Using Airbnb..first time

hello fellow cruisers,

My two girlfriends and myself are travelling together next summer on a British Isles Cruise and are currently exploring using Airbnb or Homeaway to find a place to stay in London post cruise. As there are three women we figured this might be a better option than a hotel so we all have comfortable beds and a bit more space. We have never used Airbnb and wanted to hear from those that have used either one how they enjoyed the experience and what we should look for. Location is key and from what I have read as long as we are close to public transportation we can pretty much get anywhere.

In the places you stayed, were the pictures posted to the Airbnb website accurate or if not how were they not? What would you tell a first time person to ask the host or what should we look for (besides location) in finding the perfect accommodation within our budget? Is air conditioning important in London in August? What was your biggest disappointment in using Airbnb/Homeaway?

Was your Airbnb a 'walk-up' flat? How far out in advance did you book or recommend we book.

Any suggestions or comments on your experience are greatly appreciated. Thanking you in advance for taking the time to respond.

Hi, I have used AirBnB quite a few times.

Tip- put in whether you want a share house (ie a room) or the place to yourself (ie- whole house/flat).

look at the map as it's easier to see where they are. Click on ones that are your price range.

Read the reviews. beware of ones that only have a photo of a bedroom for example. The room may look nice but the place my be awful. We read one listing where the owner cancelled the booking close to the date a few times. Obviously we didn't look at that one.

We have only had one that was less than expected but the price should have alerted us to that.

We started with places to ourselves but the last 3 we just had a room. 2 were OK, one was fantastic. Lovely single guy in a new apartment.

Check out the cleaning fees. Some have a low price but high cleaning fee. AirBnB better for a few nights because of this.

Also there are many illegal ones (eg Hawaii) and people have stated that they are being closed down. I don't know what happens with your money in that case. Bit of a worry. Our Hawaii one, no one was there and we panicked a bit. She turned up 25minutes later.

Air con is rare in London, not many homes have it and only the better hotels.

How important it is to you will depend on the climate you are used to, on a 21C day here I am in short sleeves and shorts, my Australian Sister-in-Law was wearing a woolly jumper.

We use airbnb quite a lot and look for owners who have a number of positive reviews so they are established rather than someone who may or may not be there this time next year. They're also pretty honest so you get a good idea of what you'll be getting. We choose to have the whole place to ourselves and we've been very happy with the ones we've used. Agree with using the map to get the location if you want to be near the city centre, or in London's case the area you want.

Re London in August: it can get to around 30 sometimes but it can also be cool, depends on how much heat bothers you.

Re airbnb: we have had several successful Airbnb's, always go for lots of positive reviews, read them all keeping in mind the owners also review the customers, watch out for places where the landlord has cancelled at the last minute, be sure that you can afford to go elsewhere if it all goes wrong, if in doubt book a hotel.

Hi, I have used AirBnB quite a few times.

Tip- put in whether you want a share house (ie a room) or the place to yourself (ie- whole house/flat).

look at the map as it's easier to see where they are. Click on ones that are your price range.

Read the reviews. beware of ones that only have a photo of a bedroom for example. The room may look nice but the place my be awful. We read one listing where the owner cancelled the booking close to the date a few times. Obviously we didn't look at that one.

We have only had one that was less than expected but the price should have alerted us to that.

We started with places to ourselves but the last 3 we just had a room. 2 were OK, one was fantastic. Lovely single guy in a new apartment.

Check out the cleaning fees. Some have a low price but high cleaning fee. AirBnB better for a few nights because of this.

Also there are many illegal ones (eg Hawaii) and people have stated that they are being closed down. I don't know what happens with your money in that case. Bit of a worry. Our Hawaii one, no one was there and we panicked a bit. She turned up 25minutes later.

Thank you - this information has been very helpful.

you bring up a good item... "walk-up" though I think you mean last minute booking. Regardless, a good question to ask is if there is a lift (elevator) or how many stairs you'd have to lug your suitcase up. Also check on pets in the house if you have allergies. for the three of you, i recommend using the "entire place" filter, else you'll likely be sharing a bedroom in three twin beds ( like a family).

Beware of the Airbnb cancellation policies. Though you might pay a penalty, the Owner can cancel anytime and not owe you any compensation. Airbnb will just refund all your monies and not help you figure out something else either, other than just using the app.