[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

How does the payment system in airbnb work? Does the host get the payment as soon as we make the payment on airbnb? How safe is airbnb in bangalore Ecity for a family group stay?

You pay on the Airbnb site with your card. T&C for cancellation and refunds is mentioned on this site. I haven't bothered to check their settlement process with the host. I have recently had a great experience staying in guwahati while driving up to meghalaya and booked with the host directly for another night on my way back when they were sold out on Airbnb. If you have concerns filter by 'superhost' who have enough reviews by previous guests.

[OHCVtec]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

How does the payment system in airbnb work? Does the host get the payment as soon as we make the payment on airbnb? How safe is airbnb in bangalore Ecity for a family group stay?

The host gets paid the next day after the guest checks in. The payment is not passed on to the host on the day the guest books the property.

[ajmat]

My daughter had a horrendous experience in Delhi. Normally, during internships, a gang of them share a place. Since her start dates were different, she had to fend for herself. She is asthmatic and hyperallergic.

She needed to be near Jangpura. I asked around and an ex-colleague recommended an AirBnB where he had stayed, claimed they to be an awesome host. Host stays on the rooftop and rents out the rooms below. Found out that many girls had stayed there. It seemed ok and it was 250 metres away from office.

She lands in Delhi. Unfortunately, we were out of the country. She accesses the room to find no wifi, no lock on the room and electrical sockets damaged. (these were fixed within a couple of days). However, the room was filthy. The kitchen stove was non functional. Let the pics tell the story



The window was full of cobwebs

The bathroom mirror

The bucket seemed to have a life of its own (later replaced)

Kitchen Tap was prehistoric

Kitchen Sink looked a bit..sunk

Damp Walls

The Geyser was decomposing

The bedroom door looks more solid than the wall!

A quick wipe of the bathroom floor

The bathroom walls were, well, a bit hairy

Additionally, the health faucet was broken and there was no hot water. The kitchen stove never worked and neither did the kitchen taps

The bed linen was full of dust that it triggered her allergy.

First rule of AirBnB - ask your host to fix it! The room next door was vacant and a lot cleaner but was told that someone from Sweden was due to stay in a week (she was to stay for a month!)

He fixed the Wifi, the health faucet and replaced the bucket. She Whatsapped him constantly and told him to get the hygiene issues sorted and the water also. These never got addressed. She whatsapped the pics to him and he claimed these were wrong and a ruse to claim a refund for no reason. She called him and told him, that due to the deficiency in service, she wanted a refund. He started shouting and was short of abusive on the phone. She even persisted and he kept cutting her calls. Communications were then switched to the AirBnB portal. He claimed a cleaner came twice a day, she only saw the cleaner once. As a host, I would have gone out of my way to advise the cleaner to sort this out.

Keeping this behaviour in mind and also the skin allergy. She walked out and stayed overnight with a friend and promptly visited a ladies hostel which was by far cleaner and very well run. She spoke to some of the occupants and she got a place from the next day onwards.

We were abroad and concerned and told her to move and sod the money lost.

She returned the next day morning, moved her luggage out. She also did a video walkthrough. (she's a budding lawyer). As he was blocking her calls, she told him via the portal that she was walking out and cancelled the reservation. H

He accused her of leaving the place unlocked but there was no way to lock the main door (photo included). She cancelled and explained to AirBnB with documentation. They were responsive but all we got was 50% of the money. Why? She should have walked in looked and walked out! However, a young single lady cannot just do this in Delhi. We pushed but only got an additional Rs 3000.

Through personal contacts, we escalated but have heard nothing. We then wrote a scathing review. Sure enough, my daughter got a pretty abusive message from the host claiming she was a spoilt brat, accusing her of violating Team-Bhp rule 11 and more and threatened to tell her parents (he has my number). We complained and blocked him.

Anyway, she got out of it and it was 'character building" to say the least. Summarising for AirBnB in India

SuperHost ratings mean nothing
A friend of mine recently stayed in an AirBnB in Ooty and it was far below the rating

[sameer sultan]

There have been no recent updates here. Airbnb is doing well in India and there are lot more options across the country to rent in every tourist spot and city.

