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How Often Do We Use Airbnb?

Almost exclusively! We started traveling non-stop on March 28th, 2018 because we decided that we didn’t want to be stuck in one place forever by owning a home - and rationalized that even though it might have been better to own a home for our finances in the long run - it was going to be terrible on the quality of our lives over the long run as well. Not everyone is like us though - we are born travelers - explorers - who wanted to see the world and live as freely as possible. We didn’t think that we’d get to do that if we bought a house.

So, since we started traveling, we haven’t had a “home to go back to.” Now we stay in Airbnb’s almost 100% of the time and move rather frequently to new places around the world. There are others like us, and we created the Free Nomad Guide just for them. But the truth is, this has been the most free that we’ve ever felt in our entire lives. If owning a house was going to be our prison, Airbnb had become our “Shawshank Redemption” escape to freedom.

So far, we’ve stayed over 1,500 nights total in 94 different Airbnbs (as of writing this article), and almost exclusively used Airbnb since March of 2018. So, yes, we are experts when it comes to staying at them and finding the best ones that are out there.

We’ve also added links to some of our favorite Airbnb’s in this article - just click on the images to check out the listings. Four that we didn’t include photos of, but really wanted to mention, are:

These four were the most unique ones that we’ve ever stayed in and we highly recommend checking them out!

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Our Airbnb in Mossel Bay, South Africa (click to see this Airbnb)

In fact, we almost never use hotels anymore. Recently, we’ve only even considered staying in hotels if we are using Credit Card Rewards points. To date, we’ve stayed at one non-Airbnb Cabin, one campsite, and 11 hotels - 5 of which were booked with points - since we started traveling, and all for only 1 night each. That’s 13 total nights that weren’t at Airbnbs.

Our memories over that period of time are from 24 different countries on 5 different continents.

PLUS - Airbnb’s are all so unique and end up giving us more of the cultural experience rather than a cookie-cutter hotel that is the same everywhere we go. We like to think that not only are we getting an extra benefit with these unique stays, but we are also helping locals earn extra income - instead of just giving away money to billion-dollar hotel chains. And, the best part is, we usually save about 50-75% of the amount we would have spent at a hotel!

Our Airbnb in Pinelands, Cape Town (click to see listing)

How to have the Best Airbnb Experience

One of the easiest ways to avoid a bad experience with Airbnb is to simply book an Airbnb Luxe or an Airbnb Plus. These are truly the equivalent of higher end suites and villas that you’d find at hotels and resorts. However, they aren’t going to be the “budget-choice” ones that most people are looking for.

Airbnb Luxe is their top of the line product. You won’t find a better luxury place and service than with Airbnb Luxe, but it will definitely set you back a few on your budget.

“Airbnb Luxe offers pristine, expertly designed homes with luxury amenities, services, and a dedicated trip designer.
The world’s most extraordinary homes
From vineyard estates in the Tuscan countryside to secluded villas in Bali, every Airbnb Luxe home has been carefully vetted to ensure it’s the perfect destination.
Personally designed trips
When you book with Airbnb Luxe, you’re connected with a dedicated trip designer who’s there to craft your five-star stay, even down to securing a table at a Michelin-starred restaurant.” - Airbnb’s Website

However, we’ve personally never stayed at an Airbnb Luxe as it’s simply out of our budget currently! The best alternative is to pick an Airbnb Plus - which is a “Luxury House” at the price of a decent hotel. It is actually the best choice for people that aren’t traveling on a tight budget and typically use hotels anyway. An Airbnb Plus is a much better value than a hotel, plus you usually get all of the extra amenities that hotels offer - or more!

“Thoughtfully designed homes. Exceptional hosts. Verified for quality.
Airbnb Plus is a selection of only the highest quality homes with hosts known for great reviews and attention to detail. Every home is verified through in-person quality inspection to ensure quality and design. Just look for the PLUS badge.
Thoughtful design
Every Airbnb Plus home is one-of-a-kind, thoughtfully designed, and equipped with a standard set of amenities—whether you’re in a private room or have the entire place to yourself.
In-person quality inspection
Each Airbnb Plus home is verified for quality and design to ensure they have all of the essentials to make you feel at home—no matter where you are in the world.” - Airbnb’s Website

As bargain hunters, we typically need to do a bit more research to find a great Airbnbs - because the ones that aren’t Airbnb Plus or Airbnb Luxe can be hit or miss. Although, it isn’t too hard to pick out the 80% or more of them that are still amazing - and affordable! However, if you want to dodge the otherwise required “research on your own” - you can simply choose to show only listings that are Airbnb Plus or Airbnb Luxe in the filters section of your search. Additionally, you can follow our page on Facebook where we share 5+ amazing places that we find every single day - wow, we’re just doing the work for you!

