to stay there. We ended up at a local motel and left to see our daughter’s show.
Later that night, the owner called and said he’d heard about the incident and would refund our money for the first night, but not for the other night. My H refuses to go to another Air B&B.
Price that is commensurate to lodging and location. Recently this has been a deal breaker for us. Have had great AirBnB experiences in the past but recently (maybe last couple of years) the prices have been in the “in your dreams” range. Plus the cleaning fees are exorbitant. I like to leave a place as I find it, and find paying a $200+ cleaning fee, or whatever, hard to swallow. One of my friends told me I should haggle with the owners since I have such great reviews on the app. No thank you.
We tend to look at Airbnb/VRBO when we have multiple nights (enough to justify steep fees and cleaning charge), to get kitchen and space to spread out. It works out especially well if more than just the two of us on the trip. We just LOVED our apartment in Rome for 4 nights, shared with the kids after the youngest one graduated college. Mostly we ate out, but it was nice to make breakfast at “home” and have gathering spaces. Plus it was hardly more expensive than one room. In Munich, we made on hotel room work for the 4 of us …in that case, location at the train station drove our decision.
I am ok with minimal kitchenware. But it’s nice to have it well thought out. On a Europe trip with other couples, we agreed that actually it was our canal boat kitchen that did better than the bigger apartment kitchens.
I am NOT happy when a hotel with kitchenette (stove, mic, full size fridge) has zero item. No pans (ok, that I could live wtith), no plates, no silverware now glasses. Just empty drawers and cabinets. I went to the desk and begged to get 2 paper plates and cups.
I have always stayed at vacation rentals, long before AirBnb. I prefer vacation rentals to hotel rooms because I don’t want to have to get completely dressed to go find some coffee and a light breakfast. I like to be able to do light cooking. I prefer finding independent rentals through local agencies but also use VRBO and AirBnb. And yes, I can spend many hours just browsing properties in a location.
Most of the time we are a large group, so another reason for vacation rental.
I will not stay in someone’s home full of their stuff. It has to be a dedicated vacation rental. I find all that personal stuff makes it feel dirty (even if it’s not)
I’m going to add good closet space and hangers and some drawers to unpack. I hate bedrooms with no storage so the suitcase has to be on the floor and inevitably explodes all over.
My favorite perk is when the owner leaves waters, beverages and good coffee for the morning, unless their clientele is usually driving. I love not having to go find some coffee and food at the store after a long flight. My favorite host was in Rome where we walked in to cold waters, beer, breakfast goodies, fruit, cookies, milk for coffee and a fabulous high quality champagne and bottle of wine.
6 Likes
I would hate living in a neighborhood that allowed AirBnb’s.
I do a girls trip every year with 12 of my college friends. We usually choose a vacation destination where there are other rentals, so we’ve never had an issue with noise. During the summer after the Covid shutdown, we had a tough time finding a place that everyone could reasonably get to without a ton of air travel.
We ended up at a beautiful house in a random area of PA. It was definitely only used as a rental, and it was in a regular neighborhood of homes with full time residents. We knew we wouldn’t be doing our usual dining out/shopping/sightseeing, so it was great that this house had a gorgeous fenced in pool/hot tub/outside living room with TV & fireplace area. The problem was that the neighborhood had a noise ordinance after 10pm (totally understood for a residential neighborhood). We weren’t by any means whooping it up but 13 voices carry - and each night the owner would call at 10pm and say the neighbors were complaining about the noise and could we move inside. We did, of course, but it was a buzzkill because it was such a nice outdoor area.
Since then, we’re careful to always check to make sure potential rentals aren’t in a regular neighborhood setting (and ideally, not close to another house at all).
4 Likes
For me, it entirely depends on the situation and the trip. We stay at airbnb’s a lot - I probably average 1 stay a month at various places for a few nights a pop. Sometimes it’s just us, sometimes it’s with others. I’m someone who has contemplated buying a vacation home, because I travel so much… but I don’t want to be confined to one place over and over again, so we do it this way.
At a bare minimum… I need it clean, a Keurig, and a kitchen table. And silverware.
Preferably i’d love off street parking, but that will vary by trip… if we’re staying downtown in a city, ain’t gonna happen. I’d love a softer bed, but other people like harder beds, so I think that’s a battle not often won. I love outlets by the bed, but I make do if they aren’t there. A light that i can turn off from bed is also equally nice when possible.
If my in laws are with, the list gets longer. I need space for us to stretch out and not be on top of each other.
i like places with outdoor seating as well, but again, depends on the trip.
Menu’s and whatnot for local places are also appreciated.
It also needs to be quiet and preferably residential - I’m the opposite of @CollegeNerd67. Even if I’m traveling with friends… I want it to be quiet as can be. My neighborhood at home is loud and when I travel I expect quiet. Lol.
1 Like
I’m getting picky now…if they have a Keurig, I REALLY appreciate the alternative of a pour over - something inexpensive and simple is fine but I do not want to use a Keurig for more than one day!
