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Used www.airbnb.com to book a bedroom in private home?

tristow706

New Member
Has anyone ever used airbnb.com to book a spare/extra bedroom in somebody's house? I just booked a room for a few days in Santiago de Compostela to rest after my camino. Anybody with any feedback on this website (or equivalent)? Good or bad experiences? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
 
3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
I never used it as a consumer, but have done as a provider. The system worked fine, but I stopped subscribing. The first couple of stays were very nice and enjoyable, but the next two were people who kept canceling and re-booking and then not showing up, with no notice. I am not a hotelier, so I decided to stick with pilgrims and no "program." Pilgrims often fail to show up when they say they are coming, but when they are here they are in general a lot lower-maintenance people... with money in advance and reservations come all kinds of expectations I was not ready to cater-to.

If I gotta do a program, I prefer Couch Surfing, personally. Much less of a tourist attitude.

Reb.
 
This thread surely deserves a bump
I've found a few for example: £9 Ponferrada
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
I've used airbnb elsewhere in Spain and it was brilliant. You do have to use your instinct when you look at a listings, e.g. if the person comes across in their profile as a bit odd, lazy, or strict / unreasonable then go with your initial feelings on them and avoid. Be a bit wary of a listing in any locality that's much cheaper than the rest: there's going to be a reason why.

You have to be flexible and communicate well with the host, as (like Rebekah says) a person with a busy life, who is renting a room, cannot sit indoors all day waiting for you to turn up, so in my experience it can involve some texting or phoning on the day to co-ordinate arrival, which if your Spanish is very minimal, could be a challenge. Also bear in mind that they will review you, as well as you reviewing them, so if you were really unhappy, you'd have to be careful how you handled it.

Mainly, I've met some lovely people doing it, been invited to have wine in their kitchen, fabulous big chats etc. It's just very nice being in a Spanish home.
 
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I/We have used airbnb several times on and off the camino, so far it has been always a good experience! We are also couchsurfers (more hosts than guests) and enjoy this also. Can recommend both. Buen Camino, SY
 

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