Why I Prefer Hotels More Than Airbnb’s
When Ubers were first becoming a thing, the taxi industry didn’t take them seriously.
They thought Ubers were a fad.
A taxi driver has a completely different perspective than an Uber driver.
A taxi driver treats driving like a career.
While an Uber driver treats driving like a side hustle.
“These kids will not last in the driving industry,” the taxi drivers thought.
Fast forward a decade and Uber has disrupted the taxi industry.
In some states, taxis are completely dead.
I have no clue how to order a taxi even if I wanted to.
Many thought the same thing was going to happen to hotels when Airbnb’s came out.
Will Airbnb’s kill hotels?
Nope!
That hasn’t been the case.
Hotels are still more popular than ever.
Airbnb’s Are Too Unpredictable In My Opinion
A few years ago, I booked an Airbnb in Las Vegas.
I got the deal of the century.
I was able to stay in a mansion for only 5 dollars a day.
There had to be a catch though.
Why was it so cheap?
The day I arrived, I understood why it was so cheap.
The host was an old lady.
She probably wasn’t tech-savvy, or she just wanted company.
When me and my buddy landed, she greeted us, talked to us, and gave us food.
Then she began telling us stories about how her husband died recently.
Once we were done talking, she showed us our rooms.
She took me to the same room where her husband died and said:
‘This will be your room, young man.’
I thought:
‘My room??? Can I get a room where there aren’t any ghosts??’
Whatever.
I’ll let it slide.
Later in the night, I kept hearing voices from the lady’s room.
It’s like she was having a heated conversation with someone.
And I heard another voice too…
But wait, she said she lived alone.
Who the heck was that other person?
Wait….
Is she switching her voice to create a conversation partner?
What the heck??
This was so weird!
I couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night.
Despite being in a mansion, I was worried.
Here’s An Analogy to Understand Airbnb’s and Hotels
Airbnb’s are like penny stocks.
There is more risk, but there is also more reward.
There will be times when you got such a great deal that you can’t believe it.
You stay in a resort-like area for 80 dollars a night.
In the future, when you recall your trip, you’ll recall where you stayed.
‘Guys, you won’t believe the cabin we stayed in when we were in Tennessee.’
On the flipside, hotels are like investing in treasury bonds.
It’s safe.
You’re not going to get amazing returns, but at least you’re going to get some returns.
For hotels, you know the process.
Check in, sleep, get out, explore, repeat, check out.
People who really care about where they are going to stay will like Airbnb’s more.
They believe it’s worth the risk.
But people who don’t really care where they stay (because they mainly use the place they stay to sleep) will prefer hotels.
I don’t really care where I’m going to stay when I’m traveling, I’m barely at the place.
I only go back there at the end of the night to knock out.
It doesn’t matter if I stay in a resort-styled area, because I’m not going to be using their pools.
Which One Is Right for You?
I believe you should give both hotels and Airbnb’s a chance before picking a side.
Plenty of people let horror stories get to them.
Although I had one bad Airbnb story, I had numerous great stories as well.
The only problem with Airbnb’s is that it’s too unpredictable.
I never fully know what I’m going to get.
Sometimes, the host will stay with you, and you had no clue because you didn’t fully read the listing page.
Other times, the place is located in the middle of nowhere and it’s spooky.
And other times, there is a weird noise coming from the attic.
With hotels, it’s predictable.
I want a level of predictability in where I’m staying.
I don’t want to wonder if there are ghosts in my room, or if my host is going to stab me in my sleep.
After experiencing both Airbnb’s and hotels, I would say I prefer hotels by a long shot.
‘Out of curiosity Armani, would you ever prefer an Airbnb over a hotel?’
Yes…
The Only Time I Prefer an Airbnb Over a Hotel
The only time I’m team Airbnb over team hotel is when I’m traveling with a group.
When I travel with a group, Airbnb’s have more perks.
If unpredictable moments arise with an Airbnb, then it’s fun to solve the problems with the crew.
One time, I got an Airbnb in Miami with a group of 10.
There was a parking situation.
The community had strict parking rules, and we barely had any room to park on our property for all the people.
Rather than whining, we got creative.
We experimented and parked our cars in a zig-zag fashion to open up 2 extra spots.
To this day, we talk about how we all solved a problem together.
So, unexpected problems with an Airbnb make for funny stories when you travel with a group.
But when you travel by yourself, unexpected problems are simply a hassle.
The rare time I believe Airbnb’s are better than hotels is when you are traveling with a group of 4+.
I don’t see hotels going away anytime soon.
There are millions of people around the world like me.
When they travel, they want predictability in where they are staying.
They want a predictable check-in and check-out system.
They want their beds nice and tidy when they come back from a long day of traveling.
And when they snooze, they want to snooze in peace.
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