Our Airbnb in Kandersteg, Switzerland was just down the road from this view (click to see the Airbnb).

Finding an Amazing and Affordable Airbnb on Your Own

1. Try to get an Airbnb Plus Anyway

If you’re staying for only 1-2 nights, it is worth it to search for an Airbnb Plus first. Why? Because you likely won’t have to do much else - and it’s common to find an Airbnb Plus for only 1-2 nights at a bargain price as hosts try to fill in single or double days that sit between week long rentals.

They can’t always fill them in, so they drop their prices to pull in the bargain hunters like us. This can turn out to be one of the best tips that we have - use it and enjoy!

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2. Download the App or Visit the Website & Search for A Place

Airbnb has a number of filters. If you’ve never used the app before, download it here to save some money on your first trip. Alternatively, you can go directly to the Airbnb website as well.

We recommend that you save this article and use these links - or the one on our website’s sidebar - each time that you book an Airbnb as we’ll always update it to make sure that you are getting the best rates and/or discounts that are available.

Using the App:

Once you open the App, select “Explore” and type in the location that you want to go to, then select “Places to stay” or “Monthly stays” on the next screen. Lastly, select your dates, add the number of guests, and click search.

Using the Website:

On the website there will be a search bar at the top of the screen where you can enter all of this information in one spot - including the location, dates, and guests.

3. Setting Your Filters, Price Range, and Type of Place

Now, you’ll see a button that says “Filters” on the App, or “More filters” on the website. Choose that and then select all of the options that you want for your perfect place. Each time you choose a filter, the total available “stays” will update and you will see how many are still available. Pick the filters that matter the most first. We would recommend that you continue to select things that you would desire until there are about 10-20 places left.

We enjoy having the following filters selected:

Wifi
Kitchen (not all kitchens come with a stove, oven, or microwave - investigate the listing and reviews to learn more about what is offered at each Airbnb separately!)
Washer (a Dryer might also be desirable if you don’t like to hang-dry your clothes)
Air conditioning (during hot months) or Heating (in cold months)
Laptop-friendly workspace
Free parking on premises

There are usually plenty of places available with those search criteria, so - to reduce the total of listings more - we’ll also select “Entire Place” for the Type of Place. If there aren’t many places available, we feel comfortable sharing a place with the hosts, but - when doing that - we’ll also select “Private Bathroom” if that is the case. It can sometimes be like having a roommate - and that isn’t for everyone - so, make sure you select “Entire Place” if you don’t want to share with someone else!

Choose any other filter items that you desire as well - don’t forget to select your price range!

Accessibility Filters: There’s also a whole slew of “Accessibility needs” features for people who use wheelchairs! After using the filters, you’ll be able to see the measurements, and photos, for each of the places that show up (because measurements are different at each place). It’s really remarkable what they have done so far in this field!

4. Look for an Airbnb Superhost

While they are not an Airbnb Plus or Airbnb Luxe location, an Airbnb Superhost must have had plenty of guests already and they must have received amazing ratings from those guests. So, especially if after applying the rest of your filters you still end up with over 20 potential listings, check the Superhost option as well - it will decrease the amount of options available, but the ones that remain will likely be the best ones out there.

Here’s why: Superhosts are held to a higher standard by Airbnb and they generally try their best to help you out with any issues that you may have because they want to retain their Superhost status (they make a bit more money when they are a Superhost because most people will only look for Superhosts). This generally amounts to extra “piece of mind” and better quality.

5. Looking at the Map

Once we have a good number of places that fit our search criteria, we will always click on the “Map” at this point so that we can see where each of them are located. If you’ve done your research, you’ll know what areas are better and thus, which listings have the best location.

We have ended up with places that were 30-60 minutes away from where we actually wanted to be without using the map feature, and sometimes it’s not easy to walk or take public transportation. These are vital things that you should pay attention to - but you may learn more in the listing and reviews section as well.