I agree that it is WONDERFUL - and we’ve had it often - if the owner leaves something that can fill in for an arrival snack or a light breakfast in the morning. One rental had orange juice, creamer, coffee, fruit and some bars and a small block of cheese and crackers. Another had local coffee and a bag of local granola.
2 Likes
We stayed at a perfect, and well stocked VRBO at the beach this summer with the kids and grandkids. This home had everything imaginable from kitchen to beach equipment. While the description stated there was a Keurig, I assumed there would be a coffee maker also; with 6 adults, a pot of coffee would have been preferred. The host did provide some K-cups, we would need to have more; not a big deal to purchase. We decided to go to Walmart and buy a cheap Mr. Coffee so we could make pots of coffee in the morning.
I don’t know if possibly their coffee maker broke and they forgot to replace, or if they really figured a Keurig was sufficient for a week beach rental in a 4 bedroom house. I didn’t contact the owner, as it wasn’t a big deal spending $20 on the coffee maker; we would have spent more on k-cups! We left the coffee maker there in the box in the pantry.
4 Likes
Clean is a given. Biggest pet peeve for me is no coffee filters or the incorrect type for the coffee machine. If the place has a view have the windows cleaned.
We go to a family owned property once or twice a year. It is a vacation rental and over the years has been with a couple of small local rental companies. I know they advertise on VrBo and Arbnb along with their own website. So it’s no necessary that you are renting from an actual owner.The old company had the annoying policy of not putting the sheets on the bed. They had them sitting on top of the bed. It was super annoying to come in at night and have to make beds. They also left condiments from previous renters in the cupboard and fridge. I liked that they also left the magazines people had left. They had issues with it being clean enough. They also were bad about telling the owners when things need updates.
Fast forward to the newer management. They came through and removed dust collecting decor. Replaced the bedding which had been old bedspreads with white duvets and white sheets. They got rid of the old chaise loungers and made the decking area more inviting. The old company left patio chairs with broken straps. They have left some spices in the cupboard but otherwise no food from previous guests. Refrigerator and freezer are spotless. My only gripe is they toss the magazines. It’s such a nicer experience with this company. The funny thing is the master bed needs replacement I think. It’s got a topper but I know it’s been in that house as long as I’ve gone which is over 20 years. My in-laws think the bed feels great.
One thing I find important is that if something isn’t right to let them know. It’s very possible that the only person coming through between guests is the cleaners. If they don’t know about an issue it can’t be corrected.
2 Likes
Yes! The property management co we rent from always sends us a survey after checkout, and I always make a note of something that required attention. For example, an electric tea kettle that was supposed to automatically turn off but would not - can be a fire hazard. I managed to turn it off manually while we stayed there but noted it in the survey. The management does read these things and responds personally. The next time we stayed in the unit, there was a brand new tea kettle. Another example - I suggested a better nonstick pan for eggs, and the owners replaced the cookware with a nice new KS set from Costco.
2 Likes
A friend just said she’s not staying in any more AirBnBs that have polyester sheets. Cotton only for her.
I prefer a place to cook. Eating out on vacation is expensive. It’s nice eating a home made chicken caesar wrap out on the balcony of a lakefront condo, while sipping a nice glass of grape juice beverage.
3 Likes
Our family (well, myself and a couple of my kids and SO) love to cook and we plan and eat very well on our summer vacation together! Big breakfast/brunch and dinner. Of course we go out to eat a couple of times but we actually love the process of taking turns and eating some great food that we cooked while listening to music, having conversation, etc.
So we really appreciate a well stocked kitchen - doesn’t have to have all bells and whistles but a few good cooking equipment. When it’s a big group of us I also pack my large sized cast iron. It’s our 8th guest! 
4 Likes
I’m trying to figure this out…
I only want COTTON. NO POLYESTER!
Answer: Thanks for your inquiry. Too bad. So sad. We’re in the best location and cheap. But it’s up to you.
1 Like
She said she canceled some reservations over it!
I’d cancel, too!
I can’t sleep well on polyester sheets.
Cotton only in this house and when we travel.
There are plenty of places to stay so not a big deal to cancel bc of sheet preference.
2 Likes
I guess we were really lucky on our recent VRBO rental. It said it would sleep 16 but really you could have had 30. There were beds we didn’t use and pull out sofas. It was huge. Nice sheets and towels.
It is on a beach peninsula, but not on the beach. Huge front yard. Caretaker unit and 2 workshops in the back. The owner is a tie dye artist and his work was all around the house.
A million plates but very few glasses or coffee mugs. Tons of frying pans but not a lot of other cooking stuff and a lot of the utensils were plastic. There was a waffle iron and lots of other appliances but of course we had pizza and bagged salad so didn’t need much.
There were some spices and condiments, some boxes of pasta obviously left over. Some coffee but I’d brought coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. Almost disaster as it took us a while to find the wine opener (in the chest in the dining room, but not near any glasses).
It was expensive because it was so big. We paid a huge cleaning fee so did not have to wash sheets or towels. Owner gave us a 5* rating so I guess we were good guests.
1 Like