Post: #1

Many of us are aware of the financial and other benefits of staying in an AirBnB over a hotel. Not only can there be a financial savings, but the impression of permanence it can create is very helpful. Women are inherently nesters, and they do not tend to value men they view as transient as highly.

I'm thinking that this thread might be useful for the guys traveling around. It of course cannot be foolproof, but it might be quite helpful to narrow down the choices. Feel free to provide warnings about crazy AirBnB's to avoid - just make sure its clear. It might me most useful to change the title of the individual posts to the following format - City, Name of AirBnB listing (e.g., Manila - Ft. Bonifacio 2Br with pool Burgos Circle).

If you've had a good to great AirBnB experience, please list the details of it enough so that the guys here can find it if they're visiting the city in question. Yes, it will tend to result in cities like Jakarta having the best spots filled in by guys a lot of the time, but at least it will be forum contributors, hopefully (I guess forum stalkers too).

Please include any negotiations you undertook, what you ultimately paid, and any variation from what's listed on AirBnB (e.g., they threw in a airport pick-up, et al.). And especially, was there any issue about bringing back guests. ???

I'll try to dig up my past stays in various cities and drop them as well.

Post: #2

Manila - Ft Bonifacio. This was a great 2br rental I had in Burgos Circle, about five minutes taxi (max) from High St and Market Market in Fort Bonifacio. Perfect for two guys to split, and the landlord absolutely wasn't present. High security building, but security gave me no issue about bringing in multiple girls during a four day stay. Has a small but clean health club (for cardio), tennis courts and a clean and pleasant (large) swimming pool which is usable day and night (not sure until how late).

Landlord was totally chill. Only possible issue is the bedrooms share a wall, if that kind of thing bothers you. It might have bothered me, but I was having a lot more fun than my friend, who had a bomb of work to do.

Landlord is Richard Cordero.

All in all, including cleaning fees (place was immaculately clean), $317 total split between 2 guys, so 168 per guy, or 42 per guy per night.

Post: #3

This was a decent condo in a nice building. High floor, so no street noise. Fairly standard furnishings, though the bed was good, flat screen tv and a bunch of DVDs which can be useful for pulling dates back. In Legazpi village, no more than 5 minutes walk to Makati Greenbelt.

Landlord wasn't a headache particularly, just showed up once at the beginning. A cleaning lady came every other day to clean the place up (to the point where I told her to buzz off as I had company).

I valued this place foremost for its convenient location - it was way easy to pull dates from GB back here. The street its on isn't seedy at all. Also, its about as close to the Fort as possible as you can be while still being in Makati. The highway to the Ft is a few blocks away and taxis are plentiful.

Paid 352USD for 6 nights, all in. No extras. Landlord is JJ Cabrera.

Post: #4

This will be a very helpful thread. What I will write below may be a very well-known strategy but I still would like to share.

I have just started using Airbnb. I have found two condos that I am interested in (thanks to this forum for selecting the area in the city I am interested in). I had some questions so I sent e-mails to the landlords stating that I sent e-mails to the other landlords and I will decide later which place to rent. One landlord immediately sent me a discounted price in his response! I still have not made my decision. I will share my experience after my stay in a few months'.

Post: #5

Great thread, GE.
Much appriciated.

Post: #6

Quote:Please include any negotiations you undertook, what you ultimately paid

How often do you tend to be able to get discounts on stays?

Post: #7

I think its a matter of peak vs. off peak. I think if you see a lot of availability within a range of competing apartments, its quite possible to negotiate a discount. Also, if you're renting for a far longer period than the minimum rental period, there should be a discount. If there isn't, the landlord is being unreasonable. For example, if a place has a minimum rental of two days, at 50USD, shouldn't a 7 day rental obviously be at a lower price per day. There is no downtime for the place, no extra cleaning fees for getting it ready, etc. And the more your stay exceeds the minimum stay, the more the discount should be, in my opinion.