6. Looking over the Listing and the Reviews

Here are some of the most important tips that we would recommend when reviewing the listing:

Kitchen - make sure that they actually have a Kitchen if it says it has a kitchen. Sometimes, there might only be a microwave. As we stated earlier, some kitchens will have a stove and an oven while others will have a toaster oven or a hot plate. It’s worth it to pay attention to the listing and the reviews for this if it is important.
Washers and Dryers - are they in the unit or in a separate area? Mostly they are in the unit, so that’s what we like. Some places have them in a separate unit or down a hallway in the main building. Also, does it cost extra money to use the laundry machines?
Parking spot - is it free and where is it located?
Public transportation - how close are the nearest stops via walking distance?
Restaurants, stores, places of interest, and groceries areas are usually listed if they are nearby. Is it close enough for you and your situation?
House Rules - Every Airbnb has some rules that you might have to abide by while you are there. No smoking is typical, but sometimes you also must not have pets, parties, or even babies.
Cancellation Policy - Every host is allowed to choose their own cancellation policy. There are only a few different options for them, but it is important to know when you’ll need to cancel by - if you must cancel - and how much money you will receive back if you do. This has bitten us in the budget a few times already!

DEFINITELY spend some time to look through the reviews from other guests:

Find out more information about the place
Keep an eye out for complaints. Complaints aren’t always bad - sometimes you can tell that the guest was just really picky or that they definitely chose the wrong place for what they wanted. Other times the complaints might be legitimate and a host didn’t include something that they were suppose to.
How does the host respond to complaints? We’ve dodged a number of places simply because the host had a foul tempered reply to a guest, even if the guest themselves seemed out of order.

7. Book Your Stay

If you are booking for a full week, or a full month, you may see extra discounts applied to your reservation price. In fact, we’ve seen plenty of 10-15% discounts on some weekly rentals and over 40% on some monthly rentals - so, if you’re CLOSE to a week or a month, try adding an extra day or two to see if the price is actually lower - it really could be! That’s right, 7 days could be cheaper than 5 or 6 - do try this out!

After you’ve picked an amazing place and moved to the reservation screen, you’ll see Airbnb’s Service Fee as well as a potential Cleaning Fee that the host usually adds. Decide if you feel comfortable with those and then submit your request to the host.

Many have automatic acceptance while others have to be approved by the host.

Always make sure you know exactly what to do for checking in prior to leaving home! You never know if you’ll have internet access when you arrive at the Airbnb and you don’t want to start off your trip with a chaotic start!

Our Airbnb in La Palma, Canary Islands (to see this Airbnb listing, click here)

Congratulations, you’ve selected a fine Airbnb. Let us know how this worked out for you and/or if you think we should include something in this post that we forgot by scrolling down to the comments section below. Thank you for your added input!

If you are interested in why we started using Airbnb, read about that story below!

Our Airbnb in Oudtshoorn, South Africa (click to see the listing)

Why We Started Using Airbnb

I can’t remember exactly what was going on in Hawaii in February of 2015, but I can remember that all of the hotels were just about fully booked. The only ones that were available were running around $450+ per night and I couldn’t afford to pay that price. However, I had to go. My father had just passed away and I had to go there to take care of his place and his belongings. It was the hardest time of my life.

In a desperate attempt to get there, I turned to Airbnb to find a place that was affordable. Most of them were taken as well, but a few remained on the cheaper end of $40 per night, and a few more that were around $100+ per night. I tried my luck with a cheaper one - in upper Waianae. If you know anything about Hawaii, you know that I made a bad decision.

I’m going to spare you the details as it was my absent-mindedness that didn’t review the place prior to booking it, combined with my first experience with Airbnb, and nothing bad actually happened - so it’s not worth mentioning. However, it was bad enough, given my situation, that I begged Airbnb to help me get a refund even though that particular host’s policy was to give no refund after check in.

paradise cove luau - ko’olina, oahu, hawaii

Airbnb listened to my predicament, looked at the photos that I took of the place, and offered me a full refund. On top of that, they also gave me an additional credit and called up a different Airbnb host and requested - on my behalf - if they would let me stay there instead. It was a giant blessing and turned out to be the perfect place for me at that time in my life. The host, and the place, gave me the peace and comfort that I needed over the next week in taking care of my fathers personal effects.

Since then, my wife and I have still managed to stay at a few places that we didn’t really like. But, we’ve learned what to look for and how to select the best ones. This is why we shared this article with you!

We haven’t had a any really bad experience since then, and we haven’t even had any “slightly bad” experiences in over a year!

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