My partner and I recently completed our biggest trip yet - a 2-month-ish backpacking trip through Europe. We started from Barcelona and made a loop down to Greece, then east of Europe, before ending our trip in London and Paris.
For the whole trip, we stayed in 16 different Airbnb's - well, except for that one night we decided to take a midnight flight and slept at the airport in Rome. But that's a whole other story.
I would say that after this experience, I've learned some things that will help future decisions when it comes to accommodation. So, here they are. I'm not sponsored so these points are honest and genuine.
1. You can get amazing value.
For a budget of 100NZD (about 64USD) per night we managed to book places with fancy washing machine, kitchen, rooftop (with a view of the Sagrada Familia), shared swimming pool and even paid TV. We also received some things from our hosts that you wouldn't get at any commercial accommodation. Our host in Dubrovnik welcomed us with home brewed wine and homemade liqueur berries, our host in Salzburg gave us local chocolates, and in Bologna we were served with a spread of (pretty authentic) Italian breakfast.
2. Standards of cleanliness vary.
I'm pretty strict on cleanliness. When I booked our accommodation, I made sure each one had 5 star rating on cleanliness. I realised that although ratings can be reliable, it will not always be accurate. There are definitely factors that play into how clean your Airbnb will be. I found that commercially cleaned rooms have clean towels (because they're done offsite in commercial grade washers) but the cleaners tend to care less about the guests compared to the actual host. Rooms that are cleaned by the host or have a personal cleaner, I found tend to vary based on their personal standards - some were spotless and the others were more laid back or provide a more homey, lived-in feel.
3. Photos aren't always accurate.
Airbnb photos don't always look like how they do in real life. And this goes both ways. Some of the places we stayed at weren't as great as they were in the photos, but we also had others that turned out amazing.
4. Learning about the culture helps you have a more pleasant stay.
Every time we moved from one place to the next, we did a bit of research about the culture and what the people are like at the place we were going to. I would say doing this gave us knowledge that helped us know what to expect, how to interact with our host and respect their home.
5. Communication is key.
My partner and I are both introverted so we tend to keep to ourselves. But we found that communicating to your host, whether in person or via call or app can be very beneficial. We found that you can really take advantage of the wealth of knowledge hosts can have about the area. Doing this helped us have amazing experiences, save time and money, and taste amazing and authentic local foods.