The oppositie situation in any event would of course make it less likely, and less reasonable, to expect a significant discount. It usually doesn't hurt to negotiate though, so long as you do it politely (and keep in mind the need for a backup plan).

(12-26-2014 03:27 PM)Cheetah Wrote:  

Quote:Please include any negotiations you undertook, what you ultimately paid

How often do you tend to be able to get discounts on stays?

Post: #8

Guadalajara

Owners name is Rueben. I got mine for 30 a night. He has more than one listing but the one i had was in Zapopan on Cubix(spelling) road. It's across from a convenience store and 1 block from the best taco stand in GDL. You can hail a taxi a block from the road. It's in a quiet neighborhood and behind a locked fence with 3-4 other units.

About the apt: has a refrigerator, TV, no DVD player, stove, oven, wireless int, couches, dinner table, one closet, and stand in shower.

its about 60 pesos from Chapu and 50 to the nearest mall.

Post: #9

^^^^no issues in bringing back guests. I could of brought back 3-5 pros and I would of been good.

Post: #10

Cross-posted from the Poland thread: Link

(12-23-2014 05:31 AM)HighSpeed_LowDrag Wrote:  

(12-23-2014 05:21 AM)ballybally Wrote:  Which locations are good in Poznan?

In terms of logistics for Poznań, there is only one rule that you need to know.

Find Klub Czekolada, on Ulitsa Wrocławska.

Get the closest apartment you can find to it. Czekolada is likely the best place for picking up Polish girls in Poznań - at least if you follow the received wisdom of the forum. Seriously, there's one apartment on AirBnB that's less than 30 seconds walking distance from there that I used. I'll find the listing for you. It's also within easy walking distance to all the daygame spots you could need.

EDIT: Here it is - Link

Poznan - Modern Apartment Poznan Old Market

Right on top of all the nightlife and daygame spots, and no probs bringing back guests.

I paid $451 CAD for 9 nights (November 8 - 17), so roughly $50/night. Had good WiFi, but I had to pick up the keys at a hostel about three or so blocks away.

Would definitely recommend for anyone going through Poznan.

HSLD

Post: #11

Manila If your staying in Manila, Richard (Staycation Manila) Cordero is a great guy to rent from. He has several condos in both Greenbelt and the Fort. PM me if you want his number to work out a deal with him so you don't have to pay AirBnB fees.

Paid about $1,200 for a studio in Greenbelt. I would stay away from the Radissons building though because the neighbors pets were noisy and the gym/pool was bad. Rent his place at the Excelsior if staying in Greenbelt.

Post: #12

Santiago Dominican Republic.
Paradise 3 Condo. Nice, clean, secure about $80/night
Neighborhood: Cerros Altos

Santo Domingo:
53 Calle Duarte next to Parque Duarte. Conveniently located. Near Avenuda Conde. About 75/night

Post: #13

Nice condo on highest floor, barging down to RM100/night and RM50 for cleaning.
Wifi was working good, room was clean, good communication with the owner. No problems with guest, owners name is Alan.

Post: #14

As stated above, I would try to get a discounted price for any of you long term 5+ day players. I would usually rent a place for like 4 days then send the owner a message that I wanted to stay for longer could we make a deal for a cheaper price. Almost every single one would agree and I didn't have to pay that ass Airbnb fee.

Post: #15

Poznan, Poland

Landlord's name: Justyna

Quote:Great place in Poznan city center!

A beautiful, spacious flat in Poznan city center, in historical (1908) building, re-built in 2008, offers:

57.7 m2: hall, huge bedroom, reception room with wooden kitchen, bathroom.

Basic linens are available and include sheets, pillow cases and towels.

WiFi Internet, digital 40" TV (DVB-T)

5 minutes ride (by tram) to main railway station

5 minutes walk to Plac Wolnosci.

5 minutes walk to Old Market square (Stary Rynek)

15 minutes ride (by tram) to football stadium

20-30 minutes to airport (depending on traffic conditions)

ALL MAJOR ATTRACTIONS, GREAT PUBS AND SHOPPING CENTRES WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE!