I would like to know if any Airbnb Hosts are in this forum who could share their experiences in listing their properties on Airbnb as their risks are more than the guests. What are the regulations one must follow to list ones property and any other inputs could be helpful.

[arnieshwartz]

We used AirBnB in Rajasthan (Jaipur) and U.P. (Agra) and both units were as advertised, the hosts were very friendly and helpful, and our stay was as comfortable as could be. We were traveling with kids and were a bit apprehensive initially but all our fears were laid to rest once we arrived at the destination. Needless to say, we posted glowing reviews for both.

As with any other accommodation, I think it just takes some time researching the right options, reaching out to the hosts, as well as reading the reviews, before reaching a decision.

[Naetik30]

I was booking hotels for my upcoming trip to Denmark and Norway. The AirBNB options are definitely cheaper, but come with their own hassles.

Basically, the main issue is with bedding in Denmark and Norway AirBNBs. In almost all of them you need to pay additional for bedsheets, bedspreads and towels. This is in the range of about INR 1000+ per person per stay.

And most have a long list of pre-check out tasks to complete. Remove the bedsheets and move them to the laundry, etc. I dont mind this - but then there is a cleaning fee in each of this booking which is about 25% of the cost. So why do I do the bedding cleaning, if I also pay a huge cleaning fee.

Another problem is some of them ask for a cash deposit of about INR 5000 per night that will be returned before check out.

At the end, I booked air BNBs only for 1 night. Rest are all good hotels in great locations where I can have a lot more freedom.

[14000rpm]

Did you know there was a concept of 'Couch Surfing' much before Air BnB?
Basically one hosts other verified 'Couch Surfers' for FREE and they get hosted when they travel. No money exchange involved between host and guest. I believe there is a subscription fees to the platform and that's it.

I spoke to somebody who choose to avoid Air BnB due to several hassles and adapted 'Couch Surfing' and she has only great things to say. She lives in London and travels a lot and her guests have always left her house clean and tended to her 4 cats while she is away.

[ninjatalli]

We have leveraged AirBnB options in India over the recent years a few times; with nothing but great experiences:
1. A farmhouse in outskirts of Bangalore
2. Multiple studio apartment in south and central Bombay
3. A basic room (in an apartment) setup in Bangalore

More closer up - we have leveraged Airbnb options overseas and that again has only been good experiences. On a side note, it's good to evaluate nearby hotel options along with the Airbnb options to figure out what works best for your need. For instance recently in Phuket, we were traveling with an infant (<1 year), and though we started looking at hotels, we finally zeroed on a Airbnb apartment which was perfect for us.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Did you know there was a concept of 'Couch Surfing' much before Air BnB?
Basically one hosts other verified 'Couch Surfers' for FREE and they get hosted when they travel. No money exchange involved between host and guest. I believe there is a subscription fees to the platform and that's it.
cats while she is away.

CouchSurfing was way ahead of all these new concepts. It was operational right from the early 2000’s.
Ive only heard good things about it from regular users. But I havent used it ever. Those days it was all website based. No smart phones and hence no apps and such.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

We have leveraged AirBnB options in India over the recent years a few times; with nothing but great experiences:
1. A farmhouse in outskirts of Bangalore
2. Multiple studio apartment in south and central Bombay
3. A basic room (in an apartment) setup in Bangalore

More closer up - we have leveraged Airbnb options overseas and that again has only been good experiences. On a side note, it's good to evaluate nearby hotel options along with the Airbnb options to figure out what works best for your need. For instance recently in Phuket, we were traveling with an infant (<1 year), and though we started looking at hotels, we finally zeroed on a Airbnb apartment which was perfect for us.

Same here, have used Airbnb multiple times recently in Bangalore and Mumbai and got some really nice places. In fact, in Mumbai, was able to get a nice room in an apartment which came with parking, that too in Versova, all for a great price! Folks familiar with Mumbai would know how difficult that is.