10 Tips to be the perfect Airbnb Traveller
Try these tips to get the most out of your booking and ensure you are the perfect Airbnb Traveller.
- Meet your Airbnb host in person if they are around, even if only for 5 minutes. This reassures everyone involved in the booking in case something should go wrong, as well as giving you a chance to ask about local tips.
- Always give your Airbnb host feedback: whether good, bad or neutral. This is a community site that works best if everyone contributes to maintain high accommodation standards. Little tips like ‘a hairdryer would have been useful’ could benefit the next person’s experience.
- Ask your Airbnb host questions beforehand about accommodation basics, in case they can only provide limited contact when you arrive. Confirm arrival and departure times and instructions, as well as must-haves like use of Wi-Fi and washing machine.
- If you have booked an Airbnb and you know you will be arriving late (post 11pm) or early (pre 6am) then discuss this with your host. It is never fun to feel stranded in an unknown city in the dark! They will need to make sure their location instructions are extra clear.
- Never forget that you are staying in someone’s home, and don’t treat any Airbnb booking as an opportunity to have your own guests round. Never start a party. Stay in a hostel if your priority is making new friends!
- If you are travelling on holiday/ business for more than a couple of nights, most Airbnb hosts offer discounted weekly or monthly rates. Also negotiate directly with a host as they can offer even lower Special Rates.
- Save more pennies on Airbnb if you are travelling in a group by searching for properties that are slightly smaller than the number in your party (e.g. sleeps 2 if you are 3). Then enquire if your host can offer an extra roll out bed before you book.
- One major benefit of Airbnb is that you will typically have a kitchen at your disposal. Save money by eating one or two meals in per day. A good host will leave kitchen basics like seasonings, small milk, coffee and tea.