EASY ACCESS TO TRAM & BUS NETWORK

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Please see my Guidebook to see what convenience and ease you get for your money!

My home offers a wonderful combination of city living with great local amenities all in a private space of your own in a safe and comfortable home.

When emailing to inquire about the flat, I encourage our guests to please tell us a little about themselves and why they are travelling!

Great place with a landlord that lives overseas and has a caretaker who hands you the keys upon arrival.
Very close to the major clubs in Poznan as well as Stary Browrar and Stary Rynek.

Recommended.

Post: #16

Kiev - One bedroom near Maidan

Had a lot of bait and switch in Kiev with apartments that were not instant book. Finally found a good place for $77/night right at Maidan behind the McDonalds (a block or so). Might be a little high, but it was clean and comfortable and the hostess Oxana was very attentive.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/490676

Post: #17

I have nothing but awesome things to say about Airbnb. I can't stand staying in tiny hotel rooms with maids banging on the door in the mornings and listening to people cruising around in the halls. Plus, if you just feel like going to the local grocery and having a nice dinner in, you are all set. I've rented out awesome villas in Rome, Venice, Stockholm and in a couple of weeks, Moscow. Always way more bang for your buck than a hotel room and usually by an order of magnitude. The entire building in Stockholm was owned by Swedish royalty. Each floor was it's own apartment in what I was told by my Swedish gf at the time the nicest part of downtown. Met some of the coolest people there. I've always brought chicks with me on my travels, but you can basically rent out a drug-lord style villa anywhere you go and usually for less than an average-to-nice hotel, so I could see how it would definitely help with DHV.

I usually find a nice place I like and then check the reviews. Most of the places I have stayed, the owners have multiple properties, each with reviews. I email the owner just to confirm availability and get a feel of who I am dealing with and what the check-in/check-out process is. Most of the owners are pretty chill. I had wifi problems with the place in Stockholm and the owners texted me back with how to fix it in a matter of minutes. The place in Venice was owned by this Countess and she invited us out for drinks, really cool experiences.

Post: #18

Just a thought for guys who intend to remain anonymous...be careful how much info you post here. It would not be very difficult for a lurker to contact your ex-landlord and ask about you. Probably wouldn't happen but you never know.

Post: #19

I've had good experience with airbnb at least so far but funnily enough I see it got absolutely horrendous reviews on trustpilot ( https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.airbnb.com ) which I often use to get a "second opinion" about web services.

Interesting. Hope I'm not joining the angry crowd soon.

Post: #20

Santiago, D.R., near the malls and Levels (five minute walk). Landlord Ulises- Center City/Beautiful Apt. Price isn't the lowest, but its a three bedroom so you can split it with someone (third room was empty, no bed). I think the price should be negotiable as well, and landlord is attentive.

Post: #21

(06-25-2015 02:27 AM)Malo Wrote:  I've had good experience with airbnb at least so far but funnily enough I see it got absolutely horrendous reviews on trustpilot ( https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.airbnb.com ) which I often use to get a "second opinion" about web services.

Interesting. Hope I'm not joining the angry crowd soon.

I'm not sure why you're looking at general site reviews about Airbnb when individual listings are what matters. You can definitely avoid 90% of Airbnb issues by:

1. Getting an entire apartment instead of just a room of a subset of a house (ie, couch, futon, etc)
2. Make sure there are multiple reviews over a medium sized time period (2 months or more)
3. Getting more upscale places. City center vs. isolated basement apartment in some random suburb.

Post: #22

PM me if you are looking for a 3br spot in Moscow.

Will only respond to legit forum members with multiple posts and rep points.

Post: #23

I recently stayed in a nice studio in Moscow with perfect logistics.

Post: #24

Anyone know of good places to stay in Helsinki for three people?

Post: #25

Question:

Plenty of Airbnbs give discounts under their additional pricing for stays of a month or longer. Are you guys negotiating for an even better deal or sticking to it?