Is Airbnb reliable in Venice?

Anyone has +/- experiences in Venice or Italy in general? Sometimes i hear stories of people gettin' ripped off. I have a hotel booked but i figure i'll save $300 if i go the bnb route.Thanks

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I guess it would depend. Can you reserve and pay with a credit card to give you added protection? Are you able to speak personally with the owner prior to booking? Are there good reviews, hopefully on sites outside of Airbnb like Trip Advisor or Homeaway? If something goes south are you able to comfortably cover the cost of alternate, last minute accommodations which might run $300 or more per night? If you can't answer yes to all four of those questions, I would probably not book the Airbnb. My opinion.

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I guess it would depend. Can you reserve and pay with a credit card to give you added protection? Are you able to speak personally with the owner prior to booking? Are there good reviews, hopefully on sites outside of Airbnb like Trip Advisor or Homeaway? If something goes south are you able to comfortably cover the cost of alternate, last minute accommodations which might run $300 or more per night? If you can't answer yes to all four of those questions, I would probably not book the Airbnb. My opinion.

 

 

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1. Yes

2. Yes (But not ready to commit yet)

3. So far she's pinned as a 'Superhost'. No idea on how to find her on TA or other review sites.

4. If push comes to shove, i really have no choice for i'm travellin' with small kids. Word is, accomodation for 4 is a needle find in Venice, especially near the transport hub.

.. sounds like you've done it before?

Thanks

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Superhosts earn that qualification and I would not hesitate booking with them. If for some reason they cancel, there is always Mestre which is not as inconvenient as many people imply.

I would rather spend my money on food and experiences.

I have stayed in airbnb places in Canada, Argentina and Chile with no serious problems. I am using them this spring in Italy in several places, but we are not going to Venice this time.

I have used airbnb in Venice, Rome, Lisbon, Funchal, Krakow, Vienna, Berlin, and Munich, as well as a few places in the US.

Never had a bad experience.

In Venice, the host gave us instructions on how to take the water bus from the airport, met us at the stop and walked us the the apartment. He gave us lots of information on Venice, tips on how to navigate the city and recommended non touristy restaurants. I would not hesitate to use Airbnb in Venice or anywhere else.

Lois

We used VRBO in Venice, Florence and Rome. We had many e-mails back and forth that helped give me some peace of mind. Just an FYI: all 3 places, they wanted CASH upon arrival.

I used Airbnb when we were there in Nov. I had no financial problems. We had other minor problems like language barrier, I had a problem where I had to contact the host.

My cell didn't work, so I had to use my son's. We made the phone call quick since we didn't know what international airtime was going to cost.

The host couldn't understand my English so I then had to go online and write it so he could read it. The small problem (heating) finally got resolved.

It was cold (to us) and rainy and we hadn't packed properly so we didn't venture out much.

Specific to Venice we were worried about not being able to find our apt. after we ventured out. So we resorted to writing down every turn and alley we went down so we could reverse find our way back.

You do save money which was nice, but if we were at a hotel our small heating problem could have been resolved quicker. It might also be quicker to find your way to a hotel than an apt. For us we were confused and cold but it was a nice trip!