Where should you stay during your extended stay? With the myriad of choices that Airbnb and corporate housing locations offer, it can be hard to know which one is the best option. Why should you choose an extended stay corporate location instead of an Airbnb location? Here’s a list of important reasons as to why an Airbnb stay might not be as fun as you think. When it comes to corporate housing vs Airbnb, we believe that corporate housing wins, hands down!
#1 Airbnb hosts can cancel a stay 24hrs before you arrive
You’ve just gotten off the plane, you’re in a foreign location, and you are headed to the place you’ve booked. As you check your messages to make sure everything is in order with your stay, you find out that the owner has just canceled your booking at their property, and now you are left high and dry (or cold and wet, depending on your location).
This is one of the main complaints of users who book through Airbnb. Because these properties are privately and individually owned, the owner can at any time cancel your reservation for any reason. The host can also decide not to show up, which is the same as canceling the reservation.
When a situation such as this happens with an Airbnb property, you don’t have many actions to take in regards to holding the property owner responsible, and often, in these situations, Airbnb customer service isn’t of much help.
With a corporate stay apartment, your booking isn’t held prisoner by the whims of someone who may or may not want to rent the property out to you. If a problem does arise, it is also much easier to hold someone accountable for the loss of your booking and or receive a refund for your booking. When it comes to corporate housing vs Airbnb, the safest bet is clear!
#2 Airbnb listings can be scams
Airbnb does the best it can when it comes to dealing with scam deals that a small portion of its users will try, but it doesn’t catch everyone. Of the 80 million stays that are booked through Airbnb, around 3-7% unfortunately don’t go as planned and/or turn out to be a scam.
Host scams can include devious underhanded tactics such as :
- Host demands more money upon arrival
- Falsified damage claims after your departure
- Using fake emails or domains to steal sensitive info
- Listing price fluctuations
In any of the situations, it can be hard to prove or correct the situation. If the host holds your wallet hostage as soon as you get to your location, it can be hard to find another location on the spot, or even make sure that the money you’ve already paid will get credited back to you.
If the host falsifies a list of damages that they claim appeared after you stayed at the property, it can be difficult to claim that they are falsifying their damage reports if you are no longer at the property to dispute the damages, or if you forgot to take pictures of the property as you were leaving.
So when it comes to scams, corporate housing vs Airbnb doesn’t seem like a fair fight. With Airbnb, you could easily be a victim, but with a corporate apartment, situations such as these would never happen. In the event that they did, the property owner’s claim would be easier to dispute, and there would be a legal course for the actions.
#3 Unsafe or unsanitary conditions in an Airbnb
From bugs to hidden cameras and generally unfriendly hosts, Airbnb stays aren’t always ideal. While most hosts will conform to your needs and offer pleasant and welcoming locations to stay at, that may not always be the case.
- Bugs – Whether it be bed bugs, fleas, dust mites, or another form of crawling menace, bugs can absolutely ruin an extended stay and can, in many cases, follow you home.
- Broken Amenities and Household Items – Items such as a broken fridge, TV, mirror, or even a ceiling fan can be unsafe and extremely annoying. Items should work properly when you get there, but Airbnb has no way of consistently and constantly checking the quality of the places that are listed on their site.
- Hostile Host – With Airbnb, you are staying at someone’s personal and private property. When private property is involved, a host can become aggressive if they think (for whatever reason) that you may try to steal or damage their property. Sadly, a host may not even be worried about the property, they may just genuinely not like you or hold a racial stigma that has no bearing.
Know what you’re getting into
While the vast majority of Airbnb customers will never experience situations like these during an Airbnb stay, it only takes one bad experience to permanently mar your experience. But when you stay at a corporate location for your extended stay, you are staying at a location that is used often, is kept to a certain standard of hospitality, where there is a recourse to recover damages if you are wronged, and you know the quality of the place you will be staying beforehand. You may not get these assurances with an Airbnb property. When it comes to corporate housing vs Airbnb, we see a clear winner!
Looking for temporary or corporate housing St. Louis? Before you choose an Airbnb property for your next stay, give Arch Interim Housing a look for your St. Louis extended stay. One call to Arch and you’ll know you’re in good hands! You’ll know where you are going to lay your head when you arrive, and you can have confidence that your family will be taken care of as if they were our own. You won’t have to say to yourself, “I hope it’s decent” (which, by the way, is a word that’s not in our vocabulary). Why? Because we don’t strive for “decent” or “just alright”– if we’re not exceeding our guests’ expectations, then we’re not achieving our goal.