Rent a room, find a room.

July 18, 2010 11:32 AM

AirBnB is a web site that allows you to find or offer rooms, couches, apartments, houses, backyard tents, treehouses, castles, islands... for rent. Terrific for travellers on the cheap or who want unique experiences in lodging. There are some fantastic properties on here--many of them reasonably priced.
posted by dobbs (20 comments total)

I used the service on a recent trip to L.A. and was extremely satisfied with what I got. I've also recommended it numerous times on Ask, and was surprised to find out it hasn't been on the blue before.
posted by dobbs at 11:33 AM on July 18, 2010

Exactly my first thought, how come it took so long for this to reach the blue. Thanks for posting, dobbs
posted by infini at 11:34 AM on July 18, 2010

but wait, there's more...

from related posts, is this considered a double by any chance?
posted by infini at 11:36 AM on July 18, 2010

double.
posted by special-k at 11:37 AM on July 18, 2010

Ahh.. they change their url. That explains it.
posted by dobbs at 11:38 AM on July 18, 2010

It might be a double, but it sounds like they've evolved considerably. There's a recent NYT article about this, unfortunately it did not go into legality as much as I wanted it to. Especially considering Paris' recent ban, or rather recently reinforced ban on Pied-à-Terres. I have a feeling that the cities where this is most useful, will be the ones that aggressively ban it.
posted by geoff. at 11:41 AM on July 18, 2010

Great site. This will help next time I go to Florida. Thanks!
posted by Splunge at 12:38 PM on July 18, 2010

Of particular interest to MeFites, there's also a CouchSurfing group specifically for MetaFilter users.
posted by Alt F4 at 12:38 PM on July 18, 2010 [2 favorites]

Yeah. I don't think this qualifies as a double. Two years ago it was a neat idea that hadn't picked up enough steam to be really useful. Now it is a totally viable middle-ground between couchsurfing and traditional bed and breakfasts. I have used AirBnB to find a room for my mother when she came to town to visit and she was very happy with it, despite being skeptical of the idea at first.
posted by 256 at 12:40 PM on July 18, 2010

I used this to rent an apartment for one night in Albany last year, and I thought it was great. The transaction was simple, it was a brilliant place to stay, it was cheaper than a hotel, and the place was way more luxurious. (Or "lux," as I gather it's hip to say now.) Recommended.
posted by waldo at 1:01 PM on July 18, 2010

AirBnB is hitting the big time. Especially with today's NYT article in which the intrepid journalist uses a slew of "social B&B networks" to travel through Europe. Aside from AirBnB he also cites istopover.com , crashpadder.com(mostly UK), and Roomorama
posted by storybored at 2:30 PM on July 18, 2010 [2 favorites]

...me I'm still stuck on hotwire and priceline.
posted by storybored at 2:31 PM on July 18, 2010

Okay, this was in the NYT today and in the SF Chronicle today and here? Are PR agents submitting story ideas to MeFi bloggers? I'm weirded out right now.
posted by stevil at 2:55 PM on July 18, 2010

Okay, this was in the NYT today and in the SF Chronicle today and here? Are PR agents submitting story ideas to MeFi bloggers? I'm weirded out right now.

I'm in Toronto and as far as I know it wasn't mentioned in any of our papers. I don't work for the company (though I'd love to as it looks like an awesome place to work!) and have posted it on Ask as far back as May I believe, which is when I got back from my trip to Venice, CA.

A few years ago I went to Cuba for 8 or so days and it cost me $800 and I thought that was pretty cheap. This year, using AirBnB, I went to LA for 2 full weeks and flight and lodgings, all in, was $1100. That's pretty excellent, I think. (I had to pay for food while there but the food in Cuba sucked so that's okay.) One of the other benefits of AirBnB over, say, a hotel, is that you're automatically meeting at least one person (your host) who has your best interests in mind. Mine was absolutely awesome--introduced me to her friends, showed me around town, took me to parties, etc. Best vacation I've ever had.
posted by dobbs at 4:03 PM on July 18, 2010

I used this in April and it worked out great. Even made a good long-distance friend out of it. It's like Couchsurfing with much less of the scary unknown factor.

It'll continue to stay great until it gets infested by vacation rental companies.
posted by theraflu at 4:48 PM on July 18, 2010

I'm skeeved by Air BnB's requirement to log into Facebook if I want to join groups. I complained in email to them. Surely they're not that dependent on Facebook?
posted by Jubal Kessler at 5:29 PM on July 18, 2010

Homeowners Use Airbnb Room-Renting Site to Pay Mortgage, Dodge Foreclosure.
posted by chunking express at 8:10 AM on July 19, 2010

Don't forget couchsurfing.org.
posted by swift at 2:38 PM on July 19, 2010 [1 favorite]

Update: Airbnb responded to my complaint and they say they are working on untangling the Facebook dependency for groups. I'm glad to hear it.
posted by Jubal Kessler at 6:35 PM on July 21, 2010

I've used them twice to find apartments in Brooklyn. Worked great, no complaints.
posted by waxpancake at 8:58 PM on July 21, 2